Restoring Joy in Medicine through Whole Person Team-Based Care

Posted on August 12, 2024
by Staff

As a practicing family physician in the military health system, Wayne Jonas, MD, used to ignore his own wellbeing to spend more time caring for—and connecting with—his patients. He rarely got enough sleep or took breaks. But this was taking a toll on his mental and physical health.

“When I did not rest and restore myself, I was less productive and more on edge,” he says. “I have come to realize that taking time to NOT work is an essential part of my life’s work.”

Dr. Jonas adjusted his schedule so that he could get 7-8 hours of sleep each night and started setting aside 15 minutes at lunchtime to meditate and take a mindful pause. Also, he spends more time outdoors—even if this means taking a call during a walk.

“All of this has made a huge difference in my life. I found a renewed joy in my practice,” he says.

By using whole person care to heal himself, Dr. Jonas was better able to help his patients heal, despite having less face time with them and more administrative work.

Whole person care integrates evidence-based conventional medical care, complementary medicine, and lifestyle medicine. When combined with team-based care, clinicians can build the relationships—among clinicians, other team members and patients—that are essential to everyone for health and healing.

Meeting the Needs of Clinicians and Patients

Whole person team-based care also helps clinicians combat the burnout caused by less face time with patients, more administrative work, and increasingly complex patient needs. This person-centered, relationship-based care that considers the social, spiritual, emotional, and behavioral aspects of health as well as the environment in which the person lives allows clinicians to find joy in medicine again and improve their professional satisfaction and wellbeing.

Using a team approach to whole person care enables clinicians to delegate administrative tasks while improving the health care experience for patients and improving quality and safety. ¹

Delivering More Efficient and Effective Care

“One of the biggest challenges in health care today is getting everybody on the same page. Training people with different roles together increases efficiency and effectiveness,” says Dr. Jonas.

Shifting to whole person team-based care has multiple benefits for clinicians and other members of the team. “You’re getting three for one,” Dr. Jonas says . “People learn how to work better as a team, more easily learn how to deliver whole person care and get the personal benefit of improved wellbeing.”

Working better as a team “builds community among team members and provides a group to brainstorm with to solve problems,” adds Alyssa McManamon, MD, FACP, a hematologist-oncologist and an associate professor of medicine at Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine. Dr. Jonas and Dr. McManamon are co-authors of “Healing and Cancer: A Guide to Whole Person Care,” which strives to bring the concepts of healing and whole person care further into health care delivery so that people with cancer feel better and live longer.

Team members vary by clinic but can include nurses, medical assistants, navigators, front office staff, social workers, health coaches, community health workers, and others. Delegating tasks such as taking patient histories, retrieving records, and capturing medical documentation frees clinicians to focus on engaging patients and providing medical care based on each patient’s needs and preferences. All team members find more meaning and engagement in their work.

Getting Started with Whole Person Team-Based Care

Here are five ways to start discussing and implementing whole person team-based care.

Apply whole person care and wellness to yourself.

The easiest way to move a team toward delivering whole person team-based care is to weave whole person care into your own life by focusing on core wellness factors such as relaxing and deep and restful sleep. Identify your own needs and priorities by taking the Primary Care Personal Health Inventory (PHI), which assesses meaning and purpose in life, current health, and readiness for change.

Discuss your results with a colleague. This conversation identifies a person’s goals for healing and identifies areas for growth. The discussion guides for primary care and cancer care are available for free on the Healing Works Foundation website.

Learn more about caring for oneself in Healing the Healer: A Whole Person Approach to Wellbeing.

Use the PHI with your team.

Once you’ve begun weaving whole person care into your life, repeat the process with your team. Schedule a few team meetings where everyone takes the PHI and then pairs up to discuss their results. Then use the HOPE Note tools to guide discussion with the full group.

Shift to a teamwork mindset and build a coherent team.

Be both the team leader and a team member. Trust your staff and be willing to relinquish some of your autonomy. Listen to and support team members. Acknowledge their needs and learn what matters to them. Share what has worked for you and encourage team members to share what works for them.

Communicate often and effectively through regular team meetings and huddles. Start team meetings with a brief deep breathing exercise or meditation. And a smile.

Train and support your team.

Train members in whole person and team-based care. Ensure that team members have the necessary resources to implement whole person team-based care, including access to evidence-based conventional medical care, complementary medicine, and lifestyle medicine. Develop community-based resources for complementary and lifestyle medicine services that are not available at the practice or health system.

Use our free resources.

Learn about whole person team-based care and practice change with the free resources for primary care and cancer care on our website, including CME courses:

“We all strive to provide the care that we would want to receive. Whole person team-based care enables you to do this,” says Dr. McManamon.