Initiatives

Physician and Provider Engagement and Resiliency Program
The program coordinates system efforts to address physician and provider mindfulness and resilience by assuring that a comprehensive approach is utilized system-wide, monitors trends and outcomes, identifies gaps in institutional knowledge, explores and evaluates new and innovative ways to learn more and prioritizes them for implementation, and partners with system hospitals to implement pilot initiatives.

Digital Learning Boards (DLB)
Digital Learning Boards are a powerful tool for daily operational management, process improvement, giving employees a voice, and enhancing teamwork and communication. The DLBs are used during morning and evening huddles and enable teams to standardize communication at shift changes.

Mindfulness
Mindfulness training has been shown to improve physical and emotional health and well-being as well as attention, emotional regulation, resilience, memory, adaptability, and compassion. This initiative is designed to support all physicians, clinicians and staff in cultivating the practice of mindfulness and to give them a framework for applying the practice of mindfulness in the course of their clinical and daily life.

Positive Brain Training
Evidence-based research in the neurosciences and positive psychology field confirms it is possible to train the brain to be ‘positive’. Positive brain training exercises change the way the brain works over time and leads to a more optimistic, happy, and engaged life.

Schwartz Rounds
Ken Schwartz, who lost his battle with advanced lung cancer, created The Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare in 1995 just days before his death. Schwartz Rounds are designed to assist physicians and clinical staff in improving communication, promoting compassion and empathy, spiritual care, empowering patients and families, influencing training, and dissemination of best practices.

Resident Well-Being
The Texas Medical Center, the largest medical complex in the world, is a unique setting for clinician and physician learners. In 2018, Houston Methodist convened and sponsored a cross-institutional workgroup of experts interested in improving resident well-being. The workgroup is assessing the presence and extent of burnout, as well as resiliency skills in trainees through a cross-institutional resident well-being survey. 

Mind. Body. Spirit.
Houston Methodist is committed to inclusive spiritual care for patients, families, physicians and staff. To be supportive of the unique emotional and spiritual journey of our physicians, we have dedicated a full-time chaplain to serve as an innovative resource in many different ways such as: emotional first aid; spiritual guidance, spiritual wellness plans, and clinic support.