What is the Well-being Index?
The Well-being Index is an anonymous, web-based, self-assessment tool used to evaluate multiple dimensions of distress among physicians, APPs, residents and fellows in just 10-12 questions. It’s designed to measure burnout, provide valuable resources for self-improvement tailored based on an individual’s responses, and allow users to compare their scores to their peers as well as track progress over time to promote self-awareness. The Well-being Index is a validated tool used at more than 200 institutions around the country and is an effective way to measure well-being
What does the Well-being Index measure?
The Well-being Index measures several dimensions of well-being: meaning in work, likelihood of burnout, severe fatigue, work-life integration, quality of life and suicidal ideation. Each participant receives individualized results which will benchmark one’s well-being relative to peers nationally and colleagues locally while remaining anonymous. The overall metric reported is the mean distress score. A high mean distress score (≥3 for physicians, ≥4 for APPs) has been validated to confer greater risk in a number of areas. Based on your scores, resources are also provided that are tailored to your specific needs that can aid in improving your overall sense of well-being.
What will be done with the results of the Well-being Index?
The Physician & APP Well-being team will review all anonymous data and prepare reports for senior leadership as well as department leadership and independent group leadership. Strategic plans will be developed in response to the results. As we continue to integrate across the system and invest in, expand and elevate our well-being offerings for physicians, APPs, residents and fellows, these results will drive programming and support for high-risk areas and systemwide initiatives.
How is the Well-being Index confidential when I need to create an account using my personal information?
When initially setting up your account, you will be asked to provide an email address. The purpose of this is to allow users to access the tool anytime to find out more about resources to support their well-being and to re-assess their well-being regularly, if desired. The email address can also be used to receive notifications and reminders for reassessment, if you so choose. Your email information is not linked to your personal results. All results are confidential and de-identified. You may elect to use a personal email address.
How is the Well-being Index confidential when I belong to a small department or group?
The confidentiality of this assessment is of utmost importance. The survey is administered by a third party and the individual raw data is encrypted and not accessible. Results are only available in aggregate. To help physicians, APPs, residents and fellows accurately identify their specialty/program/division, there are specific departments available to choose from. Please note, if a group does not have at least five people respond, the results will not be reported, to preserve confidentiality. Instead, the results will “roll up” to a less specific group (i.e. overall department).
How often should I take the Well-being Index?
All employed and independent physicians, APPs, residents and fellows are encouraged to take the Well-being Index monthly for self-assessment, but we only promote it widely and report out on results once per year. In 2024, the assessment window will be September 9-27. We encourage all physicians, APPs, residents and fellows to set reminders in their registration via email or text to take the assessment more often. You can also download the Well-being Index app in the App Store for easy access on your personal device. If you are a leader and you decide you’d like your team to monitor their well-being more than on an annual basis and if you would like to continue to receive reports, reach out to the officeoffulfillment@corewellhealth.org.
How is this Well-being Index different from the Listening Survey?
We recognize the risk of survey fatigue. We appreciate our team members taking the time to complete both assessments. The Listening Survey and the Well-being Index are unique but complementary tools to understand the needs of physicians, APPs, residents and fellows. The Listening Survey measures engagement and focuses on your experiences in the work environment. The Well-being Index focuses on the individual person within that environment.
What do I do if I was using the Well-being Index at a previous organization and already have an account?
You can sign up for multiple Well-being Index accounts with the same email address. For example, when your employer and a professional organization both offer the Well-being Index, simply click the sign-up link or scan the QR code for your new organization. During sign-up, enter the same email address as your current account. The Well-being Index will recognize your email address and ask if you want to associate this new organization with your existing account. Clicking the blue button to associate your account will trigger a pop-up window asking you to input the password you used to create your Well-being Index account. You will receive a message that account verification was successful and be prompted to answer any sign-up questions in the new account that were not also asked during your original sign-up. Please also note the box to set your primary organization. You should set your primary organization to your current employer, school or hospital. Your primary organization is used for new index surveys and listed first in the resources. You can change this anytime by going to your account settings.
If you have additional questions, or are experiencing trouble navigating the app, please take a look at these instructional videos.