Inside physician engagement: When uncertainty rises, engagement matters more

Bill Heller, chief operating officer at CHG Healthcare, looks at physician engagement through a different lens: the physician’s own sense of economic uncertainty.

According to the 2025 Physician Sentiment Survey, nearly two-thirds of physicians say they are more worried about the economy than they were a year ago, and almost half report high levels of financial stress. That anxiety is showing up in how physicians think about their futures — from moonlighting to exploring alternative career paths.

Heller pushes back on the assumption that physicians are insulated from broader economic pressures. Like everyone else, physicians respond to instability by scenario-planning and reassessing risk. And because physicians are in high demand across nearly every specialty, those concerns are paired with unusually high mobility and opportunity.

The differentiator, Heller says, is engagement. When physicians feel connected to their organization, understood by leadership and supported in their work, uncertainty is less likely to translate into exits or disengagement. In unstable environments, engagement isn’t just about morale — it’s a stabilizing force that helps physicians feel secure enough to stay focused on patient care rather than contingency planning.