Authors: Anne M. Messman, MD (1), Claire Min-Venditti, MD (1), Elizebeth Dubey, MD (1), Brian Reed, MD (1), Hanhan Zhang, MD (1), Hafez Bazzi, MD (2) and James Paxton, MD (1)
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Abstract
Introduction: The wellness of resident physicians, particularly in emergency medicine (EM) with its high rate of burnout, has become of paramount importance to residency programs. This pilot study aims to evaluate the effects of the implementation of an evidence-based wellness curriculum on self-reported resident wellness across three Detroit EM residency programs. It is the first objective study of a wellness program for EM residents to date.
Methods: This is a prospective, interventional pilot study of the impact of a well-defined, longitudinal wellness curriculum administered to all categorical residents in three EM residency programs in Detroit, Michigan. Anonymous surveys incorporating the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) were administered before and after implementation of the wellness curriculum. The curriculum consisted of three modules (Introduction to Wellness, Dealing with Medical Errors, and Shame and Debriefing Traumatic Events in the Emergency Department) over 3 months. Participation was anonymous and voluntary, and all data collection and analysis were provided by a third-party not affiliated with residency program leadership.
Results: A total of 114 residents were enrolled, including 30 (26.3%) residents who completed both the pre- and post-intervention surveys. These 30 residents demonstrated increased resiliency (i.e., higher mean CD-RISC score), and lower perceived stress (i.e., decreased mean PSS score) following the intervention. However, this difference was only statistically significant with the CD-RISC score (p=0.015). There was no statistically significant difference on either scoring system with respect to gender, post-graduate year of training, or residency training site.
Conclusions: Implementation of a wellness curriculum in our cohort of residents was shown to improve resilience amongst residents. Gender, post-graduate year of training, and residency training site did not affect these outcomes. This is a milestone accomplishment in the study of wellness in EM residents as no prior intervention has been shown to have a significant positive impact on EM residents.
Affiliation:
1. Wayne State University School of Medicine
2. St. John Hospital and Medical Center