ACCC Convenes Thought Leaders to Talk Burnout & Resilience

Tomorrow ACCC will host its 6^th Institute for the Future of Oncology forum. Each June ACCC brings together multidisciplinary leaders in oncology and allied health fields for a conversation centered on pressing concerns facing the oncology community to envision what will be needed to advance quality care on the path ahead.

This year more than 30 invited stakeholders will focus on ACCC President Tom Gallo’s presidential theme: Reflect, Renew, Reignite: Creating a Resilient Oncology Team in Your Community. 

The problem of burnout in medicine has triggered national concern. In 2017 the National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) launched a national Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience. The NAM Collaborative website puts the issue plainly: “Clinician well-being is essential for safe, high-quality patient care.”

As the leading education and advocacy organization for the multidisciplinary cancer care team, ACCC has long recognized that quality cancer care takes the energy, expertise, dedication, and compassion of a coordinated team. ACCC ’s commitment letter in joining the NAM Action Collaborative calls out the importance of addressing burnout among all the health professionals on the cancer care team—front desk staff, physicians, oncology nurses, advanced practice providers, medical assistants, administrators, data specialists, cancer registrars, financial advocates, social workers, nutritionists, therapists, and others. Read our letter.

In recent years, the administrative burden has mushroomed as our healthcare system struggles through a transition away from fee for service toward a value-based payment system. Lack of health IT interoperability, increasing demands for data, and multiple reporting requirements have resulted in many providers putting in so-called “pajama rounds,” extra hours on evenings and weekends to finish up these tasks.

Oncology faces other significant pressures including a projected shortage of oncology providers coupled with a growing demand for oncology care—both of which occurring as cancer diagnosis and treatment have become increasingly complex.

This year’s ACCC presidential theme—Reflect, Renew, Reignite: Creating a Resilient Oncology Team in Your Community—calls for a proactive path forward, starting with reflection. To help jump-start the Institute conversation, as well as reflection and discussion at cancer programs and practices across the country, ACCC developed this infographic.

On Wednesday, June 27 ACCC will be asking the 2018 Institute for the Future of Oncology participants to:

• Share their knowledge, experience, and insights in exploring how we can support oncology team well-being at both the system-level and the individual level.
• Consider how to achieve equilibrium between practice efficiency and administrative burden.
• Explore how oncology-specific assessment tools may help support balance and resiliency for the individual and among the team.

Follow the Institute forum discussion on Twitter @ACCCBuzz #ACCCInstitute.

Look for more on this issue from ACCC in the coming months, including dedicated sessions at the ACCC 35^th National Oncology Conference in October.

Visit the NAM Action Collaborative Knowledge Hub for resources, and view the Action Collaborative’s online digital gallery Expressions of Clinician Well-Being for inspiration.