Physician well-being does not improve by chance. It requires measurement, strategy and a willingness to tackle challenges so that physicians can do their best work. That commitment earned Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group Silver-level recognition from the AMA Joy in Medicine® Health System Recognition Program.
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The honor recognizes organizations that are building healthier practice environments for physicians and advancing a culture of well-being. For the Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group, the designation is both recognition of significant progress and an opportunity to further strengthen the support systems that help physicians deliver high-quality care to patients.
“Receiving the AMA Joy in Medicine Silver-level recognition was incredibly meaningful for us, mainly because it validated the work that we’ve been intentional about and that we’ve built over the years,” said Tinisha Cheatham, DO, chief people officer and associate medical director of people, culture and care experience at Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group
Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group is part of the AMA Health System Member Program, which provides enterprise solutions to equip leadership, physicians and care teams with re
“Physician well-being is not something that we just think about as a separate entity from the work. It’s how we lead, how we operate and how we care for our physicians,” Dr. Cheatham said. “That recognition really affirmed our investments in our system level solutions, leadership accountability, workflow redesign, peer support, physician community and that it’s making a difference
“It has reflected what our physicians have consistently told us matters,” she added. What really matters is that they feel heard, they feel supported and that they feel connected to each other. All of those things really are important to make sure they’re able to practice in a way that’s meaningful to them.”
Dr. Cheatham shared more about what well-being initiatives the medical group implemented to reach Silver-level recognition and how they keep the momentum going
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Ensure physicians want to stay
One of the medical group’s most meaningful initiatives is the “Hire to Retire” strategy.
“It’s a great naming convention to really think about through a physician’s career,” she said. “I’ve been with the Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group for 21 years. Did I believe that when I started 21 years ago, I was going to be the chief people officer? No.”
“I was in private practice,” Dr. Cheatham explained. “I was working at an FQHC (federally qualified health center) and you don’t really think about what that career looks like for you and what you need throughout the different aspects of your career. So, the Hire to Retire strategy really looks at what a physician needs when they’re onboarding and enculturating into the medical group environment.”
For example, an early career physician can get the mentoring they need to help them along their path at the medical group. Then for the mid-career physician, the focus is on longevity and support. For seasoned physicians nearing the end of their careers, the focus is about support they need to move into retirement.
“We all need different things in different parts of our career, and different support that meets us where we are in our lives,” Dr. Cheatham said. “How we design that really supports each physician throughout the different aspects of their career.”
Use data to guide well-being focus areas
“We’re a very data-driven and physician-informed organization, so we really listen,” Dr. Cheatham said, emphasizing that it is “important to really listen to what our physicians are saying, what our support staff are saying, what things are contributing to burnout and learn what the ‘pebbles in our shoe’ are – the
For example, after hearing about workflow issues and that the EHR was burdensome to many physicians, the Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group implemented an augmented intelligence (AI) ambient listening tool. This AI tool helped alles to get through the day
“Because at the end of the day, our physicians really want to take care of our patients, so we want to make it meaningful, but we also want to make it efficient for them,” she said. It’s about uncovering “those pain points so we can address them, while also reinforcing the value they find in their work and joy of caring for patients.”
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The work will continue to evolve
At the Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group, physician well-being plans “will continuously evolve as medicine changes, as workflows change,” Dr. Cheatham said. “We’re currently going through a bit of a redesign in how we organize ourselves and how we support ourselves.”
The redesign comes as Ameya Kulkarni, MD, became executive medical director of the medical group in January 2026. A cardiologist, Dr. Kulkarni previously oversaw the professional development and wellness team and prioritized physician growth and well-being
Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group focuses on ensuring physicians feel supported and that everyone feels that they belong. Part of that work includes “reducing friction and then helping to design a system that enables patients to access care without having privilege,” Dr. Cheatham said
Ask what is driving the issue
When implementing new well-being initiatives, start with asking: What’s really driving the issue? That process helps identify whether the issue stems from a workflow challenge, staffing issue or gap in understanding
“Once you understand what the problem is or what’s actually driving this, then you can start to look at what intervention is needed,” Dr. Cheatham said. “We used to hear that the in-baskets and all of the technical work for the electronic medical record was really burdensome, so then we brought in AI tools and technologies we could build into our EMR to make things easier
“We want to make sure that what we design allows physicians to do the right thing,” she added. “We can address some of those challenges. It may be that they just don’t understand some of the things we’re asking them to do—or sometimes the why behind that
“When they understand the why behind it, we can reduce some of that friction,” Dr. Cheatham said.
“Everyone is communicating in a way that we’re respectful and that we feel like we’re part of a family,” she continued. “When you create that type of culture, then everybody works together collectively so that the patient and the physician win.”
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Assess whether a well-being initiative is working
While health systems can put out as many well-being initiatives as they want, they won’t matter if they are not hitting the mark.
At the Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group, to assess whether a well-being initiative is working, “there’s quantitative data,” Dr. Cheatham said. “We’ve got data on how long our physicians are in the EMR and we’ve got burnout, engagement and retention scores. We’ve got a lot of metrics that we can use, which is great. But numbers are not enough, so then we have to look at what our physicians and staff are actually telling us.”
This is where “no agenda meetings” can help. These meetings are available for leaders to listen and hear what physicians are saying
“I’ll go and say, ‘I’m here to listen. I can’t promise to solve all the problems, but I really want to hear what’s going on so that we can all work together,” she said. “Let’s shoot for the moon if we can. If I can get you halfway there, you might have solved most of the problems,’” she added, noting that it is important to understand what an ideal state is because if that is provided, it “would solve 90% of the things that you feel are just making the day harder to get through.”
“If we can start by addressing the low hanging fruit and chip away at those challenges, then physicians will start to feel the difference, and that’s what they want,” Dr. Cheatham said. “When we start to hear, ‘My workflow is more manageable, I feel connected again, I am finding joy in coming to work,’ that’s when we know that we’re actually on the right path.”
Download the 2025 AMA Joy in Medicine magazine (log into your AMA account to view) to see whether your organization is part of the prestigious group of 164 organizations across 40 states and the District of Columbia that are currently recognized for their dedication to physician well-being
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