Family Health Center of Worcester
Grant Details
An Innovative Model for a Comprehensive Physician Wellness Program
Burnout is particularly acute for physicians working in Community Health Centers (CHCs) where challenges are greater and resources are tight. Studies of mindfulness and reflection-based programs have shown moderate improvements in physician wellness, but few take a broader approach to wellness that includes systems and community and few focus on CHCs.
The Family Health Center of Worcester will develop, implement, and pilot an innovative model for a comprehensive physician wellness program with 3 interrelated components:
- Individual/peer focused workshops and reflection sessions emphasizing mindfulness/mindful practice, value alignment (reinforcing the health equity mission), and leadership, communication, and conflict management skills.
- Systems focused training on the group visit model (with practical guidance for implementation) and on lean management principles
- Team/community focused events/projects to enhance joy in the workplace and engage with CHC community.
Our goals are to promote a culture of wellness among physicians and decrease burnout particularly in under-resourced settings, building on their passion to serve these communities. The model will involve high-level trainings that enhance physicians’ self-efficacy to address factors that contribute to burnout, and physician engagement in wellness-promoting experiences. We will pilot this at the Family Health Center of Worcester (FHCW). The model will serve as the foundation, but physicians will be integrally involved in every step to tailor the model to their needs, starting with focus groups to assess their views on challenges to wellness. A physician advisory group and open comment period will guide each component.
Objectives are to:
- Improve physicians’ self-ratings of their overall state of wellbeing and resilience
- Decrease physicians’ assessment of their degree of burnout
- Improve physicians’ ratings of the organizational culture of wellbeing