Northwestern Memorial Healthcare

The Work Determinants of Well-Being (WDOW) for Late Career Physicians

Northwestern Memorial HealthCare (NMHC), operating as Northwestern Medicine, is a not for-profit integrated academic health system based in the Chicago metropolitan area. Its history traces back to 1865 with the founding of Deaconess Hospital, eventually consolidating into Northwestern Memorial Hospital in 1972 through a long-standing affiliation with Northwestern University. Since the formal establishment of the Northwestern Medicine brand in 2009, the system has grown to include 11 hospitals and more than 200 locations, serving over 1.5 million patients annually.

This two-year project utilizes an advanced analytics approach to identify modifiable work determinants of well-being (WDOW) for approximately 750 late-career physicians at Northwestern Medicine. By integrating data from HR, electronic health records, and operational metrics, the team will use machine learning to characterize burnout risk and retirement intentions, even among those who do not respond to traditional surveys. These quantitative findings will be validated through qualitative interviews to co-design and pilot targeted interventions, such as expanding their current Senior Physician Academy. The project aims to produce a data-driven retention playbook of physician-designed interventions to strengthen well-being and professional longevity across the institution.