PERMA: a model for institutional leadership and culture change.

For those who work and learn in medical schools and teaching hospitals to develop their full potential, fundamental institutional culture change needs to occur. Far too many medical students, residents, faculty, and staff not only fail to reach their potential but also suffer unnecessarily from anxiety, burnout, and depression related to the unhealthy environment in which they work. Too often, programs that address these problems are directed primarily at treating distressed individuals and fail to look at the workplace environment as a significant source of distress. Systematic efforts, spearheaded by forward-thinking institutional leadership, are needed to create healthier workplace cultures and thereby prevent mental health problems.