News: Survey provides insights for physician engagement efforts

When asked to rank their level of engagement on a scale of one to 10, with 10 being the most engaged, 63.5% of physicians indicated they feel more engaged (ranking their engagement at a six or higher) with their facility than just three years ago, according to a survey from Physician Wellness Services and Cejka Search, published in the H&HN Daily article “Building Physician Engagement in Your Organization.”

Study authors Daniel Whitlock, MD, MBA, and Robert Stark, MD, consultants with Physician Wellness Services in Minneapolis, say that facilities need to keep physician engagement momentum going and to “instill passion in our physicians for their practice setting and their health system.” They offered the following three tips:

1. Check the pulse of physicians' engagement. Ask physicians how they are feeling, and what would help them feel more engaged and motivated to participate in hospital initiatives. An anonymous survey of physician staff can help generate more survey participants while allowing the facility to ask pointed questions and glean pertinent information.
2. Share survey results and encourage discussion. Whatever concerns arise from the survey, they need to be carefully vetted and responded to. Consider creating a multi-disciplinary team to spearhead the effort and communicate results across departments and facilitate discourse.
3. Develop a road map of what needs to change, communicate, and act. “While some changes may fit within existing organizational and clinical frameworks, leaders may need help to create resources to address physician engagement,” the article states.