"Wellness Officers Examine the Health of Systems" - Julia Piper
Academic medical centers around the country are creating groundbreaking jobs to help solve a long-standing problem among physicians in training and practice: burnout and stress. “Since then, about two dozen universities have placed people in similar roles,” said Jonathan Ripp, MD, MPH, senior associate dean for well-being and resilience and professor of medicine, medical education, general internal medicine, and geriatrics and palliative medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Ripp believes he was the fourth chief wellness officer in the country when he took on that role about a year and a half ago. Now, Dr. Ripp added, “We’re seeing them all over the place.” Part of Dr. Ripp’s job involves fostering personal resilience and mental health among clinicians, students, and trainees. But the real focus is on workplace efficiency and culture. “We feel that if we get a handle on that, and enable them to do their work, be the most engaged in their studies and training.”
— Jonathan A. Ripp, MD, MPH, Senior Associate Dean, Well-Being and Resilience, Chief Wellness Officer, Professor, Medicine, General Internal Medicine, Medical Education, Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai