Episode 61 – The Power of Connection to Drive Well-Being – Kathryn Cziraky, MD

Kathryn Cziraky, MD, is a practicing primary care physician and the regional medical director for WakeMed Primary Care. Her clinical focus is preventive medicine, pediatric and adolescent care, women’s health, procedural medicine, and chronic disease management (including hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, depression/anxiety, and chronic lung diseases such as asthma and COPD). She is also a member of the Board of Managers for WakeMed Key Community Care, WakeMed’s accountable care organization.

In this episode, Dr. Cziraky and I talk about her personal and practice transformation through a shift from transactional to relationship-based care, both with her team members and her patients. We talk about how a drive toward efficiency had left her feeling depleted and disconnected from her work. In early 2020, Dr. Cziraky was introduced to the work of the Institute for Healthcare Excellence through the National Taskforce for Humanity in Healthcare, which helped her embrace positive emotions and a more relational model of work and care, which complemented and completed her drive for sustainable and effective care practice. Dr. Cziraky shares the impact of this transition on her work, her life, and her team’s ability to weather the challenges of COVID-19.

Links related to Dr. Cziraky's podcast:

• The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, Results from the National Taskforce for Humanity in Healthcare's Integrated, Organizational Pilot Program to Improve Well-Being
• Caring Greatly Podcast episode 32, Humanity on the Frontlines of COVID-19
• Caring Greatly Podcast episode 26, Supporting Clinician Well-Being and Thriving After COVID-19