Leading Cardiology Organizations Publish Joint Opinion on Clinician Well-Being

Laxmi Mehta, MD

A group of leading cardiovascular organizations have published a joint opinion seeking to outline the causes and impact of burnout among cardiology professionals worldwide.

Backed by the American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, European Society of Cardiology, and the World Heart Federation, the organizations hope to underscore the effects COVID-19 has had on clinician workload and address avenues of improving levels of professional fulfillment among clinicians.

"As clinicians, we continuously strive for the improved health of our patients and at the same time recognize our own welfare is paramount to them receiving optimal care," said Laxmi Mehta, MD, Section Director of Preventive Cardiology and Women’s Cardiovascular Health and Vice Chair of Wellness in the Department of Internal Medicine at The Ohio State University Wexler Medical Center, in a statement. "We will continue to work together and strategize to maintain the well-being of our workforce and keep the joy in cardiovascular medicine."

Led by Mehta, who is also Chair of the ACC’s Task Force on Clinician Well-Being, the joint opinion was created in collaboration with current or immediate past presidents of the 4 aforementioned cardiology organizations. The 5-page document was divided into 4 distinct sections: Drivers of Burnout and Its Consequences, Cardiology Burnout Data, Health Care Organizational Strategies, and Role of Medical Specialty Societies.

Learn more about the joint opinion from the summary slideshow below:

This article titled, “Clinician Well-Being—Addressing Global Needs for Improvements in the Health Care Field,” was simultaneously published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Circulation, European Heart Journal and Global Heart.