These women physicians are making a difference in health care

Women physician leaders are tackling the challenges of physician burnout and redefining their roles in the medical profession. Through innovative programs, leadership initiatives and evidence-based strategies, they are addressing systemic issues, fighting burnout, improving workplace well-being and fostering resilience among their peers. 

These physicians are not only breaking barriers in leadership and education but also implementing creative solutions to support their colleagues and ensure the sustainability of the health care workforce.

Here is a collection of AMA news articles featuring women physicians who are taking on a wide array of issues for doctors to improve health outcomes. They all practice in organizations that are members 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.

1. Brintha Vasagar, MD, MPH, fosters family medicine education

   1. Dr. Vasagar achieved a special feat in a very short period of time: establishing a successful residency program and attracting young doctors in a state with no medical school. As the founding director of the Bayhealth family medicine residency program, Dr. Vasagar has dreamed big and achieved a great deal. Learn how she built and advanced graduate medical education at Bayhealth and worked to address two key health concerns: addiction and mental health.

2. Susan Parisi, MD, provides tools for doctors to support each other

   1. When Dr. Parisi stepped into her role as the first-ever chief wellness officer at Geisinger, the country was just emerging from the deadliest phase of the COVID-19 pandemic that contributed to record physician burnout rates in the U.S. Making the role’s concept an effective reality required Dr. Parisi to think beyond physicians’ basic needs. Find out how she is working to reduce the stigma around asking for help and helping doctors embrace peer support to address burnout at Geisinger.

3. Amy A. Jibilian, MD, uses AMA tools to ease burnout

   1. When Dr. Jibilian took on the role of chief wellness officer at Lehigh Valley Health Network in 2023, there was already a solid foundation in place to address the epidemic of burnout and promote physician and nonphysician provider well-being. But she also quickly realized physician burnout was an extremely complicated and multi-faceted dilemma. Discover how Dr. Jibilian is adapting Lehigh Valley Health Network’s approaches with physician feedback and with AMA tools. 

4. Stella Dantas, MD, shatters misconceptions about women in leadership roles

   1. When Dr. Dantas and her husband traveled to the Taiwan Association of Obstetrics and Gynecology conference, many attendees eagerly greeted her husband. She is the president of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and an ob-gyn at Northwest Permanente in Hillsboro, Oregon—and yet at the conference, people thought her husband actually held her role. Learn more about how Dr. Dantas functions as a self-described “servant leader” on a mission to support and serve her peers.

5. Mary Claire Curet, MD, returns home to serve her community

   1. By 2030, Louisiana is projected to have the third-worst physician-shortage ratio in the U.S., with an undersupply of 100 doctors for every 100,000 people. Dr. Curet is among the physicians working to change that trend. She is the first doctor to complete the Ochsner Physician Scholars program in which local medical students get financial support in exchange for committing to practice in an Ochsner Health facility for five years after completing a residency in one of five programs, including family medicine. Learn more about the program and Dr. Curet’s passion for helping people directly.

6. Alpa Shah, MD, and Samantha Klebe, DO, take actions to lessen burnout

   1. Physicians are at the forefront of patient care, often working long hours under intense pressure, which can lead to emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and a diminished sense of feeling valued. By systematically measuring burnout, health systems can identify the problem and target areas for improvement to ensure a supportive work environment and sustain overall well-being for physicians. That’s why Marshfield Clinic Health System chose to measure with the AMA. Learn more about how Drs. Shah and Klebe are using the Organizational Biopsy^® to measure physician burnout and well-being. 

7. Barbara L. McAneny, MD, works to optimize cancer care

   1. During her residency, Dr. McAneny, and oncologist and co-chair and chief officer of advocacy and government affairs for the ONCare Alliance, wanted to help a young man with Hodgkin’s disease, but he didn’t want to go through treatment. She has since made it her life’s work to construct new ways to deliver better treatments and collaborate with her fellow specialists to optimize cancer care. Read on for more details about her work to make value-based care a reality.

8. Laurie Gregg, MD, reduces administrative burdens

   1. Physicians are increasingly burdened by excessive “pajama time,” which forces them to sacrifice personal and family time to complete administrative tasks outside of regular work hours. To counteract this trend, Dr. Gregg—who is chief wellness officer for Sutter Independent Physicians, which is an independent physician association with Sutter Health—suggests training medical assistants to serve as documentation specialists. Find out more about how Sutter Health is aiming to cut down on pajama time for physicians.

9. Mary Pan, MD, works to cut burnout among women physicians 

   1. In a disturbing but consistent trend, women physicians continue to be more likely to experience symptoms of burnout, feel less valued at work and have lower job satisfaction than their male counterparts, exclusive AMA survey data shows. Learn how Dr. Pan, family physician and chief wellness officer at Washington Permanente Medical Group in greater Seattle, is working with colleagues to address gender gap in burnout and improve women physicians’ well-being. 

The AMA Women Physicians Section consists of more than 100,000 members of the AMA and aims to increase the number and influence of women physicians in leadership roles and to advocate for and advance the understanding of women’s health issues.

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