Promoting Well‐Being Among Gastroenterologists – A Call for Systemic Action
United European Gastroenterology (UEG) has launched an initiative to promote physician well-being and prevent burnout. This current concept article is based on a survey of the National Societies Forum and National Societies Committee, a meta-analysis by Shiha et al., and a scoping review of evidence-based interventions. It identifies key systemic and individual drivers of burnout, outlines its consequences, and presents strategies for intervention-recognising that physician burnout threatens individual health, patient safety, and the sustainability of health care systems. Burnout in gastroenterology is driven by demanding workloads, complex procedures, and increasing administrative tasks. Addressing physician well-being must be viewed as a systemic challenge requiring coordinated efforts from individuals, hospitals, and scientific societies. National and specialist GI societies are pivotal. They must implement initiatives and advocate for systemic change through education, policy advocacy, and sustainable work design. Acknowledgement of burnout is a start. Progress requires commitment to well-being and continuing research.
Authors
- Katharina Zimmermann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-7363-8423)
- Neeraj Bhala (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2502-1177)
- Paolo Montalto (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4539-8177)
- Vita Skuja (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0349-8719)
- Manik Gemilyan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0939-4889)
- Alexander Hann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8035-3559)
- Martin Ďuríček (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0754-4532)
- Petr Vaněk (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9573-5277)
- Dina Tiniakos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4657-7780)
- John Ong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5103-7311)
- Mohamed G. Shiha (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2713-8355)
- Henriette Heinrich (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6355-0921)
- Helge Knüttel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2654-6517)
- Paula Sousa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9009-9635)
- Reena Sidhu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0820-2400)
- Iago Rodríguez–Lago (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1133-4578)
- Martina Müller (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8520-4568)
- Eglė Dieninytė (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-0525-3453)
- Marjolijn Duijvestein (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4814-9376)
- Francesca Manza (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2898-4323)
- Andrea Nowak
- Petra Krčálová
Institutions
- OTH Regensburg (DE)
- University of Minnesota (US)
- The Royal Melbourne Hospital (AU)
- University of Nottingham (GB)
- Radboud University Nijmegen (NL)
- Vilnius University (LT)
- National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (GR)
- University of Ferrara (IT)
- Wellcome/MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute (GB)
- University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust (GB)
- University Hospital of Basel (CH)
- Radboud University Medical Center (NL)
- University Hospital Regensburg (DE)
- Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (GB)
- Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute (CZ)
- Hospital de Galdakao (ES)
- Riga Stradiņš University (LV)
- Universitätsklinikum Würzburg (DE)
- Hospital São Teotónio (PT)
- Bedford Hospital NHS Trust (GB)
- Queen's Medical Centre (GB)
- University Hospital Hradec Králové (CZ)
- Bedford Hospital (GB)
- Azienda Usl Toscana Centro (IT)
- Vilnius University Hospital Santariskiu Klinikos (LT)
- Institute of Electronics and Computer Science (LV)
- University of Regensburg (DE)
- Yerevan State Medical University (AM)
- Palacký University Olomouc (CZ)
- Comenius University Bratislava (SK)
- Newcastle University (GB)
- University of Sheffield (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- United European Gastroenterology Journal
- Published
- 2025-12-05
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/ueg2.70149
- Primary Topic
- Healthcare professionals’ stress and burnout
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00