Improving the Physician Experience to Attract, Retain, and Engage Top Physician Talent: Responsibility Overload — Strategies to Stop Defaulting to the Doctor

Physician recruitment, retention, and engagement have become increasingly difficult because of two pressing realities: the worsening physician shortage and physicians spending less discretionary time at work. Amplified by COVID-19 and rising performance pressures, physicians face responsibility overload — where the role has become too saturated with tasks, metrics, and expectations far afield from the core physician role. Despite increased access to time-saving technologies, burnout rates remain high because these tools do not offset the avalanche of responsibilities. This article, the first in a three-part series, outlines three strategies to stop defaulting to the doctor and instead optimize the physician role. Metric discipline involves evaluating whether a metric is worth the attention of the organization’s costliest resource and removing those that are not. Communication discipline addresses the uncontrolled access to physicians via digital platforms, advocating for rigorous workflows that reduce cognitive load. Task discipline ensures physicians spend their time on high-value, top-of-license work by delegating routine tasks to appropriate care team members. These strategies are not about minimizing the physician’s role but about maximizing engagement in high-impact work. Refining responsibilities is essential to improving the physician experience, enhancing care quality, and strengthening the healthcare ecosystem.