Improving Physician Wellbeing

Physician burnout has devastating effects on the access, quality and cost of our country’s health care. In The Physician’s Foundation’s 2021 Survey of America’s Physicians, 61% of physicians reported often having feelings of burnout—compared to 40% in 2018.

Nearly 1 in 4 physicians know a physician who has died by suicide.

The Physicians Foundation combats the main drivers of burnout and improves physician wellbeing by researching how best to redesign systems and practice environments.

The Foundation, through the Practice Transformation Initiative where it partners with the American Medical Association, the Medical Society of New Jersey, the North Carolina Medical Society and Washington State Medical Association, is exploring actionable solutions to prevent physician burnout and promote wellbeing.

The Foundation launched Vital Signs: The Campaign to Prevent Physician Suicide to empower physicians, their colleagues and loved one to check in on one another’s wellbeing. Ultimately, by making conversations about burnout, stress and suicide easier, we can help destigmatize the negativity around physicians seeking help for their mental health.

In collaboration with the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation and #FirstRespondersFirst, the campaign expanded to make National Physician Suicide Awareness Day (#NPSADay) a reminder and call to action that it is time to talk – and to act – so physicians’ struggles do not become mental health emergencies.

Over the past decade, the Foundation has awarded more than $3 million in grants to medical societies, associations, foundations, health systems and research institutes to support physician wellbeing efforts across the country.

Explore Our Work to Protect Physician Wellbeing