# Anesthesia Wellness Committee Toolkit

**Version 1.0 · Published April 2026**
**Produced by Anesthesia Pro · anesthesia-pro.com**

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## What this pack contains

This toolkit is a set of six editable documents for anesthesia departments establishing, resetting, or maturing a wellness committee. The pack is informed by published literature on clinician wellbeing, position statements from the AANA, ASA, and ACGME, and the operational practices of wellness programs at academic medical centers that have demonstrated measurable reductions in burnout and preventable turnover.

| File | Purpose |
|------|---------|
| `charter-template.md` | Two- to three-page committee charter with scope, membership, decision rights, funding, confidentiality, and amendment process. |
| `meeting-agenda-template.md` | Monthly meeting agenda with standing reports, decision log, and action-item tracker. |
| `first-90-days-plan.md` | Week-by-week plan for a new or reset committee, with a risk register and accelerated-timeline variant. |
| `leadership-brief-template.md` | Standalone one-page brief for requesting committee formation, funding, or expansion from the department chief or C-suite. |
| `pulse-survey-template.md` | Quarterly pulse instrument intended to complement an annual validated measure (Mini-Z 2.0 or Stanford PFI). |
| `README.md` | This document. |

## How to use

These files are plain markdown. Open them in any text editor, paste them into Microsoft Word or Google Docs to apply your institution's formatting, or render them to PDF with any standard converter.

Bracketed placeholders in the format `[Department]`, `[Date]`, and `[amount]` indicate fields for you to fill in. The documents are written as operational templates, not as inspirational material — extract what fits your department and discard the rest.

## Scope and audience

Written for an anesthesia clinical department comprising Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs), Certified Anesthesiologist Assistants (CAAs), Student Registered Nurse Anesthetists (SRNAs) on rotation, anesthesiologists, and administrative support staff. The charter explicitly names all provider types; the survey and programming recommendations apply across them.

These documents assume a department with access to institutional resources typical of a community hospital, academic medical center, or large ambulatory surgery network. Smaller groups can scale the committee roles proportionally.

## Evidence base and references

The operational recommendations in this pack reflect findings from the following sources. Committees are encouraged to cite the specific references applicable to their institutional context.

- Shanafelt TD, Noseworthy JH. Executive leadership and physician well-being. *Mayo Clin Proc.* 2017.
- Trockel M, et al. A brief instrument to assess both burnout and professional fulfillment in physicians. *Acad Psychiatry.* 2018 (Stanford Professional Fulfillment Index).
- AMA STEPS Forward. Mini-Z 2.0 Survey.
- AANA Position Statement 2.14: Patient-Centered Perianesthesia Communication.
- ACGME Common Program Requirements: Section VI.F (Well-Being).
- Institute for Healthcare Improvement. A Framework for Improving Joy in Work.
- West CP, Dyrbye LN, Shanafelt TD. Physician burnout: contributors, consequences and solutions. *J Intern Med.* 2018.

## What this pack is not

- **Not legal or compliance advice.** Confidentiality language and peer-review privilege provisions should be reviewed by your institution's counsel against applicable state statute before adoption.
- **Not a substitute for a validated instrument.** The pulse survey is designed for quarterly trend monitoring. Annual burnout measurement should use a validated instrument (Mini-Z 2.0, Stanford PFI, or MBI).
- **Not a disciplinary framework.** Concerns suggesting impairment, diversion, or licensing obligations follow your institution's and state's reporting pathways — not the committee.

## Local resources to document

Every committee should maintain an appendix to the charter listing local resource contacts. Fill in the following before launch:

- State nurse peer assistance program (CRNAs): __________
- State physician health program (anesthesiologists): __________
- Institutional Employee Assistance Program (EAP): __________
- Institutional second-victim or peer-support program (e.g., RISE, forYOU): __________
- Institutional chief wellness officer or equivalent: __________
- Chaplaincy / pastoral care contact: __________
- 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (national, always available)
- Physician Support Line: 1-888-409-0141 (physicians and medical students)

## Revision and licensing

This pack is released for free use and adaptation by any clinical department. Attribution to Anesthesia Pro (anesthesia-pro.com) is appreciated but not required. Feedback and improvement suggestions: wellness@anesthesia-pro.com.

Revisions to this pack will be published at anesthesia-pro.com/wellness/committee-toolkit. Check for the current version before distributing internally.