Importance: Sacred moments-meaningful, memorable, and sometimes spiritual moments of connection-occur in health care and may enhance clinician well-being.
Objective: To assess the prevalence, associated factors, and potential benefits of sacred moments among physicians.
Design, setting, and participants: This cross-sectional national survey of randomly selected US internal medicine physicians with no subspecialties was conducted from June 23, 2023, to May 8, 2024. Participants were identified from a national physician database. Surveys assessed physician characteristics, burnout (defined as an occupational phenomenon of emotional exhaustion, cynicism, depersonalization, and a sense of low personal accomplishment), and factors hypothesized to be protective against burnout, including the occurrence and frequency of experiencing sacred moments with patients. Religious or spiritual beliefs, interpersonal connections, and sense of purpose in life and work were also assessed.
Exposure: The Internist Wellness Survey.
Main outcomes and measures: Three domains of burnout, including emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment, were assessed using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey. Multivariable logistic regression models assessed associations between physician characteristics and sacred moments and the association between sacred moments and burnout.
Results: Of 1421 randomly selected internal medicine physicians, 629 completed a survey (44.3% response rate). Physicians spent a median of 23 (IQR, 15-29) years practicing; 376 of 617 (60.9%) were male. A total of 299 of 617 respondents (48.5 %) were hospitalists while 307 of 618 (49.7%) were primary care providers. A total of 424 of 626 respondents (67.7%) reported experiencing a sacred moment with a patient. Of the 421 respondents supplying additional responses, 19 (4.5%) often or always discussed these experiences with colleagues. Factors associated with the greatest increased odds of experiencing a sacred moment included considering oneself a very spiritual person (odds ratio [OR], 2.23; 95% CI, 1.44-3.44; P < .001) and having a strong sense of purpose in life (OR, 1.94; 95% CI, 1.36-2.76; P < .001) and work (OR, 1.94; 95% CI, 1.35-2.79; P < .001). Compared with those experiencing sacred moments less often, respondents experiencing sacred moments a few times per year or more frequently had reduced odds of extreme burnout (OR, 0.29; 95% CI, 0.14-0.60; P = .001). Discussing sacred moments with colleagues was associated with lower odds of burnout (OR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.40-0.95; P = .03).
Conclusions and relevance: In this national survey of internal medicine physicians, experiencing sacred moments is common; discussing them with colleagues is not. These findings suggest that frequently experiencing sacred moments and discussing them with colleagues could bolster physician well-being.