Opinion: How motivational interviewing can improve health workforce well-being
The National Academy of Medicine launched its National Plan for Health Workforce Well-Being in early October. Citing years of research defining the causes and effects of burnout in health professions, internationally recognized leaders in health care devoted two hours to a launch event for an all-hands-on-deck call to action supporting their plan, which had been developed over the course of several years by the academy’s Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience.
The report focused on seven priority areas — culture, inclusion, institutionalization, mental health, policy, research, and technology — and called upon “actors” in 10 different groups (spoiler alert: if you’re reading this, you’re likely an actor) to take immediate action to improve the well-being of the health workforce. To achieve the goal set out in its title, the plan now needs to be broadly disseminated, change-makers must be activated, and advocacy must occur on the national level. It also needs some motivational interviewing (MI).
