Hospitalist Listen-Sort-Empower (LSE) to Identify System Burdens

This project explored upstream drivers of burnout among the 72 hospitalist providers within the Division of General Internal Medicine at U of U Health. Adapting the same Listen-Sort-Empower (LSE) framework to conduct in-person and virtual semi-structured interviews with 11 members of the Hospitalist team. The identified findings were then prioritized via survey by 33 (46%) team members. Conclusion: The two primary factors and eight themes outlined in this report can be stated in simple terms: Hospitalists are purpose-driven providers who are currently frustrated and overwhelmed by system-induced distress and workplace burdens. The Hospitalists engaged in this process with a genuine interest and passion to make the work better. As a result, we were able to define what "better" means for hospitalists and identify two System Opportunities for Improvement (SOFI) to focus improvement efforts on in FY25 (7/1/24 - 6/30/25): 1) Obtaining outside hospital records for unplanned admissions, and (2) Scheduling post-discharge follow-up appointments.