CU Thrive: Well-Being Innovation Day 2026

Natalie Schwatka, PhD, MS

"Worker Well-Being and Turnover Intentions in Health Centers: A Cross-Sectional Study"

Workforce turnover in Federally Qualified Health Centers threatens care continuity for 30 million vulnerable patients; this study identifies multiple well-being domains significantly associated with turnover intentions across roles. Findings support systems-level, role-informed interventions to improve retention, particularly during the critical 1–5 year tenure window, with implications for workforce policy in safety-net settings.

Presentation Collaborators: Marisha Burden, CU Anschutz School of Medicine | Read Pierce, Denver Health & CU Anschutz School of Medicine | Ann Nederveld, CU Anschutz School of Medicine | Lotte Dyrbye, CU Anschutz School of Medicine

David Shapiro

"Workplace Characteristics Associated with Employment Outcomes Among People in Recovery from Substance Use Disorders: A Scoping Review"

This scoping review examines how workplace characteristics influence hiring, retention, and advancement for people in recovery from substance use disorders. The findings highlight key supports and research gaps, informing efforts to build more inclusive, recovery-supportive workplaces.

Presentation Collaborators: Ben Harnke, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Strauss Health Sciences Library | Ryan S. Lizerbram, Colorado State University, Department of Psychology | Mairéad A. Willis, University of Missouri-Columbia, Department of Psychological Sciences | Natalie V. Schwatka, Colorado School of Public Health, Centers for Health, Work & Environment, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health

Alexandra Kilinsky, DO, MS

"'Shifting' the Balance: Optimizing Cognitive Load of Nocturnists Through a Swing Shift Intervention"

In response to national concerns about overnight coverage, we demonstrate that redistributing admissions through a second swing shift meaningfully reduces nocturnist cognitive load and burnout. This intervention provides an actionable systems-level solution to improve well-being and retention in pediatric hospital medicine.

Rafaela Mantelli, MD

"From Intention to Implementation: Healthcare Leadership Perspectives on Strategies to Sustain Workforce Well-Being"

This study provides leadership-informed evidence that effective implementation of wellbeing initiatives requires structural and organizational change rather than individual-focused interventions alone, highlighting the critical roles of leadership engagement, workflow integration, and alignment with institutional priorities.

Anna Maw, MD

"Implementation and Evaluation of an Ambient AI Scribe to Reduce Clinician Burnout: A Pragmatic Mixed Methods Randomized Trial"

Ambient AI scribe tools may help reduce clinicians’ documentation burden - a major contributor to burnout- yet rigorous real-world evidence from randomized trials is limited. In this pragmatic mixed‑methods pilot, the ACCORDS Learning Health System Core evaluated implementation of the Abridge ambient AI documentation tool among CU School of Medicine clinicians and found significant improvements in clinician wellness and reductions in EHR documentation time.

Marc Moss, MD

"The Colorado Resiliency Arts Lab (CORAL): Alleviating the Healthcare Professional Burnout Crisis with Creative Arts Therapy"

With a therapist’s guidance and empathy, creative arts therapy uses materials and space to 1) create healing environments, 2) support mental and emotional recovery, and 3) foster positive working conditions.

In this presentation, we will discuss the research conducted by The Colorado Resiliency Arts Lab (CORAL) demonstrating the short and long-term benefits of creative arts therapy for employees working in the healthcare setting.

Marisha Burden, MD, MBA

"Toward Evidence‑Based Work Design: Using Digital Signals to Detect Workforce Strain and High‑Performing Teams"

This project introduces a novel, scalable approach to evidence‑based work design by linking digital communication and operational signals to workforce and organizational outcomes. By transforming routinely collected data into near–real‑time, actionable insights, it supports improved operational performance while fostering workforce well‑being and thriving teams.

Kiah Miller

"Small Investment for the Big Win: A Faculty Care Innovation Program Improves Faculty Experience"

The Department of Pediatrics launched a Faculty Care Innovation Program (FCIP) that annually solicits competitive faculty proposals to implement projects with SMART metrics that are designed to improve wellbeing. This program has demonstrated that small, targeted investments in protected time, paired with operational support, turn clinician led ideas into measurable operational and well being gains.

Tyra Fainstad, MD

"Coaching Toward Self-Determination: Awakening Agency in Medicine"

Grounded in self-determination theory, Better Together Coaching helps physicians shift from external validation and survival mode to internal agency in the midst of demanding training environments. A qualitative analysis of recorded coaching calls identified psychological safety and support of autonomy, competence, and relatedness as key mechanisms by which coaching enhances trainee well-being, offering a theory-informed, actionable framework for medical educators in well-being interventions.

George Olsen, MD

"Reimagining Clinical Training: Well-Being Outcomes in Longitudinal Integrated vs. Traditional Clerkships"

Medical students who participated in an LIC (Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship) reported better wellbeing than those in TBRs (Traditional Block Rotations) at the end of the clerkship year and experienced less decline in wellbeing over the course of the clerkship year than those in TBRs.  As medical schools grapple with poor wellbeing amongst students, the LIC model may represent a modifiable component of curricula supporting student wellbeing.

Cassie Ferguson, MD | The Medical College of Wisconsin

"Self-Compassion Profiles at Matriculation Predict Divergent Well-Being Trajectories During Medical School"

This study demonstrates that medical students do not follow a single, uniform well-being trajectory; rather, distinct self-compassion profiles at matriculation predict meaningfully different patterns of distress, flourishing, and motivation across training. By revealing heterogeneity masked by population averages, these findings provide a foundation for more precise, equitable well-being strategies and highlight self-compassion as a high-yield, teachable target for early intervention.

• Well-being and burnout reduction 
• Belonging and inclusion 
  
• Learning environment quality 
  
• Professional fulfillment 
  
• Peer support and psychological safety 
  
• Mentorship and career development 
  
• Culture, civility, and teamwork

• TED-style lightning talk 
  
• Poster presentation 
  
• Short presentation

• Best Oral Presentation Award | One Winner
  
• People’s Choice Poster Presentation Award | One Winner - Live attendee voting!