Nebraska Medical Foundation

Nebraska Medical Foundation

The Nebraska Medical Foundation (NMF) is the Nebraska Medical Association’s (NMA) foundation. Both the NMF and NMA have been engaged in the development and oversight of the Physicians Leadership Academy and LifeBridge Nebraska programs since inception and continues to provide support to ensure the programs are available for physicians to utilize as a resource.

The Physicians Leadership Academy was founded in 2017. Overall, the program aims to educate physicians on the leadership skills necessary to drive health care excellence and assist physicians in delivering quality care to their patients. Physicians are being encouraged to develop competency areas that include interpersonal and communication skills, enhance interpersonal and communication skills to become a true member of the team, demonstrate empathy and understanding of cultural and economic diversity, practice excellent customer service, improve time management, enhance conflict management skills and provide effective performance feedback, improve emotional intelligence self-awareness, and relationship management. In the last two years of the leadership academy, physicians were focused on addressing the implementation of EHR systems, dealing with problem physicians on their staff, new protocols for pain management, distrust between employed and independent physician models, and cultural issues in their healthcare systems. These relevant issues help to evaluate the physician’s leadership development and to practice the strategies they’re learning.

LifeBridge Nebraska was launched in August 2020 to provide physicians a safe, confidential resource to get connected to a physician coach to work through their situation. This is a self-referral program that allows physicians that opportunity to discuss work/life balance, litigation, family stressors, difficult patients/colleagues, COVID fatigue/compassion fatigue with a peer. LifeBridge Nebraska is a safe harbor for physicians to address stressors without the fear of it being reported to licensure, their employers, to insurance, etc. LifeBridge Nebraska is free to all Nebraska physicians. Prior to the introduction LifeBridge program launching in August 2020, the state of Nebraska was one of four states that did not have a physician wellness program. With physician burnout rates as high as 50%, LifeBridge provides a confidential opportunity for physicians to connect with a peer physician coach and discuss daily life struggles and learn strategies to help overcome those before the issues progress to more serious problems.