The Southern California Permanente Medical Group’s Physician Wellness Program, led by Dawn Clark, M.D., and Edward Ellison, M.D., was awarded the California Medical Association (CMA) Gary S. Nye, M.D., Award for Physician Health and Well‐Being. The program has significantly shifted the culture of wellness for 8,500 physicians in California, and is exemplary for the innovative, all‐encompassing approach it brings to enhancing physician well‐being. The medical group, a physician‐led organization, supports wellness and well‐being of physicians at every level.

Both Dr. Clark and Dr. Ellison have led the way in developing and implementing the program’s “5 Pillars”: prevention, professional fulfillment, practice management, collegiality and community service, and health.

Their commitment to physician wellness led to the creation of a program that continues to evolve to meet the needs of physicians. The medical group has seen first‐hand the results that a sustained, systems‐based approach can make in the lives of its physicians. It works in part because, while the programs touches physicians individually, the 5 Pillar Program has also reset the culture to emphasize wellness.

The Physician Wellness program is an innovative and increasingly successful model for promoting physician well‐being, and offers a variety of proven techniques and tools that could lay the groundwork for a future program for all physicians in the state of California.

The program and its leaders have also been recognized on the local, state and national levels for their effective and innovative work in physician wellness.

This award was established in honor of Gary Nye, M.D., a leader in bringing attention and developing solutions for physician impairment and rehabilitation. The award was announced at the CMA Foundation’s 21st annual President’s Reception and Awards Gala, during the CMA House of Delegates last weekend in Anaheim.