Clinician strain and turnover don’t begin with a resignation letter. They build quietly, over months or even years, often out of sight of traditional engagement tools
That reality was front and center in a recent webinar hosted by the Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA), where healthcare and analytics leaders explored how organizations can better understand clinician well-being, identify risk earlier, and take meaningful action, without adding to survey fatigue.
The discussion featured insights from:
- Heather Schmidt, DO, System Medical Director, Employee Well-being, SSM Health
- Matthew Owens, MD, Chief Clinical Officer, Mercy Health – Lima, Bon Secours Mercy Health
- Xi (Sisi) Hu, PhD, Co-Founder and Chief Economist, Atalan, and Harvard Law School Fellow
Together, they examined how health systems can move beyond periodic surveys and toward a more complete, real-time understanding of their workforce.
Why Surveys Alone Aren’t Enough
Dr. Schmidt opened the conversation by acknowledging the value of surveys – they give clinicians a voice and surface important themes. But in today’s fast-moving healthcare environment, surveys often arrive too late and tell only part of the story.
Many clinicians don’t respond at all. Others disengage when they don’t see timely change. Over time, this leads to survey fatigue and missed signals, particularly among the “silent sufferers” who may be struggling the most – and are least likely to raise their hand.
Dr. Schmidt explained that an important question leaders are asking is: How do we know who is doing well, who is struggling, and where do we need to act – right now? And just as importantly, how do we equip leaders with the tools and insight to respond proactively, strengthen relationships, and truly be present for their teams?
Acting Earlier to Improve Well-Being and Outcomes
From the clinical leadership perspective, Dr. Owens emphasized that early insight is essential to improving both clinician well-being and organizational performance.
The goal isn’t simply awareness. It’s action. Identifying signs of strain earlier allows leaders to support clinicians before strain deepens or disengagement sets in. That early intervention creates a ripple effect: better well-being leads to higher productivity, stronger engagement, improved patient experience, and healthier communities.
Dr. Owens highlighted the importance of actionable insight: information that helps leaders understand what clinicians are experiencing day to day, not just what they report in a survey.
“What I was seeking as a platform of achieving better well-being was the opportunity to get to people earlier, to help identify – in an actionable way – what’s going on, and to try to help them be on a pathway to better well-being. This leads to better productivity, a more engaged patient population, and better health for my community.”
– Matthew Owens, MD
Chief Clinical Officer, Mercy Health – LimaBon Secours Mercy Health
Seeing the Whole Workforce, Not Just the Respondents
A recurring theme throughout the discussion was the challenge of nonresponse bias. Surveys tend to reflect the voices of those willing or able to respond, leaving a significant portion of the workforce unseen.
By leveraging technology to surface insights from operational and behavioral data, organizations can gain a more comprehensive view of how clinicians are really doing, including those who may never complete a survey. This broader perspective helps leaders prioritize outreach and focus their limited time on the conversations and interventions that matter most.
Dr. Schmidt noted that this approach doesn’t replace human connection. It strengthens it. Data can guide leaders toward more meaningful check-ins, supported by evidence-based ideas that spark dialogue and reinforce trust.
Introducing Clinician Retention Intelligence (CRI)
Sisi introduced the new industry category of Clinician Retention Intelligence (CRI), describing how advanced analytics and machine learning can help organizations detect risk long before it reaches a crisis point.
When clinicians struggle with workload, EHR frustration, prior authorizations, and other persistent stressors, the decision to leave often begins far earlier than leaders realize. The data shows it. Behavior changes – reduced patient loads, disengagement, increased after-hours work – can signal mounting strain before a resignation is submitted.
“Our leaders are doing so much, so how do we help them be able to prioritize those very important reach outs and check ins and give them evidence based interventions that they could consider or share with their team as potential ideas and ultimately drive a conversation? The relationship is what’s most important.”
– Heather Schmidt, DO
System Medical Director, Employee Well-being
SSM Health
By the time leaders reach what Sisi described as the “red zone,” opportunities to intervene are often limited. Retention intelligence shifts the focus upstream, helping organizations identify early warning signs and act while there’s still time to make a difference.
Dr. Owens expanded on how machine learning translates these patterns into practical insight for leaders, highlighting factors such as after-hours documentation, on-call burden, peer responsiveness, and departmental turnover trends. Equipped with this context, leaders can approach clinicians with empathy, clarity, and purpose.
Real Impact for Clinicians – and the Organization
The conversation concluded with real-world results. Dr. Schmidt shared how focused, data-informed retention efforts had already led to a meaningful reduction in turnover, positively impacting 36 providers in the first several months of using the technology. This has significant positive implications on the clinicians’ experiences, as well as significant financial benefits for the organization.
Dr. Owens reinforced that reduced turnover protects more than individual well-being. It safeguards productivity, lowers recruitment and replacement costs, and strengthens the overall business case for investing in clinician support. With plans to scale these efforts across a large footprint, the long-term impact is substantial.
The Bottom Line
The message from this CHA conversation was clear: effective retention starts with visibility and leads to clinical, operational, and financial benefits.
When healthcare leaders can see what surveys miss, identify risk earlier, and focus attention where it matters most, they create environments where clinicians feel supported and where organizations can thrive. Technology doesn’t replace leadership presence; it enables it, turning insight into timely, human action.