View past recordings from the AMA STEPS Forward® webinar series.

2023

1. Jan. 18: Improving Environmental Sustainability in Your Medical Practice

   1. From the largest health systems to the smallest private practice, every organization has an environmental impact. Taking steps to improve environmental sustainability can lead to better health outcomes and bring major savings to the health care organization.

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   3. Learn more about how to improve environmental sustainability in your practice. Michael Tutty, PhD, MHA, group vice president of AMA Professional Satisfaction and Practice Sustainability, will be joined by Todd Sack, MD, FACP of Mygreendoctor.org to present the benefits of going green and effective strategies to implement throughout your practice. The strategies discussed will apply whether adopting these environmental goals for the first time or building on to existing work.

1. Aug. 9: Social Determinants of Health

   1. Speakers: Rachel Smith, MBA Program manager, Social Determinants and Health Equity, Rush University Health System; Laura J. Zimmermann, MD, DipABLM, MS, FACP Interim division chief, General Internal Medicine, Rush, University Health System; Robyn Golden, MA, LCSW, ACSW Associate vice president of social work and community health, Rush University Health System; and Marie Brown, MD, MACP AMA director practice redesign, American Medical Association

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   2. Social determinants of health (SDOH) are the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live and age–and these conditions can impact a wide range of health, functioning and quality-of-life outcomes. This panel will discuss how to effectively address SDOH in your practice.

2. June 21: Parenting as a physician: It takes a lot of patience

   1. Speakers: Angela Chaudhari, MD, Physician, Northwestern Medicine, and Kevin Hopkins, MD, West Region Primary Care Medical Director, Cleveland Clinic Community Care

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   3. This panel discussion webinar will provide tips on balancing family life as a physician, how to set limits, finding the time and best practices for managing family activities.

3. May 11: Protecting Mental Health in Disasters: COVID-19 and Beyond

   1. Speaker: Joshua C. Morganstein, MD, CAPT

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   3. Experts discuss how the use of evidence-based early interventions can reduce distress, foster resilience, enhance operational sustainment and help treat psychiatric disorders that may emerge during periods of disaster.

4. April 19: Fostering Clinician Well-Being: Current Trends and Insights from the AMA’s 2022 National Report

   1. Speaker: Kyra Cappelucci Ng

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   3. The AMA shares important insights from the 2022 national burnout benchmarking report as well as key strategies to address ongoing burnout.

5. March 30: Setting Boundaries for Preventing Fatigue and Building Resilience

   1. Speaker: Kevin Hopkins, MD, Family medicine physician and primary care medical director, Cleveland Clinic; Senior physician advisor for practice transformation, American Medical Association

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   3. Participants will learn the value and necessity of setting limits and how doing so positively affects personal well-being. 

6. March 24: Racial and Health Equity: Concrete STEPS for Health Systems

   1. Speakers: Denard Cummings, AMA director of equitable health systems integration; Rishi Manchanda, MD, MPH, president and CEO of HealthBegins

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   3. Experts will discuss steps for advancing racial and health equity within a health care system.

7. Jan. 27: Reconsidering priorities and practical strategies for addressing clinician well-being in Omicron’s wake

   1. Moderator: Jonathan Ripp, MD, MPH, Chief wellness officer, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

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   3. This webinar aims to help CEOs, CMOs and CWOs address the urgent, nearly universal concern about workforce protection and retention during the COVID-19 Omicron wave.

1. Dec. 9: Physician Peer Support: An Organization's Secret Weapon to Combat Physician Burnout

   1. Speaker: Angela Chaudhari, MD, a practicing obstetrician-gynecologist and one of the original Scholars of Wellness (SOW) fellows at Northwestern Medicine.

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   3. Learn how to successfully implement a peer support program at your health care organization.

2. Oct. 21: Establishing a chief wellness officer

   1. Speaker: Tait Shanafelt, MD, chief wellness officer, Stanford Medicine

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   3. This webinar provides a step-by-step guide to laying the groundwork for and establishing a chief wellness officer role in your organization.

3. Aug. 10: Implementing innovative solutions with an equity lens

   Speaker: Courtney Lyles, PhD, co-founder, UCSF S.O.L.V.E. Health Tech

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   This webinar outlines best practices for implementing new health care technologies in an equitable, inclusive way, focusing on both the impact to marginalized and minoritized patients and the clinicians and systems that care for them.

4. July 20, 2021: Promising practices to support physician well-being during COVID-19: A case study from EvergreenHealth

   1. Speakers: Betsy Hail, executive director of primary care, EvergreenHealth; Pratima Sharma, MD, executive medical director of primary care, EvergreenHealth

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   3. Leaders of EvergreenHealth share the proactive strategies they enacted to ensure the well-being of their workforce throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

5. July 15, 2021: Integrating organizational actions toward patient safety and clinician well-being

   Speakers: Michael R Privitera, MD, MS professor of psychiatry, University of Rochester Medical Center, and medical director, Medical Faculty and Clinician Wellness Program; Kate MacNamee, MS, director of design research, Ximedica

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   1. Learn about a framework of patient safety that builds on traditional models while paying mind to rapid technological advancements and the human factors that affect the well-being of both patients and health care professionals.

6. June 24, 2021: Health care technology & the human connection

   Speaker: Adrienne Boissy, MD, chief experience officer, Cleveland Clinic 

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   This webinar explored how physicians can not only maintain empathy and human “touch” within a digital environment but benefit from this mode of care delivery to improve outcomes and access.

7. June 8, 2021: Building bridges between physicians and administration

   1. Speaker: Paul DeChant, MD, MBA, FAAFP, CEO and principal

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   3. Trust between health care organization leaders and front-line clinicians is essential, but far too often this trust is low. Paul DeChant, MD, MBA, spoke on how both roles can find new opportunities for alignment. 

8. June 1, 2021: Prioritizing mental health and well-being during times of crisis: A case study from Atlantic Health System

   1. Speaker: Peter Bolo, MD, medical director, Atlantic Behavioral Health, and Atlantic Health System resiliency advocate

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   3. In this webinar, Peter Bolo, MD, on behalf of Atlantic Health System, shared an overview of their work to help physicians endure the stress from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

9. May 25, 2021: Measuring the value of virtual care

   Speaker: Vimal Mishra, MD, director of digital health, American Medical Association, and medical director, associate professor of medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University

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   1. This session offered insights into the AMA Return on Health (ROH) research and framework for measuring the value of virtual care across various types of practices, payment models, virtual care modalities, and clinical conditions.

10. May 20, 2021: Adopting OpenNotes

    1. Speaker: Catherine DesRoches, DrPH, executive director, OpenNotes, and associate professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School

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    3. This webinar looked at ways to address concerns and provide guidance on best practices for sharing clinical notes with patients.

11. May 19, 2021: Heath care well-being and burnout during COVID-19: Findings from a national survey

    1. Speaker: Kyra Cappelucci, project administrator, American Medical Association

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    3. As the COVID-19 pandemic began to take hold in the U.S., the AMA launched a national assessment tool to support health systems in continuously monitoring well-being. This webinar discussed this, as well as insights and solutions shared.

12. May 13, 2021: Association of Physician Burnout With Suicidal Ideation and Medical Errors

    1. Speakers: Nikitha Krishna Menon, social science research professional, Stanford WellMD & WellPhD Center, and Mickey Trockel, MD, PhD, director of evidence based innovation, Stanford University School of Medicine WellMD Center

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    3. Speakers discuss findings from their study, “Association of Physician Burnout With Suicidal Ideation and Medical Errors,” published in JAMA Network Open in 2020. They discuss the implications of the relationships between burnout, depression, suicidal ideation and medical error for organizations aiming to support physicians and their care teams.

13. May 11, 2021: Introduction to the AMA Telehealth Immersion Program

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    2. This webinar guided participants through the AMA Telehealth Immersion Program, what they could expect, and how to get involved.

14. April 28, 2021: Stress First Aid for health care professionals

    1. Speakers: Richard Westphal, PhD, RN, FAAN, director, Alliance for Compassionate Care, School of Nursing, co-director, Be Wise: Wisdom and Wellbeing, UVA Health; Patricia J. Watson, MD, clinical psychologist, National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

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    3. This webinar focuses on Stress First Aid (SFA), a peer support and self-care model designed to improve self-care and assist peers in reducing the negative impacts of stress. SFA is practical, flexible and tailored to the specific styles and needs of those involved. 

15. April 21, 2021: Taming the EHR

    1. Speaker: Marie Brown, MD, professor, internal medicine, Rush Medical College, and director of practice redesign, American Medical Association

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    3. The Electronic Health Record (EHR) is here to stay and a source of great frustration for many of us. You have more control than you think. The EHR vendor is often blamed for inefficiencies that your local IT/compliance teams have put in place. Learn what is under your control and tips that can save you hundreds of hours. 

16. April 20, 2021: Fostering physician humanism and connection with patients

    1. Speaker: Donna Zulman, MD, MS, assistant professor, Division of Primary Care and Population Health, Stanford University School of Medicine and associate director, Center for Innovation to Implementation, VA Palo Alto Health Care System

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    3. To provide quality care and reduce burnout, it is important to address patient-physician connections Join Donna Zulman, MD, for a discussion on practices that foster physician presence and connection with patients.

17. April 7, 2021: Challenges to team-based care: COVID-19 and beyond

    1. Speaker: Kevin Hopkins, MD, medical director, Cleveland Clinic Strongsville Family Health and Ambulatory Surgery Center

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    3. This webinar discusses the challenges to team-based care presented by the rapid pivot to telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic, and outline other, more common setbacks affecting team-based care, such as: staffing issues (open positions, turnover, recruitment, PTO coverage), workflow disruptions (technology issues, office emergencies, disagreeable patients), panel management during provider absence, and regulatory roadblocks. 

18. March 25, 2021: What makes a high performing practice?

    1. Speaker: Kathleen Blake, MD, vice president of healthcare quality, American Medical Association

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    3. What are the essential ingredients that contribute to the success and sustainability of America’s small (<15) physician-owned high-performing practices? Dr. Kathleen Blake, AMA’s vice president of healthcare quality, will share the results of recent interviews conducted by Mathematica with family medicine, internal medicine, cardiology, and surgical specialists across the country. Learn how 25 practices succeeded in today’s challenging environment and about the free tools and resources that AMA has developed to help independent physicians succeed. 

19. March 24, 2021: Seeking feedback like you mean it: Time to take IACTion 

    1. Speaker: Mark Greenawald, MD, professor and vice chair, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Carilion Clinic and the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine

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    2. When was the last time you actively sought feedback from someone who is regularly affected by your leadership or work, or when someone senior to you directly sought feedback from you?  For too many, the answer is “it’s been a while.”  And yet, without regular, useful feedback, how can anyone know if they are on target with their intentions or realize their impact on others? This interactive webinar will allow for you to begin to consider feedback in an entirely new way and will provide a structure and tools that have the potential to accelerate your professional growth. If you are eager to grow, this will be an hour well-invested.

20. March 2, 2021: Cognitive workload: A modifiable contributor to physician burnout?

    1. Speakers: Christine Sinsky, MD, vice president of professional satisfaction, American Medical Association & Elizabeth Harry, MD, senior director of clinical affairs, University of Colorado Hospital and visiting associate professor of Medicine, University of Colorado Hospital School of Medicine-Division of Hospital Medicine

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    3. Cognitive workload contributes to burnout. In this presentation Drs. Elizabeth Harry and Christine Sinsky discuss findings from their study, “Physician Task Load and the Risk of Burnout Among US Physicians in a National Survey,” published in The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety in 2020. This investigation found that physicians with higher levels of cognitive workload have higher rates of burnout.

21. Feb. 17, 2021: Medical assistants: Recruitment and retention

    1. Speaker: Marie Brown, MD, professor, internal medicine, Rush Medical College and director of practice redesign, American Medical Association

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    3. With 1,600 guidelines that must be addressed and only a 20-minute visit, providing care requires a team. The medical assistant’s role is crucial but too often underutilized.  Recruiting and retaining quality staff is also challenging. Learn how to increase the number of MAs that are trained with innovative programs and retain the best.

22. Feb. 11, 2021: Physician burnout: It’s not a resiliency deficit

    1. Speakers: Christine Sinsky, MD, vice president of professional satisfaction, American Medical Association & Colin West, MD, PhD professor of medicine, medical education, and biostatistics, Mayo Clinic

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    3. Experts will discuss findings from the study, “Resilience and Burnout Among Physicians and the General U.S. Working Population,” published in JAMA Network Open in 2020. The authors of the study will discuss efforts that health care organization leaders can do to address system issues to reduce burnout and promote physician wellbeing.

23. Feb. 4, 2021: Rethinking wellness: COVID-19 and the search for meaning

    1. Speaker: Bryant Adibe, MD, system vice president and chief wellness officer, Rush University System for Health

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    3. The COVID-19 pandemic provides a unique opportunity for health systems to rethink their perspectives on wellbeing, including reimagining this commitment as a core institutional value. Join this interactive discussion on  wellness, community and our common search for meaning.

24. Feb. 3, 2021: No one should care alone: Creating processes for intentional professional connection

    1. Speaker: Mark Greenawald, MD, professor and vice chair, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Carilion Clinic and the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine

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    3. Peer support programs have become widespread within the health care community and serve a vital role. These programs, however, generally only address the “tip of the iceberg” when it comes to the sense of distress and disconnection being experienced by many physicians. This presentation will help participants consider how to incorporate processes of intentional professional connection into their organizations, and into their own professional lives.

25. Feb. 2, 2021: A review of telehealth trends: Informing the future of virtual care

    1. Speaker: Stacy Lloyd, MPH, director of digital health & operations, American Medical Association

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    3. The AMA engaged in several research efforts over the last 8 months aimed at understanding the experiences physicians and patients have had using telehealth during COVID-19. In this presentation, we’ll discuss findings and identify opportunities to optimize telehealth and virtual care for enhanced impact now and into the future.

26. Jan. 27, 2021: The Scholars of Wellness: A faculty development program to create wellness champions

    1. Speaker: Gaurava Agarwal, MD, associate professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Medical Education, Northwestern's Feinberg School of Medicine and director of physician well-being at Northwestern Medicine Medical Groups

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    3. The award-winning faculty development initiative called the Scholars of Wellness will be presented, which can be adopted by organizations to help create a critical mass of faculty wellness champions that can advance well-being at the organizational level. 

27. Jan. 26, 2021: Building well-being into culture

    1. Speakers: Luis Garcia, MD, FACS, MBA, FASMBS, president, Sanford Health Clinic; Heather Spies, MD Medical Director of Clinician Experience, Sanford Health; Aaste Campbell Director of Clinician Experience, Sanford Health

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    3. Sanford Health is proud to be a physician-led integrated health system. In this webinar, the co-directors of their clinician experience office, Dr. Heather Spies and Aaste Campbell, will share how Sanford‘s clinicians are supported to help optimize work-life integration across the entire spectrum of their careers.

28. Jan. 19, 2021: Vaccinations: Roadmap for success

    1. Speaker: Marie Brown, MD, professor, internal medicine, Rush Medical College and director of practice redesign, American Medical Association 

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    3. Getting from “No, thanks” to “Yes!” The COVID pandemic has not changed the crucial conversations with have with patients about vaccines. Understanding why vaccine hesitancy exists is the first step toward increasing acceptance. Learn how to communicate with storytelling and metaphors, not just numbers. Start with your own healthcare team–they may be hesitant too.

29. Jan. 14, 2021: Telehealth policy & coverage: What you need to know for 2021

    1. Speakers: Kimberly Horvath, JD, senior legislative attorney, Advocacy Resource Center, American Medical Association &  Sandy Marks, senior assistant director of federal affairs, American Medical Association

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    3. Telehealth was thrust onto the main stage in 2020 as a way to keep people safe while still receiving care amidst the pandemic. Telehealth continues to cement its place in care delivery now and into the future. The AMA has been instrumental in advocating for telehealth policies and coverage that support the long-term, sustainable use of telehealth as an option for physicians and patients. Learn the latest developments and updates on policy and coverage at the federal and state level to ensure your practice is prepared to successfully leverage telehealth in 2021.

1. Dec. 16 and Dec. 17, 2020: The Habit of Gratitude: Being Positively Contagious

   1. Speaker: Mark Greenawald, MD, professor and vice chair, Department of Family & Community Medicine, Carilion Clinic and the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine 

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   3. Research has shown that having a grateful outlook can enhance an individual’s psychological as well as physical well-being. Additionally, this positive outlook can precipitate the phenomenon of “positive contagion” within an organization, and therefore gratitude becomes a health care leadership imperative, particularly in our presently challenging times. 
   4. This presentation, designed to be both reflective as well as interactive, will help participants consider how to integrate the habit of gratitude more into their own lives as well as bring that same habit to their organizational cultures. 

2. Dec. 9, 2020: Practical Practices: Behavioral Health Integration

   1. Speaker: Kathleen Blake, MD, MPH, vice president of healthcare quality, American Medical Association

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   3. Learn about key findings from a behavioral health integration study conducted by AMA and the RAND Corporation and describe how AMA and multiple medical specialty societies are working to remove obstacles and improve care for people with behavioral and mental health conditions–along with observations on how these efforts can help physicians and practices in today’s unprecedented environment of COVID-19. 

3. Dec. 3, 2020: Organizational Culture and Physician Well-being

   1. Speaker: Kevin Taylor, MD, medical director, IHA primary care and geriatric services, Towsley Health Center 

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   3. Learn the key physician leadership behaviors that will improve their team’s satisfaction at work. Learn active inquiry tools to assist in engaging your physician colleagues to decrease emotional exhaustion and burnout. 

4. Dec. 2, 2020: Managing Mental Health During COVID-19

   1. Speaker: Christopher Botts, care delivery and payment manager, professional satisfaction & practice sustainability, American Medical Association 

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   3. During a crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic, it is common for everyone to experience increased levels of distress and anxiety, particularly as a result of social isolation. Physicians and other front-line health care professionals are particularly vulnerable to negative mental health effects as they strive to balance the duty of caring for patients with concerns about their own well-being and that of their family and friends.

   4. In this webinar, Botts will discuss some of the strategies outlined in a resource developed by the AMA to manage mental well-being while also caring for patients during the pandemic or any other crisis. 

5. Nov. 12, 2020: Keeping Your Practice Open During COVID-19

   1. Speaker: Carol Vargo, MHS, director of practice sustainability, American Medical Association 

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   3. As physicians work to keep open their practices during the COVID-19 pandemic, measures to limit the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to patients, caregivers, staff and themselves to ensure the safe delivery of needed care are critical. Building upon and referencing CDC guidance, the American Medical Association has developed a checklist to ensure that medical practices are well-situated to remain open. 

6. Nov. 10, 2020: How to Implement a Peer Support Program During a Crisis 

   1. Speaker: Jo Shapiro, MD, FACS, associate professor of otolaryngology head and neck surgery, Harvard Medical School 

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   3. Understand the importance of peer support, the fundamentals for operationalizing a peer-support program in health systems and practices, and how peer support can potentially change organizational culture–especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

7. Nov. 5, 2020: Telehealth Vendor Evaluation, Selection, and Contracting

   1. Speaker: Stacy Lloyd, MPH, director of digital health & operations, American Medical Association 

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   3. Choosing the right vendor is crucial for the sustainable, successful use of telehealth as a mode for delivering care. This presentation will focus on key considerations for evaluating, selecting, and contracting with new vendors. By selecting a vendor that is worthy of a long-term partnership, it helps to ensure support throughout the implementation process and beyond–and helps identify a partner who is equally motivated as you and your practice or organization to achieve successful outcomes. 

8. Oct. 29, 2020: Telehealth and Team-based Care: How to Best Engage Support Staff to Successfully Implement TBC in Telemedicine

   1. Speaker: James Jerzak, MD, family physician, Bellin Health 

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   3. Understand how to best engage support staff to successfully implement the Team-Based Care model in telemedicine. 

9. Oct. 14, 2020: Leading Through a Crisis: Communication During COVID Times

   1. Speaker: Suja Mathew, MD, chair, Department of Medicine, Cook County Health and Hospitals System 

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   3. Outline strategies that can be used to communicate with your workforce during a crisis. Specifically, develop appropriate content, frequency, and medium of COVID-19 communications.  

10. Oct. 13, 2020: Physician Stress During Times of COVID

    1. Speaker: Mark Linzer, MD, M. Thomas Stillman endowed chair and vice-chief for education, mentorship, and scholarship in the Department of Medicine, Hennepin Healthcare and professor of medicine, University of Minnesota 

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    3. Learn about preliminary key findings from the AMA’s Coping with COVID surveys, how to alleviate stress during a crisis, and organizational resources to support physicians.

11. Oct. 8, 2020: Caring for Healthcare Workers During a Crisis

    1. Speaker: Jonathan Ripp, MD, professor of medicine, medical education and geriatrics and palliative medicine, senior associate dean for well-being and resilience and chief wellness officer at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS) 

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    3. Identify actionable steps to navigate all stages of a crisis in a way that promotes workforce well-being. 

12. Oct. 6, 2020: Telehealth and Team-based Care: The Shift to Telemedicine and Navigating Through Potential Pitfalls

    1. Speaker: Kevin Hopkins, MD, medical director at the Cleveland Clinic Strongsville Family Health and Ambulatory Surgery Center 

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    3. Discuss the shift to telemedicine in team-based care and identify potential pitfalls that can come with the transition. 

Learn more about the AMA’s work in practice transformation that aims to create the conditions where joy, purpose and meaning are possible for physicians and other health professionals.