Assessment of a Recognition Program in an Academic Family Medicine Department

Background and Objectives: Burnout is prevalent among clinicians and faculty. We sought to understand the impact of a recognition program designed to reduce burnout and affect engagement and job satisfaction in a large academic family medicine department. Methods: A recognition program was created in which three clinicians and faculty from the department were randomly selected each month to be recognized (“awardees”). Each awardee was asked to honor a person who had supported them (a “hidden hero” [HH]). Clinicians and faculty not recognized or selected as an HH were considered “bystanders.” Interviews were completed with 12 awardees, 12 HHs, and 12 bystanders for a total of 36 interviews. We used content analysis to qualitatively evaluate the program. Results: Assessment of the “We Are” Recognition Program resulted in the categories of impact (subcategories: process positives, process negatives, and fairness of program) and HHs (subcategories: teamwork and awareness of the program). We conducted interviews on a rolling basis and made iterative changes to the program based on feedback. Conclusions: This recognition program helped create a sense of value for clinicians and faculty in a large, geographically dispersed department. It represents a model that would be easy to replicate, requires no special training or significant financial investment, and can be implemented in a virtual format.