Action Collaborative Speaks to the AMSN HPE Focus

The National Academy of Medicine (NAM www.nam.edu) recently formed an action collaborative on clinician well-being. This is very aligned with the AMSN strategic plan and our healthy practice environment initiative. "We are proud to have submitted our commitment statement and application to become a network organization of the NAM efforts. We are committed to the cause and will do our part to drive this forward," says Terri Hinkley, CEO of AMSN.

"We will be working to include the information from the action collaborative on clinical well-being in the Healthy Practice Environment section of our new website to be launched this spring. We are hoping that this information is also shared across our social media and other channels as well, by our members and leadership. It is a crucial topic that we are passionate about and will do what we can to support and educate those who will benefit from clinician well-being practices."

Clinician well-being is essential for safe, high-quality patient care. However, clinicians of all kinds, across all specialties and care settings, are experiencing alarming rates of burnout. Among the most telling of statistics, more than 50 percent of U.S. physicians report significant symptoms. Burnout is a syndrome characterized by a high degree of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization (i.e., cynicism), and a low sense of personal accomplishment at work.

Clinician burnout can have serious, wide-ranging consequences, from reduced job performance and high turnover rates to—in the most extreme cases—medical error and clinician suicide. On the other hand, clinician well-being supports improved patient-clinician relationships, a high-functioning care team, and an engaged and effective workforce. In other words, when we invest in clinician well-being, everyone wins. Supporting clinician well-being requires sustained attention and action at organizational, state, and national levels, as well as investment in research and information-sharing to advance evidence-based solutions.

Read more on clinician burnout here: https://nam.edu/implementing-optimal-team-based-care-to-reduce-clinicia… Read AMSN's commitment letter on clinician well-being and healthy practice, here: http://amsnblog.org/node/13