Each physician begins their day committed to delivering the best possible care, often navigating unique pressures such as heavy workloads, administrative burdens, and limited support. Some amount of stress is inevitable, but the modern pressures of the job create a unique set of challenges.
Staffing issues, a lack of institutional support, and excess administrative work are all pushing health workers to the brink. The combination of these factors provides a reason why burnout is such a widespread concern in the medical industry. An overworked and overwhelmed workforce is not capable of providing optimal care for its patients.
Investing in physician engagement strategies is a prime way to help doctors perform to the best of their ability. Physician engagement instills health workers with greater confidence in their roles, enabling them to deliver more effective care for their patients. Read on to learn why physician engagement tools are so valuable, and how to implement best practices into your organization or daily practice.
Why is physician engagement important?
Physician engagement involves doctors feeling empowered, valued, and motivated in their roles. It includes having meaningful input in clinical and organizational decisions, with leadership supporting a shared vision that enables physicians to deliver their best care.
Physician engagement delivers several benefits, such as:
- Improved physician performance
- Reduced medical costs
- Better experiences for patients
- Increased patient referrals
- Lower chance of burnout/staff turnover
Physician engagement is also crucial to the short and long-term financial forecast of healthcare institutions. Physicians are now asked to raise the market value of their organizations by using their knowledge and experience of various conditions to provide efficient and accurate diagnoses, prescriptions, and referrals to patients. Engaged physicians deliver greater value than disinterested medical professionals. A 2014 Gallup poll found that engaged physicians were 26% more productive than their disengaged counterparts. This productivity spike equated to an average $460,000 in annual patient revenue per physician.
In a small-sample internal Sermo poll, 50% of participating community members in the U.S. felt that they were very engaged in their role as a physician, while another 40% expressed that they were somewhat engaged. Those are highly promising statistics, but unfortunately, physician engagement is not a given in every environment. A 2021 Jackson Physician Search study found that only 10% of physicians felt actively engaged, with another 69% feeling actively disengaged from their role. A Press Ganey survey corroborated that sentiment with data that showed a decline in physician engagement every year since 2020. There are clear signs that taking measures to stay engaged on a deeper level improves your practice at every level, but the full potential of physician engagement has yet to be realized in every workplace.
The key drivers of physician engagement
Physician engagement doesn’t happen automatically; it grows when doctors have the autonomy, resources, and support needed to thrive in their work, supported by leadership committed to creating a positive work environment that respects physicians’ professional judgment and well-being
Our Sermo poll asked participants what variables most impacted their engagement at work. Here is a rundown of those variables, ranked by the percentage of votes they received:
- Work-life balance (70%) – Maintaining a healthy work-life balance is a practical and ethical necessity for all physicians. As a physician, maintaining a healthy work-life balance involves setting boundaries, prioritizing self-care, and seeking support to manage workload. Organizations can support this by offering flexible scheduling and respecting physicians’ control over their time.
- Patient interactions and outcomes (60%) – Before everything else, the focus of all medical care is the patient. If conversations with them are constructive and consistently positive outcomes are found to cure or manage their conditions, then physicians are more likely to feel enthused about their work. 51% of surveyed Sermo members said they were very satisfied with the level of care they provide to patients. Another 41% were somewhat satisfied.
- Administrative burdens (55%) – Getting bogged down in menial, administrative tasks can drain the enthusiasm for many jobs, including physicians. Finding methods to take some of these duties off your plate, such as the use of AI, can help retain the energy and clarity needed to perform work at the height of your potential.
- Compensation and incentives (55%) – Unlike many professions, physicians are typically not compensated for their time outside of patient care, such as time spent on administrative work or in meetings.
Delivering the right incentives for quality work is crucial to attracting qualified staff and keeping them satisfied with their roles. For most, competitive compensation is enough, but others may be motivated by other means. High retention rates are a clear indicator that physician needs are being met, and are a factor physicians should look out for when considering a new position, along with their potential earnings.
- Relationship with leadership (27%) – Recognizing excellent performance with encouraging messages or tangible rewards builds morale among the group. It also demonstrates a commitment to shared goals between physicians and leadership figures.
- Opportunities for professional growth (24%) – For ambitious physicians looking to develop their skills, practices that offer avenues to continue their education and advance their careers will go a long way to inspiring greater drive from some individuals.
Strategies for improving physician engagement
The evidence makes it clear that physician engagement confers benefits for everyone, but it may be tough to know how to implement the right processes without preexisting knowledge. Here are some examples of physician engagement best practices:
Align on personal and organizational goals
A shared agreement on what makes up the most important values in healthcare is fundamental to physician engagement. An aligned vision of the future gives each physician a resonant cause to motivate them and build more meaningful connections with other physicians and their role within the organization.
Finding these values should be a priority during the interview process. Physicians benefit from clarifying their own values and goals, finding alignment with the organization’s mission to enhance motivation and satisfaction. Leadership can facilitate this process by encouraging open dialogue and collaboration.
Foster open dialogue with leadership to address concerns
While setting overall goals is ultimately on senior leaders, they should not operate in a vacuum. Physicians should also be heavily involved in the decision-making process regarding workflows, care methodologies, and policy changes. Cultivating a collaborative culture encourages teamwork among staff members and fosters the idea of a shared purpose guiding everyone towards the organization’s goals. For this culture to take hold, communication has to be a two-way street. Leadership and physicians must be able to have transparent discussions with each other and provide regular feedback with the goal of attaining higher levels of performance.
Focus on improving work-life balance
Jobs in the medical industry can quickly become all-encompassing if you’re not careful. Anyone who feels overworked or stressed out about their job will find it difficult to do their role efficiently. This is particularly dangerous when you’re dealing with a patient’s health. Finding ways to promote a work-life balance is essential. This can be accomplished by maintaining reasonable work hours, exploring flexible scheduling options, and participating in wellness programs to manage the various pressures of the job.
Strengthen patient relationships
The patient-physician relationship is an intimate one built on trust and respect. Patients have to reveal personal information about their health and current conditions and trust that medical professionals will do everything they can to provide the best treatment possible. A strong rapport between patients and physicians creates a virtuous cycle where patients get better medical care and physicians will be more engaged if they see their labor is producing great results. Physicians can improve relationships with their patients by utilizing person-centered care built around a person’s specific condition, circumstances, and personality. Showing genuine interest and empathy for patients in conversations is another way to develop emotional connections with physicians.
A key aspect of building better relationships with patients is to meet them where they are. Visiting a medical practice in person isn’t always feasible, so providing telemedicine services is an additional method of enhancing engagement for both physicians and patients. This can also enhance your organization’s reputation, enticing patients to seek out care specifically from your team.
Seek patient feedback for continuous improvement
Keeping an open mind and continually looking for ways to improve as a physician is likely to raise engagement. The expectations from patients when they meet with a physician are a moving target, and an approach that works for one patient may not be optimal for another. Soliciting real-time feedback from patients via surveys, anonymous forms, and suggestion boxes gives you insight into their experience that can be used to track treatment outcomes, physician performances, and make treatment adjustments informed by the data. Reaching out to fellow physicians for evaluations also increases engagement and cultivates a supportive culture where everyone helps to maintain high standards of care.
Push for fair compensation and resource allocation
Recognition is a powerful feeling. Physician engagement will rise if physicians feel that their work is acknowledged by leadership and they have the necessary tools at their disposal to perform their medical duties. Appreciation comes in many forms. Offering a contract featuring a competitive salary and an impressive benefits package is the most obvious way to show physicians that they are valued by the organization. Providing access to modern tools and administrative support is another palpable example of creating a supportive work environment that enables physicians to work with heightened confidence and excitement for their jobs.
Overcoming barriers to physician engagement
Even if you implement some or all of these physician engagement strategies in your organization, you still have to contend with the everyday challenges that can compel physicians to dissociate from their work. The main factors that lower physician engagement include:
- A lack of autonomy in the workplace
- Extreme workloads
- Administrative burdens
- Unclear communication
- Unresponsive leadership
- Frustrations with medical technology
- A lack of training and resources
These issues can also be magnified by racial and gender bias in the workplace. Physicians of color and women doctors sometimes struggle to be taken as seriously as their white male counterparts due to subconscious and conscious stereotypes affecting overall decision-making.
To overcome these obstacles, physicians must be treated as valued voices in the organization. Physicians should feel empowered to voice their concerns and contribute to shaping their work environment. Effective leadership listens actively and fosters a culture where physician input drives organizational decisions. Work-relevant information should be distributed openly, with feedback encouraged to promote a collaborative and supportive culture. Providing consistent help with administrative tasks also frees up physicians to spend more time on delivering high-quality patient care.
Physicians often have different responsibilities within an organization. To help manage these roles, engagement plans can be customized to fit individual specialties or personal preferences. And as leaders gather more data from training programs and patient outcomes, using analytics to find statistical trends can help demonstrate how physicians can produce better results going forward.
Conclusion
When physicians are engaged, fulfilled, and supported, they are better able to provide high-quality care, experience greater job satisfaction, and contribute meaningfully to their teams and organizations.
Physicians are much more likely to be productive and deliver better patient outcomes when they believe they have all the tools and support they need to perform on a daily basis. Effective communication skills and a team-based approach are essential for implementing any physician engagement strategy.
You can learn how to refine these skills and other nuances of physician engagement on Sermo. Our community brings together healthcare workers from around the world to discuss best practices and share their thoughts on current trends in the industry. Sign up for Sermo today to take part in the conversation.
