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Physician Wellness Quarterly Update

Also in this issue: Professional Development Opportunities, Health Resources, &  Meet Your Wellness Leaders

3-4 min read  | July 2025

On July 16, the Physician Wellness Office hosted an open-invite discussion of the 2025 PW survey results.

What you told us matters most: 

🌟 Improving efficiency, capacity, and throughput - Absolutely! We hear you loud and clear: let’s work together to make the system work for us.

🌟 Building stronger connections with executive leadership - You want more meaningful dialogue, and leadership does too.

🌟 Reducing administrative burdens - We’ve made headway, but there’s more to do.

🌟 Addressing incivility  - High-stress, high-volume environments test all of us. But even under pressure, respect and empathy must remain our foundation. Let’s work toward a culture where kindness and supporting one another through challenging moments are the norm.

What we learned from the survey data:

✅ Burnout is more common, but its severity is going down.

✅ Fewer physicians are planning to leave.

🌧️ Feelings of sadness are strongly linked with burnout.

🤝 A sense of belonging makes people more likely to stay.

💬 Political stress and In Basket/MyChart burdens continue to weigh on many of us.

🏆 Feeling unappreciated remains the most common reason for considering leaving.

What's Next: Results Become Plans

Your Department Wellness Director is responsible for making and implementing a Wellness Plan based on your survey results & guidance from colleagues' feedback. 

Proposal Deadline: September 24, 2025

In efforts to enhance empathy and compassion in healthcare, the Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion has generously committed funding to support UC San Diego Health’s research and education on physician wellness.

This commitment supports multiple educational initiatives, including UC San Diego Health Physician Wellness Grants, which study the drivers of and interventions for wellness. 

Recruitment Deadline: August 31, 2025

UC San Diego’s Center for Compassionate Communication is recruiting clinically active UC San Diego physicians for the UC San Diego Health: Sanford Compassionate Communication Academy Fellowship. 

Candidates who have a strong drive to advance compassionate communication in their Department or Division are encouraged to apply. 

Get one-on-one mental health support from coaches and clinicians, alongside hundreds of guided meditation and mindfulness exercises - right from your smartphone. 

Peer Support is actively transforming our UCSDH culture by giving us the opportunity to connect, share challenges, and support each other. 

UCSD Recreation is offering free health coaching for staff and faculty with our Health Coach interns from Point Loma Nazarene University. 

Do you have a health related goal that you want to reach? Is there a habit you want to change? Health coaching is for you!

A Health Coach is a trained professional who works with clients in a 1-1 virtual meeting. The goal of health coaching is to create long-lasting behavior change.

The UC San Diego Health Healer Education Assessment & Referral (HEAR) Program provides free and confidential emotional support, education, anonymous stress and depression screening, and referral and support to all UC San Diego Health learners and workers.

Help Us Improve the HEAR Program – Your Feedback Matters

This quick, 2-minute survey will help our HEAR team gain insights into how our services are supporting UC San Diego Health physicians.

Q: What’s one wellness tip you live by?
A: When in doubt, take a nap.

Q: When you’re not working, how do you recharge?
A: I’m currently addicted to the endorphins that come with cycling. I’ll try to get in a long ride once or twice a week, ideally capped with a brief swim in the ocean.

Q: What’s a fun fact most people don’t know about you?
A: I played D2 college soccer and was captain my senior year. We had an atrocious record but it was a lot of fun.  

Q: What’s your favorite part about advancing wellness within our physician community?
A: The opportunity to meet and collaborate with so many smart, hardworking and compassionate colleagues across the institution.  

The Department Wellness Directors (DWD) of 18 clinical departments in the School of Medicine and CommUnity Care are responsible for developing a plan for physician wellness that addresses that department’s culture, wellness needs and goals. The Department Wellness Directors participate in a monthly committee that meets for collaborative discussion, planning, and alignment on wellness initiatives across departments. This committee is chaired by Dr. Joe Diaz, Department of Medicine DWD. 

Connect with your Department Wellness Director
to learn about wellness improvement efforts in your department!

Cultivating an Extraordinary Culture of Physician Wellness

For any questions please email: physicianwellnessadm@health.ucsd.edu 

Mental Health Resources | Meet UCSD's Wellness Leaders | Recognize A Colleague | Academic Opportunities | Family Benefits | GME Resources