Physician Wellness in Academic Cardiovascular Medicine: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association

Abstract

Academic medicine as a practice model provides unique benefits to society. Clinical care remains an important part of the academic mission; however, equally important are the educational and research missions. More specifically, the sustainability of health care in the United States relies on an educated and expertly trained physician workforce directly provided by academic medicine models. Similarly, the research charge to deliver innovation and discovery to improve health care and to cure disease is key to academic missions. Therefore, to support and promote the growth and sustainability of academic medicine, attracting and engaging top talent from fellows in training and early career faculty is of vital importance. However, as the health care needs of the nation have risen, clinicians have experienced unprecedented demand, and individual wellness and burnout have been examined more closely. Here, we provide a close look at the unique drivers of burnout in academic cardiovascular medicine and propose system-level and personal interventions to support individual wellness in this model.