New chief well-being officer to enhance the culture of caring at medical school

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lisa Uherick was serving as a pediatric emergency physician at Carilion Clinic. As the typically constant stream of pediatric patients slowed to a trickle with schools and sports on hold, she had the chance to observe the emergency department and realize the care team was struggling.

“There was so much stress on the providers, as they were overwhelmed the uncertainty of how to best care for their patients while at the same time worrying about their own safety and the safety of their families,” she said. “It became even more clear to me that we needed to radically care for the caregivers.”

With the full support of leadership, she created a program called Healthy People Heal People, which encouraged people to take care of themselves and each other, maximizing their capacity to heal others. The movement helped team members be recognized for the great work they were doing, developed avenues for cleaning up workplace inefficiencies, offered support to many who were struggling, and provided opportunities for community connections.

In her new role as the inaugural chief well-being officer at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, Uherick is bringing her experiences as a physician and leader in well-being to enhance the culture of caring for students, residents, fellows, faculty, and staff at the school. 

“If I were to communicate well-being work in its simplest form, I would say that we decrease the bad and increase the good,” she said. “By decreasing the bad, we first look to our systems and our environment. What is burning us out? What is getting in the way of us doing our job well? What is draining our compassion? What are our barriers to learning? How is our environment perpetuating inequity or non-inclusivity? By working on those things, we will make a big impact.”

Uherick said providers must self-reflect and focus on decreasing the bad habits that exist in the culture of medicine. She said physicians tend to overwork and help others at the expense of their own well-being. They also are likely to be extremely self-critical.

“Increasing the good is a bit easier and more fun. It can be creating a culture of encouragement,” Uherick said. “Creating opportunities for socialization and connection to work better as a team and fight isolation. Offering opportunities to learn about and improve the different aspects of wellness is another positive way that an academic health center can support its people. Investing in our people is the best investment we can make.”

In 2022, Dean Lee Learman appointed members of a Well-Being Task Force to develop recommendations to support the school's future physicians as well as employees. David Musick, senior dean of faculty affairs, was appointed co-chair along with Uherick, who was representing Carilion Clinic at the time.

“Well-being has become an urgent issue in the past decade for medical school faculty, students, resident physicians, and staff, particularly since the onset of the pandemic. Many studies have provided ample evidence that clinical faculty, in particular, are at high risk for serious challenges in this area,” Musick said. “The appointment of Dr. Lisa Uherick as our inaugural chief well-being officer highlights the importance that our school places on this issue. Dr. Uherick brings a wealth of experience to this new role, having worked over several years to develop many different programs to enhance and support the vitality of all members of our academic health center community.”

Uherick joined Carilion Clinic in 2007 with a specific interest in the development of the then-new medical school, serving as a founding faculty member of the emergency medicine residency training program. A native Midwesterner, who attended the University of Wisconsin and the Medical College of Wisconsin, she has made Roanoke home. She has three teenage children, the oldest a first-year student at Virginia Tech, and has recently moved her parents east to live alongside them. 

“When I first came to visit and learn about Carilion, I was immediately drawn to the beauty of the mountains and the Roanoke region,” Uherick said. “As someone accustomed to the kindness of Midwesterners, I felt a strong connection to the small-town friendliness of the area.”

As she embarks on her new role with the medical school, Uherick plans to develop programs that will have a lasting positive impact on students, faculty, staff, and the community. She said the task force’s recommendations, other national best practices, and a local needs assessment provide the guidance and structure for the investment in well-being across the academic health center.  

“Well-being is a journey and not an end point,” she said. “In our well-being work, we will work on the environment first. While that culture is changing, we will also pour our support into individual team members.”