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To consider approaches for improving patient care by supporting the professional well-being of clinicians, the committee developed a conceptual framework that clarifies the structure and dynamics of the system in which clinicians work and reveals potential levers for change. The committee's framework for a systems approach to clinician burnout and professional well-being is based on theories and principles from the fields of human factors and systems engineering, job and organizational design, and occupational safety and health. Throughout the report, the committee applies this framework to examine many important aspects of the current system and to identify strategies that will foster healthy and safe care systems for the nation's patients and clinicians. To set the context for the rest of the report, this chapter presents the definitions of burnout, professional wellbeing, and resilience; gives an overview of systems approaches informing the committee's framework; and presents the committee's systems model of burnout and professional well-being.