When serving as Chief of Staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, Hospitalist Rachel Kerschner, MD, struggled with burnout. She wasn’t alone. Other physicians shared the same feelings. Physician burnout was happening all over the country and was at an all-time high during the pandemic.

Dr. Kerschner talked with more physicians to see just how much and how many were affected by burnout. At a Med Exec meeting, she asked the different section leaders how their groups were doing. “Every section leader talked about the strain and the things that were really weighing on them,” she said. “It was just this moment where we thought, wow, we’ve got to do something about this.”

A team of providers and other healthcare professionals came together to see how they could better support physicians and advanced practice providers (APPs), who were also feeling burnout. An initial survey was conducted in 2023 to gather more specific feedback from physicians and APPs. The results showed physician burnout was at 46.5 percent and APP burnout was at 37 percent.  One key initiative was the rollout of the Resilience in Stressful Events (RISE) program earlier this year. Helping to lead the initiative, Dr. Kerschner spoke at new section meetings, town halls, and other committee meetings about the program. RISE is a peer-responder program that prepares employees to provide skilled, nonjudgmental, and confidential support to individuals and groups.

After Dr. Kerschner attended a new provider meet and greet, she was contacted by a provider who wanted to talk. “Knowing they had someone to talk to gave them some relief,” she said. Many others have reached out as well. Along with Dr. Kerschner, Hospitalist James Martin, MD, is the other physician champion for the program. But they don’t work alone. There are 12 healthcare workers trained in the RISE program to support physicians and APPs. Drs. Kerschner and Martin are the initial contacts, serving as a triage system. Since launching the program, one provider reached out for support and 16 other providers were referred by someone else for support. A total of 10 full encounters have been completed.

In addition to rolling out the RISE program to physicians and APPs, several other well-being initiatives were launched. Those include a provider well-being intranet page with a variety of resources and tools; the formation of a provider well-being committee; Epic improvement efforts, including inbox management; opportunities for physicians and APPs to meet and talk in group settings; and other social activities.

CRH’s efforts to enhance the well-being and professional fulfillment of physicians were recently recognized by the American Medical Association, which awarded Columbus Regional Health bronze-level recognition as a Joy in Medicine™ health organization. The prestigious AMA distinction is granted to organizations that meet the rigorous criteria of the Joy in Medicine Health System Recognition Program.

One year after the initial survey, a follow-up survey was conducted this summer, with results showing physician burnout has decreased to 43.7 percent. However, APP burnout has increased to 50 percent. Because of that, Dr. Kerschner said some specific steps of action regarding wellness and APPs are being taken.