While the latest exclusive AMA data shows that physician burnout nationwide has fallen below 45%—the lowest rate since the COVID-19 public health emergency—there is much more work to be done to address this condition that affects all physician specialties in all practice settings. Fortunately, there are proven strategies that health care organizations can follow to improve physician well-being by addressing the systemic drivers of burnout.
Physicians who want their organizations to take big steps in the right direction on doctors’ well-being will find a powerful ally in the AMA. As the leader in physician well-being, the AMA is reducing physician burnout by removing administrative burdens and providing real-world solutions to help doctors rediscover the Joy in Medicine®.
The AMA Joy in Medicine Health System Recognition Program empowers health systems to reduce burnout and build well-being so that physicians and their patients can thrive. It is designed to:
- Provide a road map for health system leaders to implement programs and policies that support physician well-being.
- Unite the health care community in building a culture committed to increasing joy in medicine for the profession nationwide.
- Build awareness about solutions that promote joy in medicine and spur investment within health systems to reduce physician burnout.
The Joy in Medicine Health System Recognition Program is based on three levels of organizational achievement in prioritizing and investing in physician well-being. Each level—bronze, silver and gold—is composed of six demonstrated competencies: assessment, commitment, efficiency of practice environment, leadership, teamwork and support.
What well-being assessment means
The first competency, assessment, involves measuring burnout in all physicians using a validated tool and sharing the results with individuals who are eligible to participate in the survey.
Bronze-level organizations are required to have measured burnout at least once in the last three years.
Silver-level organizations have measured burnout at least twice in the last four years and established targets for improvement in collaboration with executive leadership.
Gold-level organizations have gone a step further and measured work intentions—specifically, the intent to leave—at least twice in the last four years. They have also assessed reasons for leaving.
A minimum 20% response rate is recommended by the AMA, as higher response rates provide more representative and applicable findings and may reflect greater organizational commitment.
How others have done it
Hattiesburg Clinic is a 2024 bronze-level organization. It is also a member of the AMA Health System Program, which provides enterprise solutions to equip leadership, physicians and care teams with resources to help drive the future of medicine.
Using the Organizational Biopsy®, the South Mississippi health system found that just 36.4% of its more than 450 physicians reported feeling some level of burnout in 2023, far below the 53% benchmark of doctor burnout across the nation in 2022.
The Organizational Biopsy is an assessment tool and set of services to support health systems in holistically measuring and taking action to improve the health of their organizations.
Hattiesburg Clinic also found that 84.6% of its physicians reported feeling satisfied with their job, which was 15.6 percentage points higher than the national benchmark of 69%. On top of that, 48.2% of physicians reported job-related stress, compared with 55% nationwide.
With only one assessment under its belt, Hattiesburg Clinic could only qualify for bronze-level recognition, but it went a step further and assessed physicians’ intent to leave, finding 21.9% had plans to leave the organization within two years. This was 15.1 percentage points lower than the national benchmark.
In a physician-owned and governed organization such as Hattiesburg Clinic, it may be harder for doctors “to admit to having any sort of stress or difficulty because they know they’re talking to somebody else who does similar work,” said internist Rebecca Lauderdale, MD, who is the health system’s physician well-being champion.
Nevertheless, Hattiesburg Clinic physicians “are talking about these things more frankly and explicitly than we ever did before over the past few years,” Dr. Lauderdale added. “I hope that that’s made a difference. I know that I feel like people are more likely to spontaneously talk about the difficulties that they have or just the everyday stresses and support each other.”
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Assessment tools, resources from the AMA
Download the 2024 AMA Joy in Medicine™ magazine (log into your AMA account to view) to see whether your organization is part of the prestigious group of 130 organizations across 35 states that are currently recognized for their dedication to physician well-being.
If your organization is not yet part of the group, there are several tools that you and your organization’s leaders can use to further advance physician well-being and get recognized for the work you are already doing to measure and prevent doctor burnout.
The Organizational Biopsy provides a comprehensive assessment across four domains:
- Organizational culture, including leadership, teamwork and trust.
- Practice efficiency, such as team structure, team stability and workflows.
- Self-care, including post-traumatic stress, post-traumatic growth and work-life balance.
- Retention, or work intentions.
The AMA STEPS Forward® toolkit "Assessment of Burnout in Physicians and Other Clinicians" guides your practice or organization in measuring clinician burnout in order to improve professional well-being. If you require more hands-on support or coaching, consider the AMA STEPS Forward Mentoring for Impact program.
Health care organizations interested in the 2026 Joy in Medicine Health System Recognition Program application cycle should view the 2026 guidelines (PDF) to learn more about the application process and criteria. They should also submit an intent to apply today to start the process. All organizations must do so to access the application once the cycle opens.
