Empathy: The Leadership Strategy That Retains Talent and Saves Millions in Healthcare (137H)

Institutional empathy has emerged as an organizational superpower to reduce the massive problem of clinician turnover and promote clinician wellness. Health systems are adopting empathy training as a primary organizational value and brand promise. This session will present an evidence-based empathy training program that leverages empathy as a strategic tool within healthcare organizations. Participants will be presented with a blueprint for implementing evidence-based empathy training, validated through research at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, which has been successfully implemented at Sutter Gould Medical Foundation (SGMF) and other sites within Sutter Health. Presenters will highlight the positive impact of empathy training on staff engagement, wellness, retention and improved patient experience at Sutter. The session will also highlight the significant costs associated with clinician turnover, emphasizing the financial benefits of implementing empathy training, citing a 1700% increase in clinician retention at SGMF, resulting in over $18 million in savings. Using empirical data and success testimonials, the session aims to educate healthcare executives on the effectiveness of neuroscience-based empathy training in improving clinician retention, enhancing patient experience, and combating burnout and stress, offering practical insights and tools for implementing empathy training across healthcare systems, including leadership workshops and scalable training programs.