This story is one of more than 20 health system profiles featured in the 2025 AMA Joy in Medicine® magazine (log into your AMA account to view).
For Amanjot Sethi, MD, a healthy dose of hope lives at the center of all physician well-being initiatives.
As the director of wellness operations for The Permanente Medical Group in Northern California, Dr. Sethi emphasizes the importance of inviting physician feedback and actively looking for ways to address what is shared as part of the ongoing commitment to workforce well-being.
“Empowering your teams with hope doesn’t mean ignoring the real challenges we face,” says Dr. Sethi. “We can create spaces for hope through open, psychologically safe conversations about the factors that detract from physician well-being. This involves leaders taking account of the challenges, removing barriers and allowing your people to contribute to solutions.”
“We recognized that in order to continue to deliver on the high-quality care we provide for our patients, we also need to support the incredible people who deliver that care,” says Ellie Farahabadi, MD, associate executive director who oversees physician wellness, human resources, physician recruitment, and physician education and development.
“While supporting our people has always been an important focus area for The Permanente Medical Group, we decided to make our strategies around this as visible and as integrated with operations as possible,” adds Dr. Farahabadi.
Finding solutions that can have an impact on each of The Permanente Medical Group’s over 10,000 doctors spread across Northern California, starts by recognizing that physician well-being must go deeper than buzzwords like resilience and wellness. It requires a commitment from the organization that covers a variety of strategies over time, such as gaining institutional buy-in, establishing a plan of action and developing well-being as part of the overall strategic plan.
“This work can’t be centered solely on supporting the resilience of individual physicians,” says Dr. Sethi. “Meaningfully addressing well-being in a large organization must involve all of us rolling up our sleeves and doing the work to ensure that our systems are optimized to support the physicians in their practice. It’s about making our organization as resilient as possible, so that even in the face of significant challenges, the burden does not fall only on our providers and teams.”
“We believe our people are our greatest strength and investing in their well-being is essential for not only the benefit of our people, but also for our patients and for the long-term success of our medical group,” says Dr. Farahabadi.
Start with leadership
At The Permanente Medical Group, prioritizing physician well-being begins at the highest levels of leadership with the goal of permeating through every level of the organization. This is a key part of the organization’s commitment to workforce well-being that aligns with the AMA Joy in Medicine® Health System Recognition Program.
“We are so fortunate that our CEO and executive director, Dr. Maria Ansari, is a courageous and determined proponent of supporting physician professional fulfillment and well-being,” says Dr. Farahabadi.
“Leadership behaviors and how you pick your leaders is important,” says Dr. Sethi. “Leaders who show up with an authentic presence, invite new ideas and express gratitude are the ones who build trust—and that helps with any wellness strategy.”
