As health systems grow and integrate, sustaining physician well-being efforts can be a challenge. At Jefferson Health, leaders say success depends on embedding well-being into the fabric of the organization. The work spans everything from operational improvements to mental health resources and intentional efforts to build connection.
“It has to be a multidisciplinary approach with HR, finance, communications, operations, and quality improvement,” said Nicole Escobedo, senior director of the office of well-being and professionalism at Jefferson Health. “You don’t just collaborate with a different department once and then you’re done. There needs to be sustained partnership for the ongoing work.”
Equally important is closing the feedback loop with physicians and other health professionals.
“When we are talking with the physicians, they want more,” Escobedo said. “They’re engaged and they want to be part of the team that is developing an action plan.”
This engagement creates opportunities to partner and fund some of the work physicians want to do, driving real change.
The changes physicians want to see “are actionable, they are clear, they are time bound. None of that is a ‘check the box.’ All of that is years of work,” she said.
Physicians bring forward ideas shaped by their daily experience, and our role is to partner with them to turn those insights into meaningful change while keeping their focus on patient care.
Based in Philadelphia, Jefferson 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.
Safety net programs offer layered support
“We have integrated multiple programs to create a broad infrastructure of support for our colleagues,” explained Amy Jibilian, MD, a pediatrician and well-being clinical lead for Jefferson Health’s Lehigh Valley Region.
“We utilize Onward by Neuroflow, a behavioral health app that assists with workplace stressors, Marvin, a behavioral health platform that offers third party and after-hours support, and Jefferson Health’s own employee assistance program,” Dr. Jabilian said. Another tool, Resilience in Stressful Events (RISE), helps employees cope with the emotional and psychological aftermath of stressful patient encounters through trained peer support.
Together, these programs create multiple access points for physicians and other health professionals to find support for their mental and emotional health and well-being.
“We are developing a wide spectrum of resources to care for and support our physicians, APCs and all healthcare professionals as they continue the challenging work of caring for our patients and our community,” said Dr. Jibilian.
Jefferson Health is also investing in something less formal but equally critical: connection.
“Social events designed to develop connection and community are important to combat the increased sense of isolation that many clinicians are experiencing,” Dr. Jibilian said.
These efforts are intentional, said Escobedo, noting that “connection in person, away from the office allows people to connect in different ways.”
It’s about bringing people together with similar interests to build care team camaraderie “through dinner and dialogue through various outings with teams,” she said.
Recognition is another area gaining traction across the system.
“We celebrate Doctors Week, Nurses Week and APC Week,” Escobedo said, noting that Jefferson Health had more than 30 events in the last Doctor’s Week.
With formal recognition programs established, the focus is to tackle day-to-day recognition. That shift reflects growing engagement across the workforce.
“People are seeing, not just reading, that we care about recognition and now they are eager for what’s next,” she said, adding that the next step is recognizing employees on a broader scale.
As the leader in physician well-being, the AMA provides organizational solutions that help physicians and health systems optimize practice efficiency, reduce burnout, and rediscover the Joy in Medicine®.
Lessons from integration on communication, trust
Jefferson’s experience integrating with Lehigh Valley Health has underscored how well-being challenges change over time.
“Things are going to ebb and flow … there are going to be various pain points throughout the journey,” Escobedo said.
Early in the process, leaders needed the most support.
“Now that we’re two years into this, the frontline physicians are very much starting to feel the impact of two very strong health systems coming together,” she said.
That shift has reinforced several priorities, said Escobedo. They include “psychological safety, the importance of honesty and transparency, and the need and the desire for physicians to be engaged in the decision-making process.”
Engagement can reshape how physicians and other health professionals experience organizational change.
“It feels less like a business transaction,” noted Escobedo, “and it feels more like you are coming together for the good of the community.”
“One of the most important lessons has been that communication alone does not drive engagement, trust does.,” she explained. “Physicians are more likely to hear, understand, and act on information when it comes from leaders and colleagues who have built credibility through consistent relationships and ongoing dialogue.”
That kind of trust depends on leadership commitment. Well-being must remain central, even amid competing priorities, according to Dr. Jibilian.
“It has to be a top tier priority alongside patient care, community health, and the financial health of our organization,” she said. “This is called ‘The Quadruple Aim.’ The ongoing work to prioritize clinician well-being needs to be integrated into operations, culture, leadership, and decision-making or it will not succeed.”
Clinician well-being has a direct impact on patient care, patient safety, patient satisfaction, productivity, teamwork, recruitment and retention,” Dr. Jibilian added. “If we don’t have a healthy workforce … we won’t complete our mission.”
The AMA STEPS Forward® Wellness-Centered Leadership Playbook offers guidance on building trust, prioritizing clinician well-being, and cultivating a culture of wellness within your organization.
Sustaining momentum—and supporting the people doing the work
Dr. Jibilian said sustainability comes from incorporating well-being into daily operations. One way to do that is to encourage everyone to ask themselves, “How will this conversation, decision, new policy or workflow impact the well-being of the people who I serve?”
Another tactic would be to include regular updates in leadership and medical staff meetings.
“There’s always a report out on quality and safety … there should be a report on well-being,” she noted. “Let’s make well-being part of the dashboard of organizational health.”
Over time, that integration becomes self-reinforcing.
“That’s when you know we’ve made systemic transformation,” Dr. Jibilian said, “when leaders begin proactively asking for updates about clinician well-being.”
Still, challenges remain.
“Bidirectional communication and closing the loop is still the biggest challenge,” she said. Organizations must keep asking questions of the frontline and keep listening.
“We can’t assume. We really need to know,” Dr. Jibilian added.
Both leaders stressed that advancing well-being requires sustained effort and support for those leading it.
“It takes a team of people who are dedicated to investing energy, time and passion into the work,” Dr. Jibilian said. Without that, “the work will lose traction and momentum.”
She added that well-being leaders and their teams face strain: “People who lead well-being efforts can fatigue because, inherently, there are going to be obstacles and headwinds in the work to elevate occupational well-being.”
Escobedo also noted that change itself can be a barrier because “change is hard and people are resistant to change. Without teamwork, communication, and aligned direction, efforts can become transactional and lose their purpose.”
At the same time, she sees growing enthusiasm across the organization.
“People are interested in their own well-being and in others’ well-being, they want to make a positive impact for their peers and future generations of doctors,” Escobedo said. With the right infrastructure and organizational support, “we can continue to grow our championship base and grow that excitement and that’s all going to lead to increased joy and job satisfaction for our clinicians.”
Dr. Jibilian offered a broader vision for the future—one that extends beyond physicians alone.
“It’s absolutely essential that leaders, organizations, people keep asking questions of the front line and keep listening, and at the same time, those who work on the front line ask questions and listen to their leaders,” she advised, describing an approach that includes everyone across the system. When that happens, well-being doesn’t remain a program—it becomes part of the culture itself.
Download the 2025 AMA Joy in Medicine® magazine (log into your AMA account to view) to see whether your organization is part of the prestigious group of 164 organizations across 40 states and the District of Columbia that are currently recognized for their dedication to physician well-being.
AMA STEPS Forward® offers real-world solutions to common challenges in healthcare today. Explore a variety of innovative, physician-developed resources designed to help prevent physician burnout, optimize workflows, improve well-being and enhance patient care.
