What Does It Mean To Matter?
To matter is to be significant.
Mattering is about feeling valued. It means that someone notices you and wants you around. It means that what you want or need is important to them.
Mattering is also about adding value. If you matter, others rely on you. You possess qualities, knowledge, or skills that allow you to make unique contributions to those around you.
Mattering has been linked to a number of essential elements of well-being such as self-efficacy, personal growth, relatedness, social belonging, and life satisfaction.
When you feel like you matter, you lead a richer and more connected life.
Why is Mattering in Healthcare Important?
Despite growing awareness of the prevalence of burnout and dissatisfaction of the United States healthcare workforce and initial efforts to attenuate the problems, the state of clinician wellbeing – for both current and future clinicians – remains concerning. (Elsevier Health, 2023; The Physicians Foundation, 2023).
According to the Physicians’ Foundation 2023 Survey of America’s Current and Future Physicians (2023), 6 in 10 physicians, 6 in 10 medical residents, and 7 in 10 medical students report feelings of burnout. This statistic has not changed in the past 3 years. In their international Clinician of the Future 2023 study, Elsevier Health (2023) reports that 33% of physicians and 42% of nurses are considering leaving their current role within the next 2-3 years, and 25% of nurses in the US are considering leaving healthcare altogether in the near future.
Given that making a difference in the lives of others is integral to the professional identities of healthcare providers, a sense of professional mattering may be of particular significance. It is important for us to perceive that we add value and are valued by not only our patients, but by our peers, interprofessional team members, and the organization or system for whom we work.
A sense of mattering may buffer the daily stressors of healthcare providers and potentially diminish the incidence of burnout, and our team's research supports that. Survey responses from over 500 nurses, physicians, social workers and therapists have shown that those clinicians who report more mattering also report a greater sense of engagement and less burnout
Interventions designed to increase mattering may lead to reduced clinician burnout, better retention rates, and improved quality of care, ultimately fostering a more resilient and effective system that benefits healthcare providers and patients.
Thoughts from the Lawn Mattering and Interdependence
A colleague of mine at another university died recently. We collaborated on several projects over the last few years. As we worked together professionally, we also came to know each other personally. We shared several common interests and experiences. Distance kept us from bonding socially, but she, our study collaborators, and I “zoomed” at least weekly. I knew she had a chronic illness that had flared up recently, but she deftly steered all conversation away from her health. We made plans for new projects and conference presentations months into the future.
The Kern Institute Medical Education Matters. Creating Cultures of Mattering in Healthcare Education
In this special Collaboratory Conversations episode, Herodotos Ellinas and Michael T. Braun share two conversations with collaboratory principal investigators Julie Haizlip from UVA and Sean Tackett from Johns Hopkins. Each led an MCW-funded research project over the past year and a half, and we check in with them to learn about their projects, progress and findings so far, and what's next as they continue their second funded year.
University of Virginia Lifetime Learning: UVA Speaks Educational Podcasts. Mattering and Why it Matters
On this UVA Speaks podcast, Julie Haizlip and Natalie May explain their research on the concept of mattering and how mattering impacts healthcare providers. Haizlip and May discuss how when we feel that we matter, we make a difference in the lives of others and thus, feel significant in our work.