Individual Factors – Clinician Well-Being Knowledge Hub

Medical Training Programs Need to Care About Physician Burnout. Should the Rest of Us?

NAM — Thu, 19 Sep 2019 19:11:20 +0000

In this opinion article, Timothy Hoff discusses his thoughts on who’s to blame in the rising rates of physician burnout. He points out how this growing problem has been largely ignored by medical schools and residency/fellowship programs for years. Rather, the blame is focused on external factors of health care despite the fact that medical students and residents already have high rates of burnout before entering practice. The students are viewed more as employees than talented assets that need significant investment to develop fully. Additionally, the culture around these programs overemphasize academic credentials while ignoring other skills such as resilience and emotional intelligence. When the role models in medical training themselves are also burnt out, this cycle continues to pass onto newer generations. Many other industries differ in the way that their “most prized talent” is treated from this aspect.

Well-Being in Residency Training: a Survey Examining Resident Physician Satisfaction both Within and Outside of Residency Training and Mental Health in Alberta

NAM — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 15:35:32 +0000

Cohen’s article, published in BMC Medical Education, investigates the level of perceived stress, mental health and understanding and need for well-being resources among resident physicians in training programs in Alberta, Canada. Thirty-four percent of residents who responded to the survey reported their life as being stressful. The research suggests that time pressure was the highest contributing factor of stress, a considerable portion would change specialty or even out of the medical profession, intimidation and harassment was prominent with significant gender differences, a significant number of residents rated their mental health as fair or poor, and residents valued their colleagues, program directors, and external psychiatrist/psychologist as well-being resources. Furthermore, residents wished to have career counselors and financial counselors.

A Survey of Resilience, Burnout, and Tolerance of Uncertainty in Australian General Practice Registrars

NAM — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 14:55:44 +0000

In this study, a cross-sectional survey and subsequent analysis measures resilience, burnout, compassion satisfaction, personal meaning in patient care and intolerance of uncertainty in Australian general practice (GP) registrars (equivalent of specialty fellows in the US). Fourteen percent of registrars were found to be at risk for burnout using the single-item scale, but none using the ProQOL scale. Associated risk factors are secondary traumatic stress, general intolerance of uncertainty, anxiety due to clinical uncertainty and reluctance to disclose uncertainty to patients. Only 10% have high resilience scores. Resilience is positively associated with compassion satisfaction and personal meaning in patient care. Registrars are generally determined to have lower burnout and higher resilience.

Survey of Physician Well-Being and Health Behaviors at an Academic Medical Center

NAM — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 14:50:13 +0000

The following study evaluates the prevalence of and risk factors for psychiatric symptoms and disorders and for personal health behaviors among among clinicians at an academic medical center. The prevalence of current depressive symptoms was 29%; prevalence of high likelihood of harmful alcohol consumption, 6%; the use of sedatives or hypnotics without a prescription in the past 12 months, 5%. The characteristics associated with depressive symptoms were living alone, full time salaried faculty status, not having a primary care physician, female sex, and age < 50 years and risk factors were male sex, house staff status, and not being exclusively heterosexual. The research advises engaging physicians in primary care relationships and social support for those at risk for depression, suicide, and substance abuse.

A Survey of Perceived Stress, Intimidation, Harassment and Well-Being of Resident Doctors in a Nigerian Teaching Hospital

NAM — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 14:43:54 +0000

This study investigates perceived stress, intimidation/harassment, mental health and well being among residents in a Nigerian teaching hospital. The study finds a portion of residents resort to drinking, smoking, and medication to handle stress and many report intimidation and harassment. Thirty one percent admit having had emotional or mental health problems during residency, 29% require further screening for depression, 22% for panic disorder, 16% for generalized anxiety, 9% for social phobia and 9% for agoraphobia. Further research, resource application, and advocacy is advised.

A Study of the Relationship Between Resilience, Burnout and Coping Strategies in Doctors

NAM — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 14:39:51 +0000

The following cross-sectional study measures resilience, coping, and professional quality of life in doctors. The study reports on the prevalence of and association between burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and compassion satisfaction. Overall, non-clinical issues in the workplace were the main factor perceived to cause low resilience. The authors conclude despite high levels of resilience, doctors had high levels of burnout and secondary traumatic stress. Those suffering from burnout are more likely to use mal-adaptive coping mechanisms. A national study to assess the UK and Ireland medical workforce in this regard is announced.

A Study of the Relationship Between Resilience, Burnout and Coping Strategies in Doctors

NAM — Mon, 22 Jul 2019 20:06:27 +0000

The following cross-sectional study measures resilience, coping, and professional quality of life in doctors. The study reports on the prevalence of and association between burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and compassion satisfaction. Overall, non-clinical issues in the workplace were the main factor perceived to cause low resilience. The authors conclude despite high levels of resilience, doctors had high levels of burnout and secondary traumatic stress. Those suffering from burnout are more likely to use maladaptive coping mechanisms. A national study to assess the UK and Ireland medical workforce in this regard is announced.

Running on Empty: a Review of Nutrition and Physicians’ Well-Being

NAM — Mon, 22 Jul 2019 19:26:11 +0000

In this review, Hamidi et al. summarise the current evidence on the potential effects of nutrition and hydration on physicians’ occupational well-being and performance, identify gaps, and discuss opportunities to address nutrition as one of the important means of improving physicians’ well-being.

Resilience and Professional Quality of Life Among Military Healthcare Providers

NAM — Thu, 18 Jul 2019 18:45:10 +0000

With retention of qualified military healthcare providers in mind, the following study examines the relationship between resilience and professional quality of life explores differences among deployed and non-deployed providers. Results indicate high resilience scores among all providers, and significant relationships between professional quality of life and resilience. Recommendations for future research are included.

Re-framing Physician Engagement: An Analysis of Physician Resilience, Grit, and Retention

NAM — Thu, 18 Jul 2019 14:13:13 +0000

Published in the International Journal of Healthcare Management, this article highlights the emergence of grit as an accurate predictor of retention than intelligence, physical aptitude, personality traits, or job tenure and represents a promising lens for identifying opportunities to strengthen physician engagement and retention. The authors posit that grit may effectively mitigate social, economic, and cultural factors of burnout. The following meta-analysis identifies interrelationships between physician engagement, job satisfaction, and burnout as components of resilience and grit and recommends operational strategies to improve physician retention.