Utility of a Brief Screening Tool To Identify Physicians in Distress
This study, published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, sought to evaluate the ability of the seven-item Physician Well-Being Index (PWBI) to i) stratify physician well-being in several important dimensions (mental quality of life [QOL], fatigue, suicidal ideation); and ii) identify physicians whose degree of distress may negatively impact their practice (career satisfaction, intent to leave current position, medical errors). The authors conducted a survey evaluating burnout and quality of life among American physicians in 2011. The authors found that the seven-item PWBI appears to be a useful screening index to identify physicians with distress in a variety of dimensions and whose degree of distress may negatively impact their practice.