July Advocacy Champion

Colin P. West, MD, PhD

Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic
Co-Chair, MMA Physician Well-being Advisory Committee

1) Why is being an advocate so important to you?
Being an advocate is about trying to improve the world around us for everyone. I’d like to think my well-being work can have a positive impact on patients, colleagues, and healthcare in general, and advocacy is an important element of translating research and knowledge into tangible actions to drive that impact.

2) What healthcare-related issue(s) have you advocated for over the past year?
As co-chair of the MMA’s Physician Well-being Advisory Committee with Dr. Natalia Dorf-Biderman, I have been working on efforts to improve physician well-being and allow healthcare professionals to experience more fulfilling work environments that allow them to thrive and flourish as they do the demanding work of caring for patients. Maximizing “the MVPs of well-being” (meaning, values, and purpose) in our work is how we can sustain our careers and best help our patients.

3) What advice would you offer to others who are interested in advocacy?
You are already a highly-educated leader wherever you are, so ignore your imposter phenomenon and just engage if there are issues you care about that are important to serve patients, communities, and the entire healthcare community. If we are silent other voices will drive change, so we have to be involved.