In response to an unmet need by our members and in coordination with our ASCO Oncology Clinician Well-Being Task Force, beginning March 1, 2023, ASCO members in the U.S. can enroll in SafeHaven™, a comprehensive collection of physician well-being resources.

“We are extending this offering to our members in the hope that it can alleviate some of the stress that clinicians face in all aspects of their lives, both personal and professional,” said 2022-2023 ASCO president Eric P. Winer, MD, FASCO. “We are committed to supporting members of the oncology team. In particular, we want to identify and address the structural factors that create and contribute to burnout and inhibit well-being.”

In 2020, ASCO established the Oncology Clinician Well-Being Task Force, which has a mission of improving the quality, safety, and value of cancer care by enhancing the well-being of oncology clinicians. The committee fielded a survey in June 2022 to assess members’ need for and interest in well-being resources (“ASCO Physician Well Being Resources Questionnaire”). The survey revealed that more than 40% of respondents didn’t have access to any such services from their respective employers, and 44% would be likely to subscribe to such a program if offered by ASCO. The services that members were most interested in were peer coaching and leadership training, professional counseling, and well-being resources.

To meet its members’ needs, ASCO collaborated with VITAL WorkLife and the Medical Society of Virginia to offer SafeHaven for a highly subsidized cost. The SafeHaven benefit is being offered as a pilot program from March 1, 2023, through August 31, 2024. Members can enroll anytime between March 1 and August 1 of this year, and ASCO will cover 80% of the cost of the service to the first 1,000 members who enroll, making it only $75 total for the 18-month program.

One of SafeHaven’s most popular offerings is its WorkLife Concierge, which aims to help free up participants’ time so they can have more time to do what they enjoy or spend with their family members by helping with a variety of everyday and special-occasion tasks, including appointment scheduling, errands, meal-prep delivery services, travel arrangements, and more. Other resources include peer-to-peer coaching, financial consultations, legal consultations, counseling, and more.

Enrollment in the program is completely confidential: ASCO will not be privy to names or member identification numbers of those who enroll and will only receive an aggregate number of total enrollees.

Watch an orientation video that walks viewers through SafeHaven’s services.

Enroll in the SafeHaven member benefit.

Take Our Survey: The State of Well-Being and Professional Satisfaction Among U.S. Oncologists

ASCO is conducting a survey to evaluate the well-being of oncologists in patient care roles. Our research will also investigate drivers of joy and stress and evaluate personal and professional characteristics that may be associated with departure from patient care roles. If you are a U.S.-based oncologist who is actively treating patients or stopped treating patients within the past 5 years, please complete the survey.

Related Resources

• ASCO Resource Page: Recognizing Burnout & Promoting Well-Being
• “A Call to Action: Ethics Committee Roundtable Recommendations for Addressing Burnout and Moral Distress in Oncology” (JCO Oncology Practice)
• “Finding Our Way Out of Burnout” (JCO Oncology Practice)
• “Occupational and Personal Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic on US Oncologist Burnout and Well-Being: A Study From the ASCO Clinician Well-Being Task Force” (JCO Oncology Practice)
• “2021 Survey of America’s Physicians COVID-19 Impact Edition: A Year Later” (report from The Physicians Foundation)