It’s been seven years since the American Medical Association (AMA) launched its Joy in Medicine program to address physician burnout.
The issue is far from resolved, with burnout peaking during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recent estimates indicate that more than half of surgeons are still burned out. Amid pressing financial challenges and as organizations struggle to recruit clinicians, the need for joy in medicine has never been more pressing.
The AMA’s voluntary program is meant to serve as a guide to health systems looking to assess and address their institutions’ levels of burnout. Organizations must apply, and participation is free. About 1,800 organizations have participated to date.
“When we see these physician burnout rates climbing, the goal of the [AMA] is to deal with the causes of that burnout," AMA President Bobby Mukkamala, M.D., told Fierce Healthcare.
To meet the eligibility requirements, hospitals and standalone medical practices must have 75 or more physicians. Applications should be submitted on behalf of an organization, not individual departments, programs or affiliated practices. If one or more subsidiaries of a health system, like individual locations or regions, want to apply, they should reach out to the AMA for guidance.
On a webinar held on National Doctors' Day on Monday that drew over 730 participants, Mukkamala spoke alongside Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, founder of the Art of Living Foundation, about the importance of mindfulness. It is important to clear the mind, take deep breaths and stay grounded in order to remain rational, the duo said. Mukkamala, an otolaryngologist in Flint, Michigan, has found this a particularly important practice in a city as stressed by crisis as Flint.
The idea of a mindfulness practice “was very well received in the community here and around the country,” Mukkamala told Fierce Healthcare in a follow-up interview. It makes sense, he added, because “Who needs it more? And that’s why that concept was proved here.”
The potential for artificial intelligence to alleviate some of the administrative burden clinicians face was also a topic of the March 30 webinar. A March 2026 AMA survey found physicians’ AI use has more than doubled since 2023, with 81% of respondents reporting using tools in a professional context. The most common uses were applications documenting clinical care and summarizing medical research.
As AI becomes increasingly common for professionals and patients alike, the AMA uses the term “augmented intelligence” to emphasize the technology's assistive role in medicine and that its design “enhances human intelligence rather than replacing it," per its website. The organization has an AI council and launched a Center for Digital Health and AI in October.
Mukkamala said the organization wants to be involved in the development of the technology but not offer a “gift wrapped” AI product, adding that he wants the organization to have more involvement with AI than it did with the development of electronic health records. “We want to be involved so it’s done right,” he said.
Additionally, Mukkamala stressed the importance of solidarity for physicians, acknowledging that peer support efforts are still in their infancy. “It is an amazing experience to realize that you are not alone,” he said.
Northwestern Medicine has been scaling its peer-to-peer clinician support network for years. While he is excited to hear such initiatives gaining ground, Mukkamala is confident that something like that does not yet exist in a community like Flint. “The hospital systems, they have a particular focus—and it’s about taking care of patients in the acute phase of things,” he said generally of the field. “But I’m hoping that [the Northwestern] example catches on.”
The AMA’s Joy in Medicine program begins with an evaluation, which assesses organizations on elements like their burnout rate, their commitment to addressing it and the efficiency of their environment. Organizations that participate should ideally measure their burnout at least every few years, with the commitment to improving it being ongoing, per Mukkamala. That requires involvement of the C-suite. Rankings, from gold to silver to bronze, are public on the AMA’s website. “It is something a lot of institutions take pride in,” Mukkamala said.
Mukkamala hopes more organizations will apply to Joy in Medicine. Speaking about the local hospitals in Flint, including Hurley Medical Center and McLaren Flint, Mukkamala said, neither "have reached out to say we would love to have you help us.” Given how hard-hit Flint has repeatedly been when it comes to public health, from the lead water crisis to COVID-19 and beyond, Mukkamala knows that the organizations could use the support. He added that all health systems should participate, regardless of whether or not they appear strained.
“Even those hospitals that, when you look at their annual report from a finance perspective, they seem to be doing great, that doesn’t mean that the physician community is doing great,” Mukkamala said.
Editor's Note: In a previous version of this story, Mukkamala misstated that three local Flint hospitals, including Henry Ford Genesys, have not participated in Joy in Medicine. This story was updated on April 2 to reflect that Henry Ford indeed has participated, being recognized at the Bronze level last year.