Physician Path to Wellness. A Qualitative Investigation of Self-Reported Strategies to Shift from Detrimental Health to Optimal Wellness

Ross Sizemore, Martin Huecker, Jacob Shreffler, Mallory Zaino, Alyssa Thomas, Justin Kelley

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: A healthy physician performs better clinically and provides superior care to patients than a physician struggling with burnout. Objective: The purpose of this study is to assess the physician perception of “health” and “burnout,” to identify successful wellness-promoting behaviors, and to build a model characterizing the successful transition from poor health to wellness. Methods: Utilizing a qualitative approach, the team conducted one-on-one, in-depth, semi-structured interviews with physicians from different specialties. Questions focused on behaviors, beliefs, and system changes that facilitated their transition from poor health/burnout to wellness. Interviews were recorded and responses qualitatively coded from a set of definitions of wellness and burnout. These coded responses were quantified, and code prevalence was analyzed. Results: Fourteen physicians completed interviews. The codebook consisted of 74 total themes, with nine occurring in more than 10 (71%) of the interviews. Most themes yielded to categories of Wellness, Unwell, and Burnout, with several themes related to individual agency in facilitating wellness. Highly prevalent themes included support systems, nutrition, exercise, and cognitive health. Subjects generally described comprehensive approaches to successfully transitioning to wellness. Conclusion: This study describes strategies for the successful transition to wellness: physician-level factors such as a healthy support system, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and developing consistent daily routines. These findings support the importance of physician autonomy and individual-level wellness-promoting strategies for a physician’s transition to wellness. More research should investigate the overall effect of individual-level strategies versus system-level interventions.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)131-140
Number of pages10
JournalAmerican Journal of Lifestyle Medicine
Volume18
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1 2024
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Perceptions
  • quality
  • sleep
  • training

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Medicine (miscellaneous)
  • Health Policy
  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Physician Path to Wellness. A Qualitative Investigation of Self-Reported Strategies to Shift from Detrimental Health to Optimal Wellness'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this