Editorial lists five actions to protect clinicians’ well-being

Clinicians on the front lines of COVID-19 are no less heroic or vulnerable than the first responders who still cope with the long-term health effects of their service following the September 11 terrorist attacks. In a recent editorial in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), three physicians drew this comparison and outlined five high-priority actions to protect clinicians’ well-being during and after the COVID-19 crisis. The authors advocated integrating the work of wellness officers in key institutional decision-making bodies; creating anonymous reporting mechanisms for staff; and supplementing existing well-being programs. At a national level, they proposed allocating funding for clinician care and tracking clinician well-being and intervention outcomes. The authors are affiliated with the National Academy of Medicine Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience. (NEJM article, 5/13/20)