Written by Babatunde Carew
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A leadership-endorsed, time-efficient wellness program called “The Practice” significantly improved wellbeing, emotional intelligence, and reduced burnout among healthcare staff.
Fifteen minutes to fix burnout?
Physician burnout is rampant – and it hits hard. It drives job dissatisfaction, career regret, turnover, and worse care for patients. Most alarming is the link between burnout and suicidal ideation/completion. While there is evidence that interventions can reduce burnout, more effective and time-efficient approaches are needed. This prospective cohort study evaluated “The Practice,” a 3 month leadership-endorsed workplace intervention promoting five daily well-being activities taking less than 15 minutes and biweekly meetings among 191 Mayo Clinic staff across 14 departments. WHO-5, WLEIS, and PFI scores significantly improved by month 3 (e.g. WHO-5 +28.1%, p<0.001), with sustained benefits at 12 months. Limitations include lack of a control group and possible selection bias. Results suggest integrated, leadership-supported wellness initiatives may improve clinician wellbeing and reduce burnout across healthcare teams.
The Practice: 15-minute daily ritual
- Gratitude Check
Write down 5 things you’re grateful for today. - Mindful Reading
Read 1+ page from The Mayo Clinic Guide to Stress-Free Living by Dr. Amit Sood. - Move Your Body
Stretch, walk, or get active for at least 5 minutes. - Inspiration Mining
Listen to an uplifting podcast or faith-based talk that promotes kindness and gratitude. - Team Touchpoint
Send a quick “RC” (“ritual complete”) to your wellness group chat to check in and connect.
How does this change my practice?
I work in an academic center and regularly interact with residents, a group especially vulnerable to burnout – maybe now more than ever in the post-COVID era. This study is a powerful reminder that interventions to address burnout can make a difference. Barriers like workload, stigma, and resistance to wellness interventions will likely persist, but I’d absolutely recommend something like “The Practice” given its low time cost and potential effectiveness. However, I feel it is equally important to acknowledge a fair critique of wellness interventions; namely, that they emphasize individual resilience while overlooking systemic issues within healthcare that drive burnout.
Source
The Practice: A Leadership-Endorsed Workplace Intervention to Improve Well-being in Healthcare Professionals. J Gen Intern Med. 2025 Mar 4. doi: 10.1007/s11606-025-09432-7. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40038227
