The Sonoma-Mendicino Lakes Medical Association and the San Francisco Marine Medical Association on Friday night recognized groups of individuals and medical organizations for their work supporting physician health.
At the 2024 Physician Wellness Expo, 11 area physicians received awards for their contributions to initiatives and programs that address burnout in the medical profession. The event was held at the Sheraton Sonoma Wine Country in Petaluma.
“This award ceremony brings together like-minded professionals and organizations to promote physician self-care, job satisfaction, and community engagement,” said Wendy Davis, executive director of the Sonoma-Mendicino Lakes Physician Association. “This creates opportunities for collaboration that fosters collaboration,” the company said in a news release. . “When doctors are healthy and engaged, we all benefit.”
Dr. Gary McLeod, a family physician with Sutter Health who attended the event, said it’s important to support doctors.
“Unfortunately, physician burnout is rapidly increasing, and there is good evidence that improved physician health can improve quality of care, increase patient compliance, and minimize errors. We have data,” said McLeod, who has been in medicine for 34 years. “What this means is that how individual physicians feel about themselves in the world influences how they practice medicine.”
McLeod also serves as president of Sutter Medical Group in Redwood.
“Quite frankly, our mission is just to take care of the community,” McLeod said, adding that the group of about 145 members hosts many events throughout the year. “We feel strongly that health care is a difficult job and cannot be done alone. So that’s kind of our guiding principle in our approach to health.”
Dr. John Chuck, chief health officer at California North State University in Elk Grove, delivered the keynote address, titled “Courage, Responsibility, and Divinity.”
Chuck’s presentation included the overarching recognition that physicians are seen, that they are not alone, that their lives have meaning, and that their work “heals the world.” It included ways for physicians to manage their thinking.
“We applaud the leaders and organizations that responded to disruption with the courage to try to make something good out of it,” Chuck told the Business Journal ahead of Friday’s event.
“I know what it’s like to practice. It’s very difficult,” said Chuck, a health consultant for medical professionals and now a retired family physician.
“Doctors work in the office from 8 to 6, come home, have a 30-minute dinner, and then work 4 hours at home just filling out all the charts, answering all the emails, and evaluating tests. It’s not uncommon. It can be all-consuming.”
