The last University Medical Center’s Governing Board received a presentation from Dr. Nilesh Gokal, MD, regarding the Nevada Physician Wellness Coalition.

Dr. Gokal is the President of the Nevada Physician Wellness Coalition (NPWC). Per their website, NPWC provides tools and resources to support the well-being of physicians and their families. To address the highly sensitive nature of physician burnout and associated stigma, NPWC operates independent of regulatory and licensure bodies, medical societies, as well as where a physician may be employed.

In his PowerPoint presentation, Dr. Gokal emphasized the urgency of the need for resources and support for physicians’ wellness. Per Dr. Gokal, there exists a culture of silence among physicians. Threats of license revocation loom, and they often suffer in silence until it’s too late.

Nevada ranks 48th out of 50 for board-certified physicians per 100,000 people. Additional pressure on physicians and an already strained healthcare system means the whole community suffers.

For many years, the Ethics and Professionalism Committee of the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) engaged in several discussions about the risks to patient safety that may result from disruptive physician behavior. As per the committee’s recommendation, the duty of state medical boards is to protect the public, including a responsibility to ensure physician wellness and to minimize the impact of policies and procedures that negatively impact the wellness of licensees, both prospective and current. The rationale for this duty is based on the link between physician burnout and its intended risks to patient safety.

Multiple state medical boards have made changes to their licensing applications to help support physicians who seek care for mental health or a substance-use disorder. Overall, about 40% of physicians reported reluctance to seek formal medical care for treatment of a mental health condition.

Complete presentation by Dr. Nilesh Gokul, M.D., President, Nevada Physicians Wellness Coalition.