Research

Research and Publications on Physician and Scientist Well-Being

Physician and healthcare professional well-being has been regularly featured in plenary sessions, workshops, and breakout sessions at the national meetings of a number of major professional societies. As a leader in physician well-being research, the WellMD & WellPhD Center has led or co-authored many recent studies and publications.

Featured Publications

Addressing the impact of work on personal relationships for physicians

Physicians, on average, experience a greater negative impact of work on personal relationships (IWPR) than workers in other fields. Recent research by WellMD & WellPhD Center faculty, published in JAMA Network Open, demonstrated that the Relationships Recharge, a weekend experience for couples created and led by the Center, was associated with statistically significant improvements in burnout, self-valuation, and the impact of work on personal relationships (IWPR).

Reducing documentation burden with support of an ambient AI scribe

Stanford Medicine is using a new ambient AI scribe tool to help physicians spend less time on paperwork and more time with patients. This technology quickly creates drafts of clinical notes, which has already led to significant time savings and reduced stress. Recent studies have shown that the AI technology was used in over half of patient visits and helped cut down documentation time by nearly seven minutes a day. This innovative tool shows promise in enhancing efficiency, reducing burnout, and improving patient interactions.





Publications by Topic

Foundational Original Research

Epidemiology of Occupational Well-being and Personal Consequences

Healthcare Quality and Economic Effects of Physician Well-being

Determinants of Physician Occupational Distress and Well-Being

Demographic variables, cultural factors, medical practice policy and procedures, incentives, and payer mix.

Intervention Trials, Meta-analyses, and Systematic Reviews

Assessment of Physician Occupational Well-being

Foundational Perspective Articles and Reviews

Publications by Year

Barron, L., Shanafelt, T., Cotton, R., Ghanta, R., & Moon, M. (2026). RF107. Dynamic Bio-Psychologic Profiles: Tracking Burnout and Recovery in Surgical Trainees. The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, 171(4), S184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtcvs.2026.03.555

Bentley, S. K., Iavicoli, L., Alvarez, A., Doehring, M., Karalius, V., & Deutsch, A. J. (2026). Emergency Department or Battleground? Confronting Workplace Violence Against Staff in Emergency Departments Through Education and Systems Reform. AEM Education and Training, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1002/aet2.70132

Brower, K. J., Litt, I. F., & Shanafelt, T. D. (2026). Retirement: Fostering Physician Well-being Over the Career Life Cycle. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 101(1), 179-186. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2025.05.027

Collins, T., Shanafelt, T., Purkey, N., Singh, M., & Sanford, R. (2026). (Re)defining Success in Academic Medicine: From Metrics to Meaning. American Journal of Qualitative Research, 10(2), 279–295. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/18166

Fischer, A., Shanafelt, T. D., Dyrbye, L. N., West, C. P., Sinsky, C. A., Tutty, M., Wang, H., Carlasare, L. E., & Trockel, M. T. (2026). Occupational distress factors associated with suicidal ideation among physicians and comparison with other US workers. Academic Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1093/acamed/wvag179

Harry, E., Evans, J., Wang, H., Liebschutz, J. M., Berliner, J., Lin, C., Quinn, M., & Shanafelt, T. D. (2026). Differences in physician task load are associated with gender variance in physician well-being metrics. BMJ Quality & Safety, bmjqs-2025-019297. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjqs-2025-019297

Harry, E., Sinsky, C., Dyrbye, L. N., Makowski, M. S., Trockel, M., Tutty, M., Carlasare, L. E., West, C. P., & Shanafelt, T. D. (2026). Corrigendum to Physician Task Load and the Risk of Burnout Among US Physicians in a National Survey [The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety 47, 2 (2021) 76-85]. Joint Commission journal on quality and patient safety, 52(1), 54–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcjq.2025.10.008

López Hernández, M. de los A., Lorenzo Sánchez, E., López Hernández, I., & Trockel, M. (2026). Evolución del burnout, realización profesional y perspectiva de mejora autocompasiva de los profesionales sanitarios durante una crisis sanitaria prolongada. Características diferenciales de los médicos de urgencias. Evolution of burnout, professional fulfillment, and self-compassionate improvement perspective of healthcare professionals during a prolonged health crisis. Differential characteristics of emergency medicine physicians Revista Española de Urgencias y Emergencias, 5(1), 30–35. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=10534117

Preiksaitis, C., Alvarez, A., Winkel, M., Karamatsu, M., Brown, I., Sama, N., Morris, L., Lee, J., Gubbels, A., Wahl, E., Frye, A., & Rose, C. (2026). Ambient Artificial Intelligence Scribe Adoption and Documentation Time in the Emergency Department. Annals of Emergency Medicine, 87(5), 569–574. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annemergmed.2025.12.017

Preiksaitis, C., Alvarez, A., Winkel, M., Karamatsu, M., Brown, I., Sama, N., Morris, L., Lee, J., Gubbels, A., Wahl, E., Frye, A., Schoeffler, A., Gharahbaghian, L., & Rose, C. (2026). Ambient AI Scribes and Emergency Department Documentation Burden: Retrospective Cohort Study. JMIR AI, 5, e92193. https://doi.org/10.2196/92193

Rotenstein, L., Shah, P., Brown, R., Farley, H., Shanafelt, T., & Sinsky, C. A. (2026). Physician Intent to Reduce Hours and Intent to Leave Organizations. JAMA Network Open, 9(5), e2611045–e2611045. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.11045

Rubio-Chavez, A., Koelliker, E. L., Askew, E. A., Shanafelt, T. D., Landrigan, C. P., Winn, A. S., Farid, H., Lillemoe, K. D., Agarwal, D., Locascio, J. J., Lwin, T. M., & Rangel, E. L. (2026). Pragmatic Parental Support to Mitigate Burnout Among Pregnant and Postpartum Trainees: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA, 10.1001/jama.2026.5663. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2026.5663

Schechtman, A. D., Kling, S. M. R., Garvert, D. W., Lin, J. Y., Shanafelt, T., Winget, M., & Sharp, C. (2026). Nested order panels for adult primary care modestly improves ordering efficiency among high utilizers. JAMIA Open, 9(1), ooaf161. https://doi.org/10.1093/jamiaopen/ooaf161

Shanafelt, T. D., West, C. P., Dyrbye, L. N., Sinsky, C., Tutty, M., Wang, H., Carlasare, L. E., & Trockel, M. (2026). Associations and Differences Between Occupational Burnout and Depression in Large Studies of U.S. Physicians. Academic Medicine: Journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges, wvag126. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/acamed/wvag126

Sinsky, C. A., Brown, R. L., Rotenstein, L., Shah, P., & Shanafelt, T. D. (2026). Estimating the Cost of Poor Work Control Among Physicians in the United States. Mayo Clinic Proceedings. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2026.05.017

Swensen, S. J., MD, MMM, Shanafelt, T., & MD. (2026). Creating a People-Centered Organization: 12 Organizational Actions to Reduce Burnout and Foster Professional Fulfillment (Second Edition, Second Edition). Oxford University Press.

Thomas, L. R., & Shanafelt, T. (2026). Suicidal ideation in residency: Recommendations for building a supportive learning environment. Academic Medicine, wvag060. https://doi.org/10.1093/acamed/wvag060

Tutty, M. A., West, C. P., Dyrbye, L. N., Wang, H., Carlasare, L. E., Sinsky, C. A., Trockel, M., & Shanafelt, T. D. (2026). Moral Distress and Occupational Burnout in US Physicians. JAMA Network Open, 9(3), e263161. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.3161

Waddimba, A. C., Gunukula, R. R., Douglas, M. E., Shanafelt, T. D., DiMaio, J. M., & Ashmore, J. A. (2026). Short-Form Measures of Well-Being Centered Leadership for Matrixed Healthcare Systems. Journal of Healthcare Leadership, 18, 570560. https://doi.org/10.2147/JHL.S570560