Dr. Privitera is Professor of Psychiatry at University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC), and Medical Director, Medical Faculty and Clinician Wellness Program, which uses individual and organizational interventions to reduce clinician burnout. He received a Patient Safety Award 2018-2019 from his malpractice carrier MCIC. The goal of this project was to deliver a Human Factor-Based Leadership curriculum that uses an Integrated Model of Patient Safety and Staff wellbeing, developed over a six year period. The curriculum helped leaders identify and reduce latent conditions in healthcare systems that contribute to error and clinician burnout. He is a member of the new Collaborative for Human Factors, Cognitive Load and Clinician Wellbeing in Healthcare.

He was Chair 2015-2019, MSSNY Task Force on Physician Stress and Burnout, stepping down to spend more time on connection between clinician wellbeing and patient wellbeing. He was a member of the FSMB Task Force on Physician Burnout, which led to their 2018 policy recommendations of limiting state board physician mental health questions to current impairment and not about past psychiatric history to help encourage physicians to seek help and avoid stigma. He was a member of NIOSH Healthy Work Design and Well-Being Program: Healthy Work Design Council in 2020. He has written in publications of The Joint Commission, American Hospital Association, National Patient Safety Foundation, Medscape, Journal of Hospital Administration and Journal of Legal Medicine on physician burnout.