Texas’ Physician Wellness Efforts Recognized Nationally
By Jessica Ridge

This month, the Lone Star State more than quintupled its share of health care institutions to have earned a national accolade measuring commitment to reducing burnout and enhancing professional fulfillment for physicians.  

The American Medical Association’s Joy in Medicine Health System Recognition program applies its eponymous designation to organizations that fulfill six pillars of criteria, with recognition valid for two years. Two Texas health care institutions received the designation in 2024, Texas Children’s Pediatrics and the University of Texas Health Science Center. Nine additional Texas health care organizations achieved the benchmark this year, bringing the state’s total of honored organizations to 11.  

They join a cohort of 153 currently recognized honorees in other states. The new Texas recipients are: 

• Baylor Scott & White’s the Heart Hospital, Plano 

• Christus Health, Christus Trinity Clinic, Irving 

• Cook Children's Physician Network, Fort Worth 

• Houston Methodist 

• Methodist Mansfield Medical Center 

• Parkland Health, Dallas 

• The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston 

• University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas 

• VA Texas Valley Coastal Bend Health Care System, Harlingen 

"Health care organizations are moving the needle on physician burnout and professional satisfaction by employing strategies like eliminating unnecessary task work for physicians, supporting physician-led team-based care, and re-imagining how technology tools can be leveraged to improve efficiency," said Michael Tutty, AMA group vice president of professional satisfaction and practice sustainability, in the release announcing the newly named institutions. 

A recent Mayo Clinic study found that 45.2% of physician respondents reported experiencing at least one symptom of burnout, down from 62.8% in 2021. Despite that progress, physicians continue to be at higher risk of burnout than the general U.S. working population, the study found. 

At the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, “wellness is not an afterthought, but an organizational priority,” supported institutionally by leadership, says Carin Hagberg, MD, an anesthesiologist and professor who serves as a senior vice president and chief academic officer at the center. 

MD Anderson’s wellness programs began by asking a simple but important question: “What do our faculty and physicians need most to thrive?” she said. The answer: Anchoring the center’s efforts in institutional data – starting with its Listen, Learn, and Act survey and, more recently, the Professional Wellness Academic Consortium survey – which help identify drivers of burnout and areas where support is most urgently needed. 

MD Anderson has implemented several key initiatives to foster physician well-being, reduce stigma, and create a culture that supports both personal and professional resilience. Examples include formal peer support programs; working with the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes Foundation to remove stigmatizing language around mental health and substance use disorders from credentialing paperwork; and the opening of a 24/7 faculty lounge that doubles as a collaboration and training space.   

Meeting the criteria for the AMA Joy in Medicine designation goes beyond offering yoga, meditation, or other personal resilience programming – though those supports are important, adds Jennifer Bickel Young, MD, chief wellness officer at MD Anderson.  

“What is really distinctive about the AMA award is that it requires system changes,” Dr. Bickel. “You have to show that you’re measuring burnout.” 

For example, technology to reduce administrative burden, including an ambient listening tool, has reduced time spent on clinical documentation for MD Anderson physicians who opted in. One practitioner told leadership that it felt like he had been given back an hour or more of life every day. 

“We all know wellness isn’t just about efficiency. It’s really about restoring the energy and connection our physicians need to thrive both at work and at home. That, ultimately, [is] at the heart of our wellness strategy,” Dr. Hagberg said. 

Visit the Texas Medical Association’s Wellness First webpage for resources to support well-being and work-life integration.