title: Prioritizing Clinician Wellbeing: The University of Virginia's Compassionate Care Initiative.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Working in healthcare is increasingly challenging for nurses, physicians, and other health professionals. Ongoing high stress takes a toll on clinicians and interferes with the quality of their patient care. Fostering clinician wellbeing needs to be a priority; if not, the human and financial consequences are significant.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To describe the University of Virginia (UVA) School of Nursing's Compassionate Care Initiative (CCI) as an example of an organizational case study that is engaged in multipronged efforts to cultivate a resilient healthcare workforce committed to high-quality, compassionate, relationship-based care.
  
  
  METHODS
  This case report describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of the CCI at UVA. Various elements of the program are reviewed, which include harnessing talents and interests of the larger institution in the establishment of Compassionate Care Ambassadors, outreach to the community, innovative student-specific educational activities, and a national media program.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The UVA CCI is a successful model of an organizational effort to promote clinician wellbeing and resilience. Aspects from this program can be adapted to other organizations that are committed to addressing this critical issue in US healthcare today.
authors.affiliation: Compassionate Care Initiative, University of Virginia School of Nursing Charlottesville, United States (Dr Bauer-Wu).
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bauer-Wu
authors.affiliation: University of Virginia School of Nursing, United States (Dr Fontaine).
authors.forename: Dorrie
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fontaine
keywords: Resilience; academic health sciences; burnout; clinician wellbeing; compassionate care; healthy work environment; interprofessional; nursing education; relationship-based care