Abstract
Authors: Kelly Williamson, MD (1), Patrick M. Lank, MD (2), Nicholas Hartman, MD (3), Nathan Olson, MD (4) and Elise O. Lovell, MD (5)
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Introduction: There is little research examining the relationship between burnout and medical knowledge. Study Objectives: The authors sought to determine if emergency medicine (EM) resident performance on the In-Training Examination (EM-ITE) is associated with burnout and if EM-ITE scores are affected by the implementation of a wellness curriculum.
Methods: As part of a multi-institution prospective education intervention trial, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, a valuable tool in the assessment of physician burnout, was administered at 10 EM residencies in February 2017. Then, five intervention sites introduced a year-long wellness curriculum. The MBI was re-administered at all sites in August 2017 and February 2018. The EM-ITE, an instrument for medical knowledge assessment, was administered in February 2017 and February 2018 at all sites.
Results: 285/382 (75%) residents participated in the February 2017 data collection; 247/386 (64%) participated in August 2017; and 228/386 (59%) participated in February 2018. EM-ITE scores were reported for 296/383 (77.5%) residents for 2017 and 304/386 (78.8%) residents for 2018. There was no association between change in mean EM-ITE scores at the intervention sites compared to the control sites. In the subset of 172 residents who completed the 2017 and 2018 MBI, there was no correlation between burnout and changes in EM-ITE scores.
Conclusion: In this study of EM residents, burnout was not associated with resident medical knowledge acquisition and change in EM resident medical knowledge was not affected by the introduction of a wellness curriculum.
Affiliation:
- Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine
- Northwestern University, McGaw Medical Center
- Wake Forest University School of Medicine
- University of Chicago
- Advocate Christ Medical Center