Evaluating Your Well-Being

Though the field of well-being is constantly evolving, research has repeatedly pointed to several measurable factors that play a crucial role for physicians and biomedical research scientists. To explore your own personal degree of well-being and which factors impact you most right now, take the tests in each section below.

Your responses and assessment results are for your use only — they are not saved and will remain confidential.

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Professional Fulfillment

The Professional Fulfillment scale assesses the degree of intrinsic positive reward we derive from our work, including happiness, meaningfulness, contribution, self-worth, satisfaction, and feeling in control when dealing with difficult problems at work.

Reference(s) or method used to derive scores: Trockel, M., Bohman, B., Lesure, E., Hamidi, M. S., Welle, D., Roberts, L., & Shanafelt, T. (2018). A brief instrument to assess both burnout and professional fulfillment in physicians: reliability and validity, including correlation with self-reported medical errors, in a sample of resident and practicing physicians. Academic Psychiatry, 42(1), 11-24.

Burnout

Burnout is a state of mental and physical exhaustion with a wide range of symptoms that is caused by one's professional life. It is not classified as a medical condition. We define clinician burnout as symptoms of work exhaustion and interpersonal disengagement.

Reference(s) or method used to derive scores: Trockel, M., Bohman, B., Lesure, E., Hamidi, M. S., Welle, D., Roberts, L., & Shanafelt, T. (2018). A brief instrument to assess both burnout and professional fulfillment in physicians: reliability and validity, including correlation with self-reported medical errors, in a sample of resident and practicing physicians. Academic Psychiatry, 42(1), 11-24.

Self-Valuation / Self-Compassion

Self-valuation (or self-compassion) refers to the level of prioritizing personal well-being and adopting a growth mindset perspective that seeks to learn and improve in response to errors. There is evidence that those with self-valuation scores higher than 50% are at a lower risk of burnout. Those with high self-valuation scores intentionally engage in specific practices of self-care and positive psychology in order to address their needs and demands in a manner that serves their wellness and personal effectiveness.

Reference(s) or method used to derive scores: Trockel, M. T., Hamidi, M. S., Menon, N. K., Rowe, S. G., Dudley, J. C., Stewart, M. T., Geisler, C. Z., Bohman, B. D, & Shanafelt, T. D. (2019, October). Self-valuation: Attending to the most important instrument in the practice of medicine. In Mayo Clinic Proceedings 94(10), 2022-2031.

Sleep-related impairment

Chronic insufficient sleep due to work hours, circadian misalignment, or untreated sleep disorders can be highly detrimental to well-being.

Reference(s) or method used to derive scores: Top quartile score range from PROMIS national database.

Impact of Work on Personal Relationships

Long work hours, emotionally difficult moments on the job, and achieving balance can impact personal relationships. 

Reference(s) or method used to derive scores: Top quartile score range, from Washington State benchmark data (n = 1868).

Resources for Stanford Physicians and Scientists

Explore the variety of programs that aim to help physicians and scientists find meaning, empowerment, and engagement in their work and reduce stress.
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Courses & Events

 Discover opportunities to learn more about well-being and engage with others.
 

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Videos

Stay up-to-date on the latest news from the Center and learn about physician well-being topic areas.

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Research

The Center has led or co-authored many recent studies with far-ranging potential impact for the field.

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