Tait Shanafelt, MD, a renowned physician-scientist and an exemplary leader at the Mayo Clinic, has been named Stanford Medicine’s inaugural Chief Wellness Officer, Director of the WellMD Center, and Associate Dean, effective September 1, 2017. As an international thought leader and researcher in the field of physician wellness and its implications on quality of care, Dr. Shanafelt brings an unmatched set of accomplishments and capabilities to these new roles and an inspiring vision to firmly establish Stanford Medicine as the national leader in physician wellness.
“I extend my gratitude to the members of the Physician Wellness Committee, the WellMD Steering Committee, the Dean’s Task Force, and the Search Committee, all of whom have made important contributions leading to this extraordinary recruitment. I am also indebted to Bryan Bohman, MD, Chief Medical Officer of University HealthCare Alliance and a champion of physician wellness, for his dedicated service as interim director of the WellMD Center,” said Lloyd Minor, Dean of the Stanford University School of Medicine.
The Physician Wellness Committee was created in 2011 when Dr. Bohman, formerly Chief of Staff, noticed an increase in physician stress and burnout. In six years, Stanford’s efforts at decreasing physician burnout and improving professional fulfillment have expanded from offering a few targeted programs to physicians in crisis to becoming a national leader in physician wellness. In 2016, it formalized its services and staffing with the creation of the WellMD Center.