Colleagues,
I hope many of you are enjoying the Colorado summer. As my first summer here, I can see why many choose to take vacations around this time to be with families and focus on their wellness.
Wellness has been on my mind lately, and this is the focus of my message today. At the CU Medicine Board meeting this week, we got our first glimpse of the wellness data for the Department of Medicine and other Departments across campus. The findings of this survey – with a 27% response rate – are concerning. One in five faculty in the Department of Medicine (APPs and MDs) who participated in the survey met criteria for burnout. One in three had thought about leaving their positions over the next year. And compared to national benchmarks, we fared poorly in metrics related to sense of personal fulfillment and joy in our work.
To be clear, I understand that wellness is a moving target and is not homogenous. Each of us has our own way of finding joy and balancing our work and personal lives. But the fact that we performed below our national peers in relation to several key metrics creates great unease for me. This concern is shared by many other Department Chairs who also experienced similar results, and to the Dean who called this, “the most important issue we will focus on in the School going forward.”
As Chair, I am committed to not only doing this work but being the leading light for wellness on campus. We are well poised for this endeavor through our investment in WellDOM, a new Vice Chair for Faculty Development and Mentorship and a relentless focus on faculty. In the coming months, we will work to unpack our data and learn from bright spots (things that are going well) and better understand troubled areas in the Department. Using evidence-based interventions, and in partnership with the School and UCHealth, we will work with many of you to co-design interventions that address pain points and measure the impact of our efforts. While we have much to do, we cannot fix what we cannot measure. And I am grateful that we have a yardstick and a strong team ready to be able to rise to this challenge.
So please stay tuned for more information on the survey and its findings. I plan to share the data in its entirety and am considering several venues for its dissemination, including through Divisions and town hall type settings. I ask that you do your best to participate actively in these sessions and provide your input on how we can move things forward. I have no doubt that we can rise to any challenge if we come together.
Onwards,
Vineet
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Vineet Chopra, MBBS, MD, MSc |
September 15, 2023