The National Academy of Medicine’s (NAM) Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience (Clinician Well-Being Collaborative) was created in 2017 to address the national clinician burnout crisis, an ongoing issue which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, the Clinician Well-Being Collaborative released the National Plan for Health Workforce Well-Being to provide actionable steps toward cultivating a health system that supports care providers. Today, the NAM is pleased to announce the next phase of its work. During this period, the Collaborative will lead a new campaign to execute the National Plan’s actions across the U.S. to better support health workers and their patients.
Change Maker Campaign
“The burnout crisis touches every corner of the health care system, and no single group or organization can solve the problem alone. Pervasive as this challenge is, if we work together to support health workforce well-being, we can help health workers and patients thrive. The Change Maker campaign creates just this opportunity. Everyone who wants to help address this crisis, who is affected by it, who knows someone who is affected by it, now has a way to take action – starting by engaging with the National Plan,” said NAM President Victor J. Dzau.
The Clinician Well-Being Collaborative’s work this year will focus on implementing the National Plan’s priorities through a new Change Maker campaign. A group of Change Maker Accelerators will commit to goals outlined in the National Plan and measure progress accordingly. There will also be opportunities for all who are impacted by this issue to become involved. Individuals and institutions will be able to sign on to this campaign in the role that makes sense for them, joining as Change Maker Nodes by amplifying the National Plan to their own networks, or as Change Maker Champions by making a commitment to institutionalize well-being as a long-term value. The Clinician Well-Being Collaborative will offer a range of technical support to the Change Maker Accelerators, while building out the campaign to inspire more participation over the next two years.
National Day to Raise Awareness
Later this year, the NAM will establish a national awareness day to serve as an opportunity to raise visibility about health workforce well-being, improve understanding of the challenges faced by the health workforce, and involve institutions and the public in advancing the national movement to tackle this ongoing crisis, year after year.
More About the National Plan
The National Plan for Health Workforce Well-Being was released in 2022 to drive collective action to strengthen health workforce well-being and restore the health of the nation. The National Plan highlights several priority areas for improving well-being:
- Create and sustain positive work and learning environments and culture
- Invest in measurement, assessment, strategies, and research
- Support mental health and reduce stigma
- Address compliance, regulatory, and policy barriers for daily work
- Engage effective technology tools
- Institutionalize well-being as a long-term value
- Recruit and retain a diverse and inclusive health workforce
Learn more about the National Plan at nam.edu/NationalPlan.
Additional products and activities of the Clinician Well-Being Collaborative include:
- Resource compendium for health workforce well-being
- Collection of insights from the frontlines of care during COVID-19
- Online knowledge hub
- Summary of established tools to measure work-related dimensions of well-being
Learn more about the members and the Clinician Well-Being Collaborative at nam.edu/ClinicianWellBeing. Register to receive updates at bit.ly/NAMListserv. For questions, contact [email protected].
