About the HCA Healthcare Flourishing Project
HCA Healthcare Graduate Medical Education has coupled with the Physician Wellness Research Lab (PWRL) at Claremont Graduate University, headed by Dr. Jason Siegel, Professor of Psychology. Our goal is to advance our understanding of physician well-being and develop evidence-based interventions to support flourishing in our healthcare teams. The research expertise and positive organizational psychology insights provided by the wellness research lab combines with the robust scale of HCA Healthcare GME to allow unparalleled research and intervention opportunities. Together, HCA Healthcare GME and our wellness partners like Claremont Graduate University will create a brighter more flourishing future for those who have dedicated themselves to the care and improvement of human life.
Claremont Graduate University, founded in 1925 and a member of the Claremont Colleges/Claremont University Consortium, is an independent institution devoted entirely to graduate study. The mission of Claremont Graduate University is to prepare a diverse group of outstanding individuals to assume leadership roles in the worldwide community. Claremont Graduate University prepares individuals to be leaders for positive change in the world. Unique in its transdisciplinary approach, the university is dedicated to creating, disseminating, and applying new knowledge and diverse perspectives through research, practice, creative works, and community engagement.
The Physician Wellness Research Lab
The Physician Wellness Research Lab (PWRL) mission is to use psychological science to improve the health and well-being of physicians. Their work incorporates theory from social, health, and positive psychology with the goal of learning the best approaches for optimizing physician wellness. The lab has conducted three year-long studies of HCA Healthcare Residents with a focus on variables such as psychological capital, meaning in work, autonomy supportive leadership, burnout, and depression. The PWRL recently evaluated resident wellness programs at HCA Healthcare facilities and is currently interviewing program directors to learn how to maximize resident wellness programs offered across residency programs. The PWRL was founded in 2017 by Anne Brafford (CGU), Brendon Ellis (CGU), Greg Guldner (HCA Healthcare), Jason Siegel (CGU), and Jessica Wells (HCA Healthcare).
Jason Siegel
Jason T. Siegel is a professor of social and health psychology in Claremont Graduate University’s Division of Behavioral & Organizational Sciences. He is the director of the HCA Healthcare/CGU Physician Wellness Lab, the director of the Depression and Persuasion Research Lab, and co-director of the Institute for Health Psychology & Prevention Science. Siegel’s research focuses on the social psychology of health behavior change. He utilizes theories of persuasion, motivation, and emotion to develop approaches for maximizing the success of health campaigns and interventions. Accordingly, he has designed, implemented, and evaluated numerous efforts to increase the health and well-being of various populations. Dr. Siegel’s work has been published in outlets such as Health Psychology, Social Science and Medicine, Clinical Psychological Science, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Health Communication, and the Journal of Positive Psychology.
In addition to his work with HCA Healthcare, Dr. Siegel has received funding and contracts from organizations such as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the National Institutes on Drug Abuse, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Department of Labor. Moreover, he has given research methods seminars for organizations such as NBC/Universal, the Centers for Disease Control, the Department of Labor, The Evaluator Institute, and the American Evaluation Association.
Dr. Siegel was the 2014 recipient of the Western Psychological Association Early Career Research Award, was nominated for and accepted into the Society of Experimental Social Psychology in 2015, and was named the inaugural winner of the Claremont Graduate University Presidential Research Award for outstanding contributions to new knowledge in 2018. Most recently, Siegel received the 2019 Western Psychological Association Social Responsibility Award.
About our graduate students
Alex Marshburn, M.A.
Alex is a graduate student in the social psychology concentration in Claremont Graduate University’s Division of Behavioral & Organizational Sciences. Alex is the co-director of the Physician Wellness Research Lab and has collaborated with HCA Healthcare for approximately two years. He recently led a research study that evaluated the breadth of resident wellness programs implemented across HCA Healthcare. Alex’s research interests include persuasive health communication and the reduction of mental health stigma. In addition to working with HCA Healthcare, Alex has also worked with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has published a chapter on persuasion, and co-designed a campus-wide campaign to increase help-seeking for depression and reduce mental health stigma. He has presented his scholarship at conferences such as the Association for Psychological Science and the Western Psychological Association.
Sabrina Menezes, MA
Sabrina is a graduate student in Claremont Graduate University’s Division of Behavioral & Organizational Sciences. She has an M.A. in Positive Health Psychology and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Social Psychology. Sabrina is now the co-director of the Physician Wellness Lab. Sabrina has been working with HCA Healthcare for two years and helped conduct a resident wellness evaluation for HCA Healthcare. Sabrina’s central research interests include health persuasion, help-seeking for depression, and physician wellness. Sabrina is currently leading a project that involves interviews with program directors with the goal of better understanding what contributes to and hinders the ability of residency programs to provide wellness activities. Sabrina has also worked on various projects such as a study on cancer survivorship and wellness during Covid-19, and another investigating whether patient attributions of physician burnout impact their emotional responses and, as a result, relevant patient outcomes like trust in the physician, willingness to follow medical advice, and likelihood to recommend the physician. She won an Oskamp Fellowship award at Claremont Graduate University (2020-2021) and a Jenness Hannigan Research Fellowship (2021-2022).
Kelsey Carpenter, MA
Kelsey is a graduate student in Claremont Graduate University’s Division of Behavioral & Organizational Sciences. She has an MPH with a concentration in Health Promotion, Education & Evaluation and is currently pursuing a PhD in Social Psychology. Kelsey’s central research interests include positive health psychology and unintended consequences of well-intended health promotion messaging. Kelsey has also worked with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and completed an internship with Inland Empire Health Plan to address vaccine hesitancy within local communities. Her current research projects include examining the impact of physician burnout on the patient-physician relationship, exploring unintended effects of anti-stigma campaigns for mental health, and assisting with the lab’s qualitative interview project assessing wellness activity implementation across residency programs at HCA Healthcare.
Stephanie Ramirez, MA
Stephanie is a graduate student in Claremont Graduate University’s (CGU) Division of Behavioral & Organizational Sciences. She has a M.A. in Positive Health Psychology and is currently completing her MPH in Health Promotion, Education & Evaluation in CGU’s School of Community and Global Health. Stephanie is a research associate at the Physician Wellness Lab and has worked with HCA Healthcare for over two years. She assisted in conducting resident wellness evaluations to determine which positive psychological constructs promote well-being as well as a buffer against deleterious effects common in the hospital setting amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, she was involved in evaluating the breadth of resident wellness programs implemented across HCA Healthcare and is now assisting with the second component of the study, the lab’s qualitative interview project assessing wellness activity implementation across residency programs at HCA Healthcare. Her current research projects include the use of positive psychological constructs to aid Medical Students Underrepresented in Medicine (URiM). Her goal is to help with the retention and well-being of medical student URiM to increase minority representation in the field to help low SES, underserved communities of color.