A rise in burnout led this health system to shift well-being focus

Learn how Baptist Health System KY & IN 's newly appointed medical director of provider wellness, Shawn C. Jones MD FACS took a new approach to addressing burnout.

What are the different ways your health system supports physician well-being to combat burnout?

By: Sara Berg, MS , Senior News Writer

Right as COVID-19 hit, AMA member?Shawn C. Jones MD FACS , started his role as medical director of provider wellness for Baptist Health System KY & IN . This resulted in spending much of his first year looking into already available resources across Kentucky’s largest system, while juggling the immediate well-being needs of physicians and other medical group health professionals in the system’s nine hospitals.

But now that the federal government is declaring an end to the COVID-19 public health emergency, Dr. Jones has been finding ways to not only attend to daily and local needs turning his attention to infrastructure and resources needed for long-term impact across the system.

In June 2020, Baptist Health completed a COVID well-being assessment, which revealed a burnout rate of 52%. Then, in June 2022, they completed an AMA Organizational Biopsy ? where their burnout rate rose to 58%. While burnout increased, it was lower than the national rate of 63% in 2021 , according to the latest research co-written by experts at the AMA. More recently, based on data from AMA assessment of health systems across the country, overall burnout rates dropped to 53% in 2022.

“I took that as good news/bad news. And the way we framed it was optimistic offense. It was obviously not optimal that our burnout increased, but it was predictable based on the pandemic,” said Dr. Jones, an otolaryngologist at Baptist Health—a member of the AMA Health System Program —and an alternate delegate in the AMA House of Delegates for the Kentucky Medical Association. “I wasn’t surprised that our prevalence of burnout went up, but we were still a little bit below the national average, which was good, but it’s still too high.”

A new approach to addressing burnout

With burnout rates in hand, Dr. Jones took began his work to improve well-being at at Baptist Health. Here's how:

1. Offer physician coaching
2. Make people feel appreciated
3. Address EHR Issues
4. Make well-being part of all decisions
5. Invaluable from the AMA

Read the full article to take a deeper dive into these five approaches.

Share your experiences in the post comments.

Physician burnout demands urgent action

Reducing burnout is essential to high-quality patient care and a sustainable health system. The AMA measures and responds to physician burnout, helping drive solutions and interventions.

Become a member and help the AMA tackle the key causes and provide relief for physicians. Join now.

AMA Recovery Plan for America's Physicians

Learn more about the work the AMA is doing to address physician burnout .