Physicians’ job satisfaction now exceeds 76%, according to the latest exclusive AMA data. This is up more than 8% from just two years prior, but there is still plenty of room for improvement. Fortunately, there are proven strategies that health care organizations can adopt to boost this and other measures of 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 domains: assessment, commitment, efficiency of practice environment, teamwork, leadership and support.
Organizations must meet five of six domains to be eligible for a recognition level. Domains must be the same across levels.
What leadership means to well-being
The fifth domain, leadership, involves promoting leadership development.
Bronze-level organizations are required to implement a leader listening campaign.
Silver-level organizations have also assessed leader behaviors that support physician well-being for all frontline leaders at least once in the last two years. In addition, they have shared leader assessment results in a psychologically safe manner with the leaders who were evaluated.
Gold-level organizations have gone a step further by implementing an individualized leader development program based on the individual needs of each leader identified in the leader assessment provided by a survey of their direct reports. The leader development program should help individual leaders develop skills that promote the five core leader behaviors.
How others have done it
Ochsner Health is a 2023 gold-level organization. It is also part of the AMA Health System Member Program, which provides enterprise solutions to equip leadership, physicians and care teams with resources to help drive the future of medicine.
Ochsner Health has measured the extent of burnout in its health system to determine when and where the problem may be most severe. For example, one finding was that those who had been in practice for between 10 and 15 years seemed to be the most burnt out—50.3% compared with 44% overall in the organization. This has helped target the use of limited resources.
One outgrowth from that assessment is a leadership retreat in which physicians and senior administrative leaders are taken offsite for three days to take a "deep dive into understanding themselves" and into what makes them happy, said Nigel Girgrah, MD, PhD, chief wellness officer and medical director of liver transplantation for Ochsner Medical Center, in New Orleans.
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While this hasn’t had a known causal effect on burnout statistics, “there is a correlation,” Dr. Girgrah said in a previously published AMA news article. He noted that the incidence of burnout among those who have gone through the leadership program is just 26.5%.
Data helps in “recognizing that we have limited bandwidth in terms of what we can offer, but [also] knowing who to go to first and which demographic areas within our physician group practice has the greatest need,” he said.
Leadership 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 cohort of 130 organizations across 35 states that are currently recognized for their dedication to physician well-being.
If your organization is not yet recognized, there are several tools that you and your organization’s leaders can use to further advance physician well-being and get recognition for the work you are already doing to measure and prevent doctor burnout.
An AMA STEPS Forward® playbook, “Wellness-Centered Leadership,” explores how to create a culture of wellness within your organization.
In addition, an AMA STEPS Forward toolkit, “Listening Campaign,” lays out how to engage physicians to uncover and address sources of burnout.
Health care organizations interested in the 2026 Joy in Medicine Health System Recognition Program application cycle should view the 2026 Program Guidelines (PDF) to learn more about the application process and criteria. They should also submit an intent to apply today for the 2026 application cycle. All organizations must do so to get access to the application.
The 2025–2026 Joy in Medicine recognized organizations will be publicly announced Sept. 3.
