Welcome from the AMA, BMA and CMA presidents
Featured speaker: Professor Jeremy Howick, PhD, Professor of Empathic Healthcare, Director of the Stoneygate Centre for Empathic Healthcare, University of Leicester, UK
Drawing on his experience as founder of the Oxford Empathy Programme, the Global Network for Empathy in Healthcare, and the Stoneygate Centre for Empathic Healthcare, Professor Jeremy Howick delivers a powerful case for empathy as one of the most effective – and underused – tools in modern medicine.
Backed by over 20 years of research, Professor Howick reveals how empathy reduces pain, complaints, and even mortality, while also protecting clinician wellbeing and improving team performance. His latest research also shows that it is highly cost-effective. This keynote blends compelling evidence with practical strategies leaders and practitioners can use to embed empathy across healthcare systems – from patient care to executive leadership.
Key takeaways:
- Science-backed tools to improve outcomes through empathic care
- Practical ways to reduce burnout and improve staff wellbeing
- Scalable strategies to build empathy into training, leadership, and culture
Empathy isn’t a luxury – it’s a clinical and operational necessity. Professor Howick will equip leaders with the tools to deliver compassionate, high-performing care.
Oral presentationsFROM METRICS TO MEANING | Oral presentationsPRACTISING WITH PURPOSE | Workshops |
From metrics to meaning: A team-based, systemlevel approach to improving wellbeing in a multispecialty ambulatory medical group Dr Kyle Knierim, Dr Brian Khan and Dr Vandna Jerath, UChicago AdventHealth Medical Group, USA | Let’s be CLEAR (Clarifying Expectations to Advance Relationships): Supporting staff, patients and families in managing distress and mitigating conflict Dr Miriam Stewart, Megan Bowers and Dr Lisa Fahey, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania, USA | Building effective physician health programmes that physicians trust and use: Global lessons from NHS Practitioner Health (England and Scotland) and Canopi (Wales) Dr Helen Garr and Dr Zaid Al-Najjar, NHS Practitioner Health and Dr Thomas Kitchen, Canopi, UK |
From the wellbeing index to GROSS: Metrics, insights, and meaningful change Ms Adrienne Costantino, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada | Disruptive behaviour in physicians: More than meets the eye Dr Sarah Early, Dr Joyce Davidson and Amanda Kimmel, Colorado Physician Health Program, USA | Getting started thinking about senior doctor wellbeing within an organisation Dr Anna Baverstock, Somerset NHS Foundation Trust; Dr Paul Molyneux, East Suffolk NHS Trust and Dr Richard Duggins, Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, UK |
Improving collegiality and professionalism through a structured organizational intervention Dr Nora Haripotepornkul, Southern California Permanente Medical Group, USA | Addressing the wellbeing of healthcare leaders and teams through a wellness consult service Dr Sydney Ey, Oregon Health and Science University, USA | Towards a healthier workplace culture: Identifying challenges and solutions Dr Stella Yiu, Dr Marianne Yeung and Dr Haroun Zayed, The Ottawa Hospital, Canada |
No wrong door: Embedding mental health entry points into daily clinical operations Dr Megan Hays, Emma Jellen and Andrew Bacon, Medical University of South Carolina, USA | Time well spent: The effect of protected time to bill for patient portal messages on productivity, patient access, and physician wellbeing in an academic primary care office Dr Chad Osborne, University of California San Diego, USA |
Oral presentationsLEADERSHIP AND CULTURE | Oral presentationsFROM METRICS TO MEANING | Workshops |
Minding the gap: The Practitioner Health Enhanced Review Team as a specialist model for doctors with complex mental illness Dr Zaid Al-Najjar and Dr Lena Huins, NHS Practitioner Health, UK | How do healthcare organisations support healthcare worker wellbeing? A qualitative analysis of wellbeing initiatives conducted by the US National Academy of Medicine Change Maker Accelerator Organizations Dr Chantal Brazeau, Rutgers University, Dr Laxmi Mehta, The Ohio State University and Dr Kristine Olson, Turnkey Wellbeing, Yale, USA | Moving beyond measurement: Translating physician wellness metrics into action through evidence-based change management Dr Melanie Hnatiuk and Chloe De Grood, The Well Doc Initiative, University of Calgary, Canada |
Trauma-informed leadership: A new model for addressing burnout Dr Sadie Elisseou, Harvard Medical School, USA | Progressive and sustained system-level improvement in wellbeing and engagement following implementation of a comprehensive clinician wellbeing program at a tertiary hospital Associate Professor Sandhya Limaye, Concord Hospital, Sydney Local Health District, Australia | PITSTOP in Practice: Using a team wellbeing– focused hot debrief to support clinicians after adverse events – an experiential workshop Dr Emma Lishman and Dr Olivia Donnelly, North Bristol Trust, UK |
‘Well-Being Centred Leadership’ workshop impact on healthcare leaders Dr Lauren Peccoralo, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, USA | Increased short-term sickness absence from 2010-2024 among physicians in Norway Dr Karin Isaksson Rø and Dr Judith Rosta, Institute for Studies of The Medical Profession, Oslo, Norway | Building a professionalism and civility panel: An interdisciplinary framework for strengthening workplace culture Mrs Lisa Williams and Dr Nicole McCoin, University of Kentucky, USA |
Balancing care, safety, and accountability: Barcelona model for managing severe mental disorders in physicians Dr Gustavo Tolchinsky Wiesen, Colegio de Medicos Barcelona, Spain | Beyond the scores: Reimagining patient experience to advance physician wellbeing in paediatric practice Dr Kathleen Matic and Dr Sean Antosh, Dayton Children’s Hospital, USA |
Exploring how data and measurement can be transformed into meaningful system-level change, whether burnout and wellbeing survey scores have ever driven meaningful behavioural change within organisations, and what critical aspects these surveys fail to capture. Moving beyond simply tracking burnout, the discussion will focus on how organisations can use insights to drive practical improvements, address human factors, and create supportive environments where doctors can thrive.
Moderator: Dr Heather Farley, Vice President of Professional Satisfaction, AMA
Panel:
Dr Claire Ashley, GP and author of The Burnout Doctor, UK
Dr Jane Lemaire, Clinical Professor of Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary and Co-Founder and Co-Director, The Well Doc Initiative, Canada
Dr Colin West, Professor of Medicine, Medical Education, and Biostatistics, Mayo Clinic, USA
Featured speaker: Dr Amrita Sen Mukherjee, portfolio GP, positive psychology and high-performance practitioner, disability advocate at Your Wellbeing Doctor, UK
Followed by conversation with Dr Clodagh Corrigan, Deputy Chair of Representative Body, BMA
When doctors become patients, the disruption extends far beyond physical health, often challenging identity, belonging, and professional purpose. For many physicians, medicine forms a central part of identity, meaning illness or disability can profoundly destabilise the sense of self. Yet physician health conversations frequently focus on burnout and workload, while the experiences of doctors living with illness or disability remain comparatively overlooked.
Drawing on personal experience, qualitative research, and insights from positive psychology, this keynote explores how physicians navigate identity disruption following illness, particularly when the condition is invisible or poorly understood.
Findings from interpretative phenomenological research examining post-traumatic growth in doctors with acquired invisible disability illuminate a complex journey from stigma, isolation, and loss of professional identity toward acceptance, meaning-making and renewed purpose.
The session will also explore the wider cultural implications for healthcare systems. Disability inclusion remains an under-recognised pillar of equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI), yet it holds significant potential to strengthen compassion, retention, and sustainable performance within the medical workforce.
Attendees will gain practical insights into how individuals, teams and organisations can break professional silos, cultivate psychologically safe environments, and recognise doctors with disability as assets to the profession rather than exceptions within it.
Key takeaways:
- How to replace judgement with curiosity
- Ways to make inclusion visible in everyday practice
- Strategies to build systems that retain, not exclude
Oral presentationsLEADERSHIP AND CULTURE | Oral presentationsBREAKING SILOS, BUILDING BRIDGES | Oral presentationsPRACTISING WITH PURPOSE | Workshops |
From burnout to boundaries: Challenging medical culture and redesigning how physicians work Dr Vanessa Kustec, Star Family Health Organization, Canada | What does it mean to be an autistic doctor? Exploring identity, recognition, and lived experience Dr Mary Doherty, University College Dublin, Ireland | Implementation of a national guided self help CBT intervention to support the health and social care workforce Naomi Marfell, Canopi, UK | Leading digital wellness with compassion: practical leadership strategies to reduce digital burden and restore connection Dr Chandi Chandrasena, Ontario MD, and Dr Ashley Chisholm, Canadian Medical Association, Canada |
Rooted physicians: Supportive culture and low intent to leave Ms Lindsey Carlasare, American Medical Association, USA | The impact of gender-related negative experiences on wellbeing among female physicians and advanced practice providers Dr Kathryn Schneider, St Lukes Health System, US | Not just a flyer on the wall: How to build real engagement in peer support Dr Robert Lam, University of Colorado, USA | Training faculty coaches at scale: Practical approaches to integrating coaching into medical school and postgraduate learners Dr Ami Shah, Rush University; Dr Kerri Palamara, Mass General Brigham and Dr Christen Dilly, Indiana University, USA |
Perception is reality: The impact of perceived physician leadership behaviour on team engagement and satisfaction utilising the leadership impact index Dr Christina Feather, Luminis Health, USA | From silos to houses: Community design for inclusion and wellbeing in radiology Dr David Melville, Mayo Clinic – Arizona, USA | Managing transition to retirement in late career doctors Professor Chanaka Wijeratne, South Eastern Sydney Local Health District, Australia | |
Wider cultural change needs wellbeing Dr Georgie Budd, GP trainee, UK |
Oral presentationsPRACTISING WITH PURPOSE | Oral presentationsLIVING MEDICINE | Workshops |
Physicians as high‑performance athletes: Best practices for designing and managing coaching programmes to advance wellbeing and performance Dr Robert John Sawyer, Mr Ashton Sloan and Dr Nigel Girgrah, Ochsner Health, USA | Strengths-appreciation leadership development for early-career consultants: Enhancing wellbeing, self-awareness and sustainable practice Mrs Anne O’Connor, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, UK | When Canadians don’t say sorry – and behavioural interventions that matter Dr Neil Long, Interior Health, Kelowna, Canada and Dr Chris Turner, University Hospitals of Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, UK |
Finding meaning through coaching: Impact of the physician peer coach role on wellbeing and professional fulfilment Dr Stephanie Kiser and Dr Kerri Palamara, Mass General, Brigham, USA | Leveraging trainee transition insights to launch culture-changing wellbeing initiatives Dr Kelly Shaw, Geisinger College of Health Sciences, USA | Integrating Forest Therapy into a curriculum for systems based practice Susan Abookire, Nature and Systems Institute, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, USA |
Scaling support, preserving impact: Can group coaching deliver individual level gains? Dr Kristin Jacob, CareWell Health, Grand Rapids, USA | “We are people too!” A call to action: Illuminating the workplace experiences and needs of UK healthcare workers with periods Dr Josie Cheetham, University of Lancashire and Cardiff University, UK | Improving allyship and accessibility for doctors with chronic illness and/or disabilities Dr Samantha Lavitt, Disabled Me and University of Ottawa, Canada |
Restorative clinical supervision for paediatricians to support wellbeing and reduce burnout Dr Anna Baverstock, Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, UK | Four approaches, one goal: Overcoming barriers to expand access to mental health care and wellbeing support Dr Halle Ellison, Geisinger Health, USA |
This session will explore how genuine inclusion can transform the culture of medicine, overcoming barriers to entry and success in the workplace. Our panellists will share stories of advocating for change and creating communities of belonging within the profession, offering tools for physicians at all career levels to contribute to breaking silos.
Moderator: Dr Bolu Ogunyemi, President-Elect, CMA
Panel:
Dr Mary Doherty, Clinical Associate Professor, University of Dublin, Ireland
Dr Alika Lafontaine, CMA past president, Canada
Professor Lisa Meeks, Professor of Medical Education, The University of Illinois, College of Medicine, at Chicago, USA
Dr Khadija Owusu, GP trainee and Founder/CEO AKAYA Foundation, UK
Oral presentationsFUTURE READY MEDICINE | Oral presentationsMEDICAL EDUCATION/ UNDERGRADUATE MEDICAL STUDENTS | Workshops |
Scaling compassion through technology: Automated referral systems for physician peer support Dr Angela Hsu, Kaiser Permanente, USA | Key stakeholder perspectives of medical students’ preparation to identify and manage their emotions for future patient care: A qualitative study Ms Anna Lange, University of Bern, Switzerland | The value in valuing physicians: A workshop for leaders for cultural transformation Dr Katherine Morrison and Dr Kristin Jensen, University of Colorado, Denver, USA |
Two birds, one screen: First meta-analytic evidence that digital mental health platforms can simultaneously address clinician burnout and patient depression Mr Anchit Chauhan, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, India | How do medical students learn about managing stress and developing emotional resilience? A 6-year follow-up study Dr Ceri Evans, Cardiff University, UK | When civility breaks in challenging healthcare environments: Practical tools to protect physicians, teams, and patients Dr Rebecca Margolis, Dr Samuel Yanofsky and Dr Margaret Mou, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles; Dr Saadia Akhtar, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; Dr Ami Shah, Rush University Medical Center and Dr Franklyn Cladis, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh |
Advancing physician wellbeing through AI assisted documentation Dr Sheri Rocco and Dr Sarah Pollock, Advocate Health, USA | A clinical psychology therapy service for medical students: Impact on wellbeing, lessons learned and wider influence on culture of medical training Dr Clare Dixon, Lancaster University, UK | |
Patient experience with ambient AI scribes: Informing strategies for high-quality person-centred care Dr Laura Hazlett, Ochsner Health, USA | Foundations for sustainable practice: A fine arts–based intervention to support empathy, connection, and wellbeing in medical students Mr Habib Sabbagh and Dr Khai Nguyen, UC San Diego Health, USA |
Healthy physicians mean safer patients, better quality of care and health system sustainability but to achieve this, we need to move beyond rhetoric to policies and practices that transform physician health from aspiration to action. This session will bring together international leaders to explore how global and national policies are shaping the future of physician wellbeing, creating safer environments, reducing burnout and promoting sustainable healthcare.
Dr Amit Kochhar, Chair of Representative Body, BMA
Dr Jeff Blackmer, Chief Medical Officer and EVP Professional Practice, CMA
Dr Willie Underwood, President-Elect, AMA
Oral presentationsFUTURE READY MEDICINE | Oral presentationsRESIDENT DOCTORS | Workshops |
From system data to local action: An AI-enhanced model for specialty-specific physician wellbeing reporting Dr Noah Kersey and Taylor Wildauer MSW, Community Health Network, USA | In my time: A qualitative exploration of the junior doctor experience in Singapore over the years Dr Caitlin A O’Hara, Ministry of Health Holdings, Singapore | That’s unfair! A skill-building workshop on organisational fairness in healthcare Dr Kenneth Elliott Higgins, UCLA; Dr Elizabeth Duggan, University of Alabama at Birmingham; Dr Rebecca Margolis and Dr Samuel Yanofsky, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, USA |
Practising medicine under surveillance in the age of AI Mr Christopher Khoury, American Medical Association, USA | Cross-cultural collaboration among psychiatry trainees in Norway: Challenges and the role of individual and work-related factors Dr Morten Sandbu, University of Oslo, Norway and Dr Reidar Tyssen, Department of Behavioural Medicine, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo | Navigating Imposter Syndrome in medicine Ms Lisa Sell and Mrs Leona Walsh, Health Education and Improvement Wales, UK |
How does an AI scribe improve clinician wellbeing? It’s more than an efficiency tool Dr Mariah Quinn, University of Wisconsin, USA | “Too tired to care” – The experiences of doctors involved in car accidents after working extended shifts Dr Nicole Borg, Mental Health Services, Malta | Leading through crisis: Wellbeing-centered leadership communication and self-care strategies to support the healthcare workforce in times of distress Dr Saadia Akhtar, Dr Jonathan Ripp and Dr Lauren Peccoralo, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, USA |
Featured speaker: Professor Mihaela van der Schaar, Professor of Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence and Medicine at the University of Cambridge
Followed by conversation with Dr John Whyte, Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer, AMA
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