How organizations cause burnout — and what can be done

In 2019, the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) issued a report titled “Taking Action Against Clinician Burnout: A Systems Approach to Professional Well-Being(www.nam.edu),” which identified numerous factors that contribute to physician burnout. Many of the factors were organizational in nature:

• Excessive workload, administrative burden, and bureaucracy,

• Diminished professional relationships, trust, resources, autonomy and engagement, workplace safety and inclusion, and professional development,

• Ineffective compensation and reimbursement structures, performance policies and recognition processes, leadership and mentorship, team functionality, and EHR systems.

NAM urged organizations to address these issues to reduce burnout among their physicians and other employees.

But organizational change is enormously difficult. Author and change management expert John P. Kotter’s “eight-stage process for creating organizational change” can be useful:

1. Establish a sense of urgency,

2. Create the guiding coalition,

3. Develop a vision and strategy,

4. Communicate the vision,

5. Empower broad-based action,

6. Generate short-term wins,

7. Consolidate gains and produce more change,

8. Anchor new approaches in the culture.

Read the full article in FPM: “Improving Physician Well-Being Through Organizational Change.”