Leveraging Physician Engagement for Patient and Clinician Benefit
Explore how Adventist HealthCare Rehabilitation prioritizes and enhances physician engagement to prevent burnout and improve patient outcomes.
Ongoing efforts at Adventist HealthCare Rehabilitation produce strong physician engagement and excellent patient outcomes.
A recent survey found that nearly 90% of Adventist HealthCare Rehabilitation physicians are either engaged or highly engaged. This high level of fulfillment serves as a solid foundation for superior patient care and a thriving clinical environment.
“When doctors are burned out, and morale is low, it takes a toll on the rest of the team,” said Patrice McCall, senior human resources business partner for Adventist HealthCare. “Engaged physicians positively shape every interaction with colleagues and patients, ultimately improving the care provided.”
Translating Fulfillment Into Excellence
Having a fully energized staff presents meaningful benefits. Noted benefits, according to the American Association for Physician Leadership, include:
- Driving excellence
- Enhanceing personal and professional development
- Improving patient safety
- Improving physician resiliency and satisfaction
- Improving quality outcomes
Put simply, engagement keeps physicians energized and inspired to do their work to the best of their abilities, to encourage them to perform their jobs in a manner that aligns with their personal values.
“Our physician engagement efforts aim to remove energy drains,” said Terrence Sheehan, MD, vice president and chief medical officer, Post-Acute Care Services at Adventist HealthCare Rehabilitation. “This allows our physicians to practice medicine and fully engage their skills and compassion.”
A Culture Where Clinicians Thrive
Persistent engagement is the culmination of a sustained commitment to supporting physicians in ways they appreciate.
“We want to impart tools and techniques our physicians can use to stay fully energized and engaged in the work they do,” Dr. Sheehan said, “because we know that an engaged provider is an excellent provider.”
One tool Dr. Sheehan uses to combat burnout and improve engagement is WELL-B. The complementary set of modules was developed by Bryan Sexton, PhD, director of the Duke Center for Advancing Well-being Science. Each module covers specific topics that protect against or reverse burnout, such as:
- Awe and wonder
- Gratitude
- Self-compassion
- Work-life integration
Dr. Sheehan presents a module at least every other month over breakfast. Every module focuses on clinicians, vital caregivers who are often overlooked as healthcare systems focus on patients. By focusing on physicians, the modules inject a dose of humanity into the healthcare arena.
“We’re often running past each other,” Dr. Sheehan said, “and this gives us a chance to just be together.”
The response to WELL-B has been so positive that Dr. Sheehan expanded his efforts. He now holds a team meeting every Friday. During this time, he does the following:
- Checks in with physicians and clinicians about pressing needs
- Expresses gratitude for good work and kindnesses shown over the past week
- Recognizes birthdays, weddings, births and other important events
Human Resources complements these humanizing efforts by inviting physicians to catered events with other staff. Whenever a physician gains recognition outside of the hospital, their achievements are highlighted at staff meetings for others to acknowledge and applaud.
Every one of these efforts has a focused purpose: to care for physicians, so that physicians are better positioned to care for themselves and others.
“Physicians enter medicine with very specific callings and a mission to take care of patients in a certain way,” Dr. Sheehan said. “If they’re run down, their energy is low and they just want to get through the day.”
While these informal and formal recognition programs would seem forced or out of place elsewhere, they fit in perfectly with the Adventist HealthCare Rehabilitation environment, which revolves around the values of respect, integrity, service, excellence and stewardship (RISES). Our open culture recognizes and values all team members, which increases physician engagement and willingness to brainstorm and implement solutions to novel problems.
How We Measure Our Success
To benchmark and monitor physician engagement, Adventist HealthCare Rehabilitation partnered with healthcare performance improvement company Press Ganey to conduct an anonymous, five-criterion survey.
The five criteria were:
- I would stay with this organization if offered a similar position elsewhere.
- If I’m practicing medicine three years from now, I'm confident I'll be affiliated with this organization.
- I feel like I belong to this organization.
- Overall, I’m satisfied practicing medicine at this organization.
- I would recommend this organization to others as a good place to practice medicine.
The first indication of strong physician engagement was the survey participation rate: 74% of all Adventist HealthCare Rehabilitation physicians completed the survey. Participants were also broken into four categories: highly engaged, engaged, neutral and disengaged. Highly engaged physicians strongly agreed to all five questions; engaged physicians agreed or strongly agreed to all questions; neutral participants indicated opportunities for improvement; and disengaged participants had overall negative responses.
Of those physicians who participated, the results were as follows:
- 35% are highly engaged
- 53% are engaged
- 12% are neutral
- 0% are disengaged
“This indicates 88% of our physicians are engaged or highly engaged and none are disengaged,” McCall said. “This speaks volumes.”
Driven by Patient and Provider Success
In summation, Adventist HealthCare Rehabilitation has developed and maintained a culture of openness that has led to significant physician engagement.
- Our successful efforts at engagement are the ultimate measure of a thriving clinical culture.
- This fulfillment is a direct result of the intentional investment in our clinical team.
- High engagement benefits patients, as it ensures our experts are energized, fully present and dedicated to delivering the highest level of compassionate care.
- Adventist HealthCare Rehabilitation’s dedication to physician engagement is the foundation of the exceptional patient outcomes we deliver every day.
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