A 15-year review of the Stanford Internal Medicine Residency Program: predictors of resident satisfaction and dissatisfaction

Abstract

IntroductionSatisfaction with training and with educational experiences represents important internal medicine (IM) programmatic goals. Graduates from IM residency programs are uniquely poised to provide insights into their educational and training experiences and to assess whether these experiences were satisfactory and relevant to their current employment.MethodsWe surveyed former IM residents from the training program held during the years 2000–2015 at the Department of Medicine, Stanford University. The first part of the survey reviewed the IM residency program and the second part sought identifying data regarding gender, race, ethnicity, work, relationships, and financial matters. The primary outcome was satisfaction with the residency experience.ResultsOf the 405 individuals who completed the Stanford IM residency program in the study period, we identified 384 (95%) former residents with a known email address. Two hundred and one (52%) former residents responded to the first part and 185 (48%) answered both the parts of the survey. The mean age of the respondents was 36.9 years; 44% were female and the mean time from IM residency was 6.1 (±4.3) years. Fifty-eight percent reported extreme satisfaction with their IM residency experience. Predictors associated with being less than extremely satisfied included insufficient outpatient experience, insufficient international experience, insufficient clinical research experience, and insufficient time spent with family and peers.ConclusionThe residents expressed an overall high satisfaction rate with their IM training. The survey results provided insights for improving satisfaction with IM residency training that includes diversifying and broadening IM training experiences.

Burnout and depression among medical residents in the United Arab Emirates: A Multicenter study

“…Burnout among physicians is reported to be associated with reduced learning capacity,[ 15 ] stress-related health problems,[ 16 ] emotional exhaustion (EE), and low sense of professional efficacy. [ 17 ] Adverse personal consequences including substance abuse, depression, family conflicts, and suicidal ideation[ 3 18 19 ] has also followed professional burnout.…”

Additional factors influencing resident satisfaction and dissatisfaction

“…Notable associations which were correlated with residency dissatisfaction were highlighted, including wanting “more or much more” time available to spend with family and insufficient patient interactions. 1 It was found that ~40% of the participants reported wanting to spend more time with family. 1 Lu et al 2 similarly found that satisfaction among health care staff was increased by balancing adequate time between work and family.…”

“… 1 It was found that ~40% of the participants reported wanting to spend more time with family. 1 Lu et al 2 similarly found that satisfaction among health care staff was increased by balancing adequate time between work and family. We believe that Lu et al’s 2 study may be extrapolated to other cohorts, including medical students.…”

“…We have read the recent review article by Kahn et al 1 with great interest. The original article was detailed and informative, and we felt it would be helpful to expand on the factors affecting resident satisfaction and dissatisfaction.…”

Resident satisfaction with radiation oncology training

“…Residency programs differ in case diversity, resident autonomy, workload, service expectations, structure, supervision, and other factors that influence the educational experience. Recent publications 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 examined resident well-being, but literature on program satisfaction is limited, 6 , 7 particularly in radiation oncology (RO). 8 , 9 Information on the general work environment, call responsibilities, average workweek, and adequacy of ancillary support 9 , 10 is valuable for medical students who are selecting a residency program 7 and for institutions seeking benchmarks when evaluating their own programs.…”