The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) has a decades-long history of embracing the diversity of its membership and building members’ leadership skills; former AAFP President Warren Jones, MD, FAAFP, recalled that fact in a blog post (https://www.aafp.org/news/blogs/wordfrom president/entry/warren-jones-75th-anniversary.html) he penned in 2022 to mark the Academy’s 75th anniversary. The AAFP also has voiced its strong commitment (https://www.aafp.org/membership/initiatives/well-being-initiative.html) to safeguarding members’ ability to thrive in practice and find joy in their work. The Academy’s identification of diverse leadership development, gender equity, and physician well-being as key priorities in 2024 reflects these goals. This update recaps some of the steps the organization is taking.

Since 2018, the Physician Health and Well-being (PHWB) Conference (https://www.aafp.org/events/physician-health-and-well-being-conference.html) has empowered participants to:

Assess their individual state of well-being

Determine areas of need to address, such as chronic stressors in practice

Create a personal action plan to promote and maintain a positive state of well-being

Develop a leadership plan to improve patient outcomes through organization- or system-wide enhancements

The curriculum for the 2024 PHWB Conference, scheduled for May 6-8, 2024, in Scottsdale, Arizona, will incorporate a heightened emphasis on leadership issues, as well as a more explicit focus on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB). The goal of infusing DEIB into the 3-day immersive experience is to inspire participants to identify and challenge personal biases and apply strategies to foster diverse and equitable environments within their organization and the broader health care landscape.

More than one-half of the educational sessions at this year’s well-being conference cover all-new material. Also new in 2024 will be workshops and small-group sessions specifically designed for residents. Rounding out the conference schedule are activities such as career consultations; personal coaching sessions; and various events that embrace creative expression, personal enrichment, and healthy living.

A second AAFP wellness initiative, Leading Physician Well-being (LPW) (https://www.aafp.org/family-physician/practice-and-career/managing-your-career/leading-physician-well-being.html), is a unique certificate program designed to foster well-being expertise, advance well-being leadership, and build skills in developing and implementing practice improvement (PI) activities, especially among new-to-practice and underrepresented physicians.

LPW is a 10-month series comprising 3 core sessions (2 in-person and 1 livestreamed) and 5 webinars in conjunction with ongoing, regular online activities. All these activities facilitate development of a supportive learning community. LPW combines didactic education and an applied project that includes virtual, online touchpoints between core sessions. Online learning facilitates familiarity with the core topics. The livestreamed and in-person learning sessions facilitate skill-building and advanced learning.

During their LPW cohort year, each scholar implements a Systems Well-being Improvement Project (SWIP) designed to help them impact organizational change and demonstrate leadership of a well-being intervention within their organization. By completing this activity, they earn PI-CME credit as well as American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) points toward maintaining their certification and/or fellow certification.

LPW has demonstrated success in improving physician well-being, self-efficacy, and empowerment. Although the program is well-positioned to target the unique challenges women leaders face, opportunities exist to elevate learning in this area, as well as to better integrate health equity as a robust program component.

On a related note, the Women’s Wellness Through Equity and Leadership (WEL) Project (https://www.aafp.org/news/practice-professional-issues/2024-wel-project-applications.html), a collaboration of 10 of the nation’s leading medical organizations—including the Academy—provides training and professional growth in the areas of leadership, wellness and equity, as well as connection among those with similar interests. But the program is able to accept only a limited number of participants.

Meanwhile, findings of a multiphase study led by the Robert Graham Center: Policy Studies in Family Medicine and Primary Care and the ABFM, Sustaining Women in Medicine (https://www.graham-center.org/publications-reports/publications/articles/sustaining-women-in-medicine.html), indicate that:

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to mitigating burnout among female physicians

Interventions that focus on the individual often cause more burden

Targeted structural, process, and policy change at the institutional and health care system levels are likely to be most effective in preventing and addressing burnout long-term

Systems-level change to reduce burnout may move the needle toward gender equity in the physician workforce

To further reinforce its leadership and DEIB activities, the AAFP will pilot a longitudinal virtual experience for family physician members who identify as women focused on increasing their self-efficacy and skills in leadership, including through support for advanced learning and leadership specifically grounded in well-being and health equity. It is anticipated that the initial 6-month pilot of WE WILL (Women Empowering Women Inclusively Leading with Love) will inform the creation and launch of a targeted certificate program in FY25. Two separate cohorts—1 on each US coast to account for time differences—will participate in the pilot.

Participants will interact during monthly, topic-driven live webinars and via an online community environment. At the conclusion of the pilot, it is expected that participants will be able to:

Recognize the unique challenges faced by women leaders in family medicine and potential mitigators or solutions

Identify at least 1 strategy they can implement to advance their leadership journey

Experience at least 1 opportunity to use peer support effectively

Finally, with support from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the Academy developed the Physician Health First: Building Resiliency Intersectionally During Graduate Education (BRIDGE) program to reduce burnout and promote well-being and resiliency among medical students and residents through a variety of well-being program offerings. For example, thanks to the 3-year grant, the AAFP became a Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) Hub and established a Resident Well-Being and Burnout Prevention ECHO. Results of sessions offered in fall 2022 and spring 2023 were evaluated in a poster (https://rtiaafp-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/personal/vhalsall_aafp_org/EWUTRmv_XBpJjxCWJUW_0ZQBdfn8mBdGKV71XisbHBr0rA?e=igWJYj) presented at the 2023 American Conference on Physician Health. Additional BRIDGE student and resident programming results (https://rtiaafp-my.sharepoint.com/:p:/g/personal/hwoods_aafp_org/EfhKS8-m7NtJmauIh8aRaMABkLH_XZ26pKr59CR4jwmbTA?e=dO5E37) were presented during the 2023 annual meeting of NAPGRG. The grant funding continues through the end of 2024.