Gratitude is an emotional expression of thankfulness, usually personal and delivered in private. Recognition is a more deliberate and often public acknowledgment of exemplary work or reliably high levels of service.
Physicians at Rush University System for Health in Chicago deeply appreciated their patients’ gratitude, but what the team tasked with elevating the organization’s public-facing recognition activities discovered was that recognition from peers was appreciated every bit as much.
“What people really valued were the opinions of those they work with and see on a day-to-day basis,” said Ami N. Shah, MD, a pediatric surgeon and clinician experience officer at Rush. “The value they place on being recognized by their colleagues was the message that really came through.”
Dr. Shah and her team reached that conclusion after a series of listening sessions with physicians that explored their perspectives on the most meaningful expressions of recognition. Responses varied, but as the team synthesized those insights, a pattern became clear.
Across physician specialties, roles and sites, doctors consistently cited the importance of acknowledgment from the colleagues they work with most closely. They are true witnesses who not only see the physician’s day-to-day contributions firsthand but are themselves valued partners in performing those services.
The new recognition initiative was designed to publicly acknowledge the impact of physicians’ work and connect it with organization-wide goals, as well as reinforce the larger sense of purpose and belonging that’s crucial to the culture of a large academic health system.
Rush University System for Health is 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.
Connecting peer recognition to mission and meaning
“Gratitude can overlap with recognition, but it may not have as great an impact on helping people understand how they tie to the greater organizational mission,” explained Eve Poczatek, associate vice president of wellness experience and learning and development at Rush under human resources.
“Recognition, on the other hand, when done correctly, is specific, meaningful and action-oriented,” Poczatek said. “It helps an individual physicians understand that they are valued, that they are seen and that their work contributes to the organization’s success overall.”
The program included awards specifically tied to Rush’s mission and values.
“One of the unique and really great things about Rush is that our mission and values are really strong,” said Dr. Shah. “We talk about them often, and we know people who represent and live those values and the promise and commitment that we have to them and each other, so how could we highlight and support them?”
The nomination process was purposefully open.
“People weren’t nominated by other physicians only. They could be nominated by any colleague or team member,” said Poczatek, who also noted that the expansion ensured activity at every site and allowed more participants in ambulatory settings to engage
“As a result, there were some really beautiful things that were said about specific physicians from the entire care teams that they interact with,” she said.
Categories included clinical excellence, education and commitment to organizational culture, and one uniquely attuned to Rush’s identity as an academic institution. An award for early-career contributions reinforced the organization’s commitment to innovation and its appreciation of fresh perspectives.
“The Best New to Practice Award is really great because physicians don’t expect to be recognized early in their careers,” Dr. Shah said. “They think, ‘I’m new here and just getting my feet wet,’ so spotlighting those people who are creating this positive culture with new ideas and continuing innovation represents what we strive for here at Rush, and that was a real highlight.”
Altogether five awards were created, and the nomination process was open for around five weeks, closing in late January. To ensure complete impartiality, all identifying information, such as age, gender and department was removed from submissions before being reviewed by a physician committee.
While the team was hopeful about how the undertaking would be received, they were surprised and excited about the level of participation and enthusiasm it generated. Out of a physician population of about 850, there were over 100 nominations. Some of these nominations were for the same person. For example, the outstanding physician of the year award winner was nominated by four different people for that same award.
“It was far more than we were expecting,” recalled Justin Lebiecki, clinician experience partner at Rush. “It showed that peer-to-peer recognition is not only important to the people being recognized, but for their peers who had an opportunity to write thoughtful notes supporting their nomination in recognition of the people that they work with.”
“I confess that I was nervous that we wouldn’t actually receive that many nominations. I thought I would have to go around to all my friends in different departments and ask them to please nominate someone,” Dr. Shah admitted. “Then, as they came in and we began tracking them we got to 50, then 75, then 100! I wondered, ‘Oh my gosh, how are we going to get to all of these and actually pick winners?’”
Broadening impact through access
The awards were announced over the course of Doctors Week—expanded from the traditional single day observance, Doctors Day—in late March. It helped ensure that physicians across different locations and practice settings had access to recognition activities, expanding parity across roles and increasing opportunities to participate.
To foster an even larger sense of community and inclusion, all nominees received copies of their nomination materials, which included their colleagues’ warm testimonials and a graphic they could use on their LinkedIn profile or in their email signature.
“The response to those emails brought tears to my eyes because people were so thankful and so grateful. ‘I can’t believe someone nominated me!’ they’d say,” Dr. Shah recounted. “They were really thankful and humbled to just know that someone said these great things about them.”
The awards dinner was an intentionally small, intimate event rather than a large, formal ceremony. It included recipients and their invited guests, and a select group of senior leaders from across the organization, including the presidents of the Medical Center and the University, chief medical officers and hospital site CEOs. High-level enough to elevate the occasion but small enough to foster a real sense of camaraderie and community.
Initial feedback from physicians, leaders and staff has been positive, with anecdotal evidence that the initiative resonated across roles and departments. The collaborative nature of the nomination process itself, open to both physicians and nonphysician staff, drove recognition from a wide range of participants, and early observations are that the program may contribute to stronger team cohesion overall and increased visibility for roles seldom recognized so prominently.
For instance, Dr. Shah noted, the Outstanding Physician of the Year was a long-time infectious diseases physician at Rush.
“Infectious disease is not a front-line specialty, but they’re something of an unsung hero because they serve such an important role, but they don’t always get recognized for it,” she said. “This way they realized that so many people from so many different realms of the hospital see them and recognize them, and that was great.”
Refining and expanding recognition
The team is still gathering data about the initiative’s impact through engagement surveys, but so far leaders seem to view it as an important component of a broader well-being strategy. Future plans may refine the nomination and review process further to engage an even wider range of participants.
“Something I personally hope to expand next year is our communications campaign,” said Poczatek. “I’d love to get patients more into the mix so that it’s not just recognition from staff, but also from the people they serve. That would really help connect the impact of their work to the greater mission of the organization.”
The move to a larger and more intentional, peer-informed recognition practice that emphasizes authenticity, inclusivity and alignment with organizational values is one that other systems can emulate.
“It doesn’t have to be complicated or intense or difficult to create something new,” said Dr. Shah. “It just needs to be genuine. People stay at the institution not only for the mission and values, but because of the people they work with. Anytime we can highlight their team or lift someone up from it, it’s really impactful. That’s the secret sauce.”
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