Physician Leadership Journal Peer reviewed
Mitigating Physician Burnout and Enhancing Wellness by Modeling a Gratitude Practice
Harnessing the power of gratitude can rejuvenate burned-out physicians, fostering empathy, compassion, and resilience while promoting mental well-being and unity within healthcare teams.
January/February 2025 Vol. 12, No. 1 pp. 8–10 DOI: 10.55834/plj.7122266996
Abstract
Gratitude has been shown to mediate empathy and compassion, key traits that often go missing in the burned-out physician. Gratitude interventions have been studied specifically in healthcare professionals and found to positively influence mental health and decrease burnout symptoms. Gratitude interventions, successfully deployed by physician leaders, can build cohesion and goodwill in their healthcare teams and inspire team members to find ways to be a positive force in the world. Leaders can model gratitude to create opportunities for growth, creativity, and resilience in their work force, begin the process of healing from moral injury, and foster connection in their healthcare team.
