Empowering Workplace Wellbeing

Lessons from a Chief Wellness Officer

By Dr. Nick van Terheyden aka Dr. Nick
X: @drnic1
Host of Dr. Nick: The Incrementalist – #TheIncrementalist

On this episode I talked to Richard Safeer MD, Chief Medical Director Employee Health & Well-Being at Johns Hopkins Medicine. Richard is a Family Doctor who has focused his career on building culturally sound and caring organizations.

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Employee health and well-being has become a top priority for organizations in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting Great Resignation. We discuss how leaders can create a culture that supports employee well-being.

As Richard noted the pandemic accelerated interest in employee wellbeing as healthcare systems competed for talent. Supporting wellbeing is now seen as imperative for talent acquisition and retention, and wellbeing encompasses mental, social, and biological health, without supporting employers in supporting their employees across these areas, they cannot be at their best.

We dive into the increasing burden on clinical staff with administrative tasks and lack of support roles has greatly contributed to clinician burnout. Steps like utilizing medical scribes more could provide meaningful relief.

Listen in to hear Richard talk about the range of leadership training programs that help everyone understand the day-to-day realities of employees and if you like me enjoy ‘The Undercover Boss’ this could be applied in any industry but especially in in healthcare for everyone to shadow others to build firsthand understanding of challenges.

You can find out more from his website RichardSafeer.com and his book: A Cure for the Common Company: A Well-Being Prescription for a Happier, Healthier, and More Resilient Workforce.

What steps is your organization taking to support employee well-being in a substantive way? What other insights on this topic resonated with you? Share your thoughts below.

This article was originally published on the Dr. Nick – The Incrementalist blog and is republished here with permission.

About the Show

About the Show
For years Dr. Nick van Terheyden aka Dr. Nick, has served as a voice on the impact of new technologies on healthcare, earning a reputation as a leading authority on where the future of medicine is going. Combining powers of observation and real world experience, Dr. Nick has seen many predictions come true and makes the case that innovations in healthcare can be accomplished incrementally, not just by moonshot events. Tune in to hear Dr. Nick: The Incrementalist and his guests discuss what the future of healthcare looks like, how we will get there, and what it will take to improve healthcare for all.

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