Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a workshop intervention to promote wellbeing for Australian physician trainees using a randomized-controlled design. Methods: Participants were randomly assigned into intervention and control groups. The intervention group attended a half-day workshop. Outcome measures included depression anxiety stress scale, professional quality of life scale and alcohol use disorders identification test. Demographic and work/life factors were measured. Measurements were recorded at baseline, 3 and 6 months, and the workshop was evaluated by participants. Results: High rates of burnout (76%) and secondary traumatic stress (91%) were detected among study participants and around half met screening criteria for depression (52%), anxiety (46%) and stress (50%) at baseline. Workshop evaluations showed that participants agreed that the training was relevant to their needs (96%) and met their expectations (92%). There was a small reduction in alcohol use, depression and burnout in the intervention group compared with the control group at 6 months, but these changes did not reach statistical significance. Conclusion: High rates of psychological morbidity detected in the study suggest that physician trainees are a vulnerable group who may benefit from initiatives that promote wellbeing and changes in the workplace to reduce distress.

Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity, alcohol use, burnout and compassion satisfaction among physician trainees in New South Wales, Australia, and examine links between personal, demographic and lifestyle factors. Methods A total of 67 physician trainees were recruited to the study. Fifty-nine completed the online survey (88% response rate). Outcome measures included the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, Professional Quality of Life Scale and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test. Results Approximately half the respondents met screening criteria for depression (53%), stress (51%) and anxiety (46%). Secondary traumatic stress was exceptionally high across the cohort, with higher scores in females (P=0.001). The main reasons for not seeking help for depression or anxiety were lack of time (81%), fear of lack of confidentiality or privacy (41%), embarrassment (39%) and effect on registration (27%). Eighty-eight per cent of respondents agreed that doctors feel they need to portray a healthy image, but only 54% engaged in regular exercise and 24% slept ≤6h each day. Conclusion The results demonstrate high levels of non-psychotic psychiatric morbidity among physician trainees and a need to improve their well-being. Workplace systems need to promote healthy work environments and support physician trainees through good mentorship and supervision. What is known about the topic? Doctors’ health and patient care can be affected when doctors experience burnout and psychiatric morbidity. What does this paper add? This paper adds to the evidence of psychiatric morbidity, burnout, secondary trauma and increased demographic data on a cohort of junior doctors undertaking speciality training. In addition, it provides reasons for not seeking help and positive and negative coping methods used by these junior doctors. What are the implications for practitioners? The level of distress is high and requires system changes to support both individual health measures and structural change to work and study programs.

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Background: Debriefing after simulation facilitates reflection and the ability to transfer learning into clinical practice. Aim: To evaluate faculty debriefing to inform and guide the development of ongoing resources to support adjunct faculty members and to maximise learning potential for students. Method: Faculty debriefing styles were evaluated following a high-fidelity simulation involving 720 first year undergraduate nursing students. One audio recording of a debrief was randomly selected from each of 12 faculty members. If a pre-brief was completed prior to the simulation, this was also selected as it is a component of the debrief and sets the tone prior to the simulation. Initial analysis was undertaken using the validated observational structured assessment of debriefing tool (OSAD) to briefly highlight different debriefing styles. This facilitated the thematic analysis of the data using Braun and Clarkes (2006) six step process. Results:Nursing faculty used open-ended questions, silence and clinical feedback with varying levels of expertise and success. Conclusions: Further research into the effect on the variation in debriefing styles, and it's related impact on student learning outcomes is needed.