Faculty mentor/PI email address
jim010@aol.com
Is your research Teaching and Learning based?
1
Keywords
Emergency Medicine; Physician Wellness; Burnout; Sleep; Exercise; Meaning in Work; Occupational Health; Resilience; Physician Sustainability
Date of Presentation
5-6-2026 12:00 AM
Poster Abstract
Background
Physician wellness measurement in Emergency Medicine (EM) in particular and in healthcare in general has largely focused on identifying distress states such as emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. Instruments such as the Maslach Burnout Inventory and related derivative surveys have been well-validated and have played a central role in identifying the scope of burnout across healthcare systems.
Conceptual Framing
While current measures of distress are essential, they may not fully characterize the spectrum of clinician health. In many fields outside healthcare—including occupational health, resilience research, and positive psychology—assessment of well-being includes behaviors and experiences associated with sustained health, such as sleep quality, physical activity, restorative personal practices, and meaning in work.
Proposal
This conceptual paper proposes that EM wellness assessment (and healthcare in general) may benefit from the addition of four complementary domains: physiological sustainability such a sleep quality measures, exercise (such as intentional exercise, sports) , restoration (e.g. outside activities, hobbies, etc) and meaning (especially sense of reward, meaning from clinical work). . These domains reflect biologic, behavioral, and psychological contributors to sustained functioning in high-stress environments.
Implications
Incorporating such measures alongside traditional burnout instruments could allow future research to better characterize not only the presence of distress but also the presence of durable health states among clinicians.
Conclusions
Expanding wellness measurement to include positive health domains may provide a more complete understanding of clinician sustainability in Emergency Medicine and in healthcare in general and may support future work exploring patterns of long-term professional vitality.
Disciplines
Emergency Medicine | Medicine and Health Sciences | Other Mental and Social Health
Reframing Emergency Medicine (and Healthcare) Wellness Measures: The Case for Adding Measures of Physiological Sustainability, Exercise, Restoration, and Meaning
Background
Physician wellness measurement in Emergency Medicine (EM) in particular and in healthcare in general has largely focused on identifying distress states such as emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. Instruments such as the Maslach Burnout Inventory and related derivative surveys have been well-validated and have played a central role in identifying the scope of burnout across healthcare systems.
Conceptual Framing
While current measures of distress are essential, they may not fully characterize the spectrum of clinician health. In many fields outside healthcare—including occupational health, resilience research, and positive psychology—assessment of well-being includes behaviors and experiences associated with sustained health, such as sleep quality, physical activity, restorative personal practices, and meaning in work.
Proposal
This conceptual paper proposes that EM wellness assessment (and healthcare in general) may benefit from the addition of four complementary domains: physiological sustainability such a sleep quality measures, exercise (such as intentional exercise, sports) , restoration (e.g. outside activities, hobbies, etc) and meaning (especially sense of reward, meaning from clinical work). . These domains reflect biologic, behavioral, and psychological contributors to sustained functioning in high-stress environments.
Implications
Incorporating such measures alongside traditional burnout instruments could allow future research to better characterize not only the presence of distress but also the presence of durable health states among clinicians.
Conclusions
Expanding wellness measurement to include positive health domains may provide a more complete understanding of clinician sustainability in Emergency Medicine and in healthcare in general and may support future work exploring patterns of long-term professional vitality.