E. Mirna Mohanraj, M.D., is recognized as a Medical Innovator Award Winner for her innovative approach to help improve patient care in the ICU

BOSTON, June 25, 2024 – The Physicians Foundation is pleased to announce E. Mirna Mohanraj, M.D., as the recipient of the Medical Innovator Award. This award, which is given as part of The Physicians Foundation’s Leadership Award Program, recognizes a physician who has successfully implemented a new solution to strengthen the physician-patient relationship, support their medical practice’s sustainability or navigate the changing health care system. Dr. Mohanraj, Vice Chair for the Mount Sinai Health System Department of Medicine, Associate Program Director for the Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Fellowship at Mount Sinai Morningside and Mount Sinai West Hospitals, and Associate Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, is honored for her exceptional contributions to innovation in the intensive care unit (ICU).

“The Physicians Foundation is dedicated to identifying solutions to help support physicians and furthering our efforts to engage the next generation of physician leaders,” said Gary Price, M.D., president of The Physicians Foundation. “Through our new Leadership Award Program, we are able to recognize an exceptional physician who is focusing efforts to improve care in a way that positively impacts patients in addition to other physicians and health care professionals.”

Due to high workload, non-communicative patients, physician burnout and disengagement, ICU patients are at a high risk of dehumanization. Dr. Mohanraj’s award-winning work addresses the dehumanization of ICU patients through a novel narrative medicine intervention. Starting in 2019 with an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Back to Bedside grant, she led an interdisciplinary team to implement an intervention at Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital’s ICU that involved collecting patient biographic and social information through questionnaires, sharing this information during ICU rounds and posting it in patients’ rooms. The intervention aimed to promote engagement with patients and increase fulfillment from work among health care professionals. Initial results have shown that resident physicians spent more time at patients’ bedsides, developed easier rapport with patients’ health care surrogates and derived more meaning from their work.

“Receiving the Medical Innovator Award from The Physicians Foundation is a tremendous honor,” Dr. Mohanraj said. “From our work thus far, we’ve been able to show that this novel narrative medicine intervention is feasible and positively accepted. The Foundation’s award will allow us to continue our important work in improving patient care in the ICU by supporting our ‘Patient Champions,’ the local ICU staff who play a crucial role in maintaining the intervention. We believe that humanizing patient care is essential for both patients and physicians, and we are committed to continuing this intervention.”

With support from the inaugural ACGME Back to Bedside multisite grant, Dr. Mohanraj’s project has now been expanded to a multisite study, with activity to date occurring over a six-month period at Site 1 of 7 planned ICU sites. The study’s objectives are to assess the feasibility of implementing the intervention across various ICU settings and examine its impact on resident physician work fulfillment, wellness and engagement from both a qualitative and quantitative perspective. Preliminary qualitative data has shown a 35% increase in human-centered care and positive professional fulfillment among residents.

For more information about The Physicians Foundation’s Leadership Award Program, please visit physiciansfoundation.org/leadership-award-program

About The Physicians Foundation

The Physicians Foundation is a nonprofit seeking to advance the work of practicing physicians and help them facilitate the delivery of high-quality health care to patients. As the U.S. health care system continues to evolve, The Physicians Foundation is steadfast in strengthening the physician-patient relationship, supporting medical practices’ sustainability and helping physicians navigate the changing health care system. The Physicians Foundation pursues its mission through research, education and innovative grant making that improves physician wellbeing, strengthens physician leadership, addresses drivers of health and lifts physician perspectives. For more information, visit www.physiciansfoundation.org