Background: Physician moral distress during COVID-19, Delta, and Omicron has resulted in a decrease in self-care and a reduction in empathy for patients. Determining physician well-being and resilience assists clinicians in maintaining pliancy during times of uncertainty.
Methods: An IRB quantitative survey aims to illustrate levels of moral distress, self-care tactics, and physician fortitude during the three waves of the pandemic from 2020-2022. The questionnaire elicits responses regarding how physicians have pivoted to remain healthy during the pandemic, what measures physicians have engaged in maintaining empathy and ethics towards patients, and what physicians need in the future to retain self-care.
Results: Enrollees are practicing physicians in the Rio Grande Valley. Outcomes aim at policies for decreased stigma in seeking assistance and therapy for mental health, statistically verifiable initiatives toward implementing programs to connect physicians to self-care co-ops, and a physician-led community of care for more excellent psychological and physical functioning.
Conclusions: The survey results and data lead to increased access to and participation in re-imagining physician self-and-patient care for empathy. Implementation occurs under an applied business model for best practices in the future care of physicians and patients
