Our Story

We are board-certified general internists, husband and wife, who care about patient and physician well-being, and the future of primary care. Over the course of our careers we have worked to re-engineer our own practices, attempting to minimize waste and maximize value, stumbling and succeeding at intervals. We are committed to the meaning and the mission of the practice of medicine, and we are equally concerned about the increasing policy, technology and cultural barriers physicians encounter in attempting to meet our best intentions.  

In the past several years we have been able to visit over fifty mostly primary care practices across the country, shadowing physicians and their staff as they do their work, learning about common challenges as well as creative solutions. Having given many presentations--on patient-centered care; working smarter, not harder; and finding joy in practice--we have learned a great deal from our colleagues who share their stories and struggles. Through all of this we encounter a tremendous hunger among physicians, nurse practitioners and physicians assistants to serve the needs of patients, without ignoring their own needs for work-life balance and career satisfaction. We created this website as a way to share what we have learned and engage a wider community in finding ways to reclaim the joy of practice. We hope you will join us, by reading, engaging in dialog and sharing your innovations and/or resources. 

Brief Biography

Drs. Christine and Thomas Sinsky are general internists at Medical Associates Clinic and Health Plans, in Dubuque IA.   Dr. Christine Sinsky serves on the American Medical Association’s Advisory Panel on Physician Satisfaction. She previously served on an expert advisory panel for the CMS Innovation Center’s Comprehensive Primary Care Initiative, the Veteran’s Administration primary care redesign and on the National Committee for Quality Assurrance provider programs committee with oversight of the Patient Centered Medical Home, from 2007-2011.  She is a co-author of the Institute of Medicine’s 2011 report, Health IT and Patient Safety. Dr. Christine Sinsky is a Director on the American Board of Internal Medicine, and a Trustee for the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation. She has provided testimony to the Office of the National Coordinator for HIT on EHRs with respect to both care coordination and usability. Drs. Sinsky are co-authors of an American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation study of high functioning primary care practices, “In Search of Joy in Practice.” Dr. Thomas Sinsky also serves on the joint ABIMF-American Academy of Nursing Primary Care Initiative. 

Both Drs. Sinsky received their B.S. and M.D. degrees from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, and completed their postgraduate residency at Gundersen Medical Foundation/La Crosse Lutheran Hospital, in LaCrosse, Wisconsin.