As a complement to the established wellness and employee assistance programs at Baylor College of Medicine, and building on the extensive work of pediatric faculty members who have been taking actions to improve wellness within their divisions, additional steps are underway to serve clinical staff at a deeper level.
Kelley Slack, PhD, an industrial organizational psychologist with nearly 2 decades of experience with NASA, joined Baylor last year to work with pediatrics leadership, faculty and trainees on issues such as burnout, team dynamics, conflict resolution and other stressors that may impact their well-being at work.
Gia Washington, PhD, a pediatric psychologist at Baylor and Texas Children’s Hospital for nearly 19 years, transitioned into a new executive coach role in September 2023 to support this initiative. She provides one-on-one executive coaching, primarily on the development of leadership skills and management of occupational stress.
These psychologists deploy evidence-based principles and methodologies to enhance individual, team, division and department functionality. They accomplish this through greater access to professional assistance, more frequent and robust communication and creating communities with a sense of belonging.
As a result of their work, the Department of Pediatrics can implement organizational changes that benefit faculty, advance the culture of well-being and inclusivity, and improve faculty members’ sense of satisfaction, engagement, fulfillment and work-life balance.
“We want physicians to know that they matter and protecting their own health is a valuable part of our organization’s mission,” Dr. Washington said.
“Furthermore, the fact that Dr. Slack and I are in-house psychologists, as opposed to external consultants, is revolutionary. We can foster deeper connections and reach more people who can benefit from coaching beyond the highest levels of leadership.”
At Texas Children’s and Baylor, faculty wellness has been a priority for years. However, conversations around this critically important issue gained momentum and intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic, when health care providers worldwide collectively experienced heightened levels of burnout and stress. According to multiple studies, this epidemic among physicians can have serious ramifications.
“Faculty wellness has a downstream impact on patient care, safety and outcomes, staff productivity and retention,” Dr. Slack said. “If a physician experiences any stressor that negatively impacts their well-being, there is a significantly higher risk of severe fatigue, overall poor-quality health, medical error and increased attrition. When physicians are well and do better, everything is better.”