Educator – Clinician Well-Being Knowledge Hub

An Ounce of Prevention: A Public Health Approach to Improving Physician Well-Being

NAM — Tue, 13 Aug 2019 20:28:24 +0000

The following article proposes a novel application of a public health prevention framework to address the issue of physician well being. It describes 3 major categories of intervention: primary intervention, secondary screening, and tertiary treatment. It seeks to provide some guidance for educators and administrators on how to choose and then implement an intervention. As with any complex public health issue, a comprehensive and integrated approach is needed in order to make a significant impact.

The Benefits of Pass-Fail Grading on Stress, Mood, and Group Cohesion in Medical Students

NAM — Wed, 31 Jul 2019 14:48:00 +0000

This study, published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, measures the effect of a pass-fail grading system on stress, mood, group cohesion, and test anxiety in medical students. Students graded with the pass-fail system had less perceived stress and greater group cohesion at the end of their second year of coursework. Moreover, the pass-fail group had better, but not statistically significant, mood. However, no significant differences are reported in test-taking anxiety and United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1 board scores.

Enhancing the Health of Medical Students: Outcomes of An Integrated Mindfulness and Lifestyle Program

NAM — Wed, 31 Jul 2019 14:45:26 +0000

The following paper describes the development, implementation and outcomes of the Health Enhancement Program (HEP) at Monash University. Comprised of mindfulness and ESSENCE lifestyle programs, the program is experimentally-based and integrates with the core biomedical sciences, clinical skills and assessment. The results indicated that the program improved overall well-being of medical students with 91% of students reporting application of mindfulness practices, improved student well-being on all in depression, hostility, and psychological domain. The findings suggest that common decline is avoidable. Future research with a control group and more prolonged follow-up assessments is suggested.

A Comprehensive Medical Student Wellness Program – Design and Implementation at Vanderbilt School of Medicine

NAM — Wed, 31 Jul 2019 14:41:09 +0000

In response to high levels of burnout and mental illness in medical schools, students and administrators at Vanderbilt School of Medicine developed the Vanderbilt Medical Student (VMS) Wellness Program to promote student health and well-being. The program consists of three overlapping core components: The Advisory College Program, The Student Wellness Committee, and VMS LIVE. Preliminary data indicates that nearly every student has participated two or more components and student response has been highly satisfactory. The authors hope that development and design of the program may serve as a framework for other institutions.

Relationship of Pass/Fail Grading and Curriculum Structure with Well-Being Among Pre-Clinical Medical Students: A Multi-Institutional Study

NAM — Wed, 31 Jul 2019 14:38:10 +0000

The following study in Academic Medicine examines the relationships between curriculum structures, grading scales, and student well-being. Survey results as well as burnout and stress tool results illustrate that, compared with students in schools using pass/fail grading, students in schools using grading scales with three or more categories had higher levels of overall burnout, stress, emotional exhaustion, and depersonalization and were more likely to seriously consider dropping out of school. There were no relationships with time allocation in didactic and clinical experiences. The authors posit that evaluation of students has a greater impact than other aspects of curriculum on student well-being. Curricular reform ought to incorporate pass/fail grading.

Personal Transition to the Profession: A Novel Longitudinal Professional Development and Wellness Medical Student Curriculum

NAM — Wed, 31 Jul 2019 14:33:35 +0000

Successful medical student wellness and professional development are critical areas in medical student education for students reaching optimal performance. Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine has developed a novel longitudinal 4-year curriculum to teach students about the unique challenges of medical careers. The following article presents the first 2 years of the 4-year curriculum and report qualitative and quantitative evaluations for the initial course.

Burnout in Clinician-Educators and the Importance of Lifelong Learning: Findings from a Medical Education Faculty Development Program

NAM — Wed, 31 Jul 2019 13:51:19 +0000

This study determines how participation in a longitudinal faculty development program (FDP), designed to improve mentoring and teaching skills, is associated with better job-related outcomes for clinician-educators, including burnout, commitment to learning, career fit, and job satisfaction. The clinician-educators studied were internists and pediatricians and the FDP reduced scores of burnout: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment. Moreover, while commitment to lifelong learning, career fit, and job satisfaction did not significantly improve for the entire group, it improved significantly for those experiencing burnout at baseline. Overall, the study finds modest reductions in burnout and advises clinician-educators to consider training in lifelong learning skills.

The Application of Positive Psychology in the Practice of Education

NAM — Wed, 31 Jul 2019 13:38:22 +0000

Anna Pluskota examines the relationship between positive psychology and education through selected concepts and practical use in the form of positive prevention and intervention programs.

Test Questions: Physician Well-being and Burnout

NAM — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 15:24:12 +0000

The following questions draw from various studies to assess how well the reader understands the present research pertaining to the definition, causes, risk factors and effects of clinician burnout, depression, and well-being.

Professional Identity Formation in Medical Education for Humanistic, Resilient Physicians: Pedagogic Strategies for Bridging Theory to Practice

NAM — Thu, 18 Jul 2019 13:52:01 +0000

Medical education and training has recently been called to develop focus on professional identity formation (PIF). Through the following article in Academic Medicine, Wald et al. considers how complex iterative PIF process can be better supported for a humanistic, resilient health care professional? Three pedagogic innovation strategies contributing to PIF within medical education are highlighted: (1) interactive reflective writing fosters reflective capacity, emotional awareness, and resiliency; (2) synergistic teaching modules about mindful clinical practice and resilient responses to difficult interactions fosters resilience and well-being; and (3) strategies for effective use of a professional development e-portfolio and faculty development of reflective coaching skills in graduate medical education.The strategies identified “bridge theory to practice” and, ideally, can enhance quality of care and foster resilience in the humanistic health care professional.