Development and Validation of a Novel Instrument to Measure the Community Well-Being of Residency Programs

Abstract

PurposeTo develop and validate the Residency Community Well-Being (RCWB) instrument, a novel instrument to measure the subjective community well-being of an individual residency program, and to explore differences in RCWB scores between demographic groups.

Supporting a Culture of Wellness: Examining the Utility of the Residency Program Community Well-Being Instrument in the Medical Training and Work Environment

“…Vermette and colleagues found that residents working more than 60 hours per week had lower scores on the overall RCWB scale and its subscales. 5 This association is consistent with the hypotheses that effective physician well-being efforts must include reducing work hours by improving workplace efficiency. 7 One study estimated that the majority of internal medicine residents spent more than 4 hours on documentation per day, with far fewer reporting spending equivalent time engaged in direct patient care.…”

“…3,4 In this issue, Vermette and colleagues' report emphasizes the importance of shifting focus from individual trainees to training programs and provides a means to measure residency climate factors associated with burnout. 5 The authors' novel Residency Community Well-Being (RCWB) instrument attempts to assess the community well-being domain, which overlaps with related domains described elsewhere as workplace climate 6 and culture of wellness. 7 Efforts to create a culture of wellness may be the most unexplored frontier in the field of physician wellness.…”

“…8 This report provides a good start to the validation work of the RCWB as an assessment tool that captures important aspects of community well-being factors affecting resident well-being. 5…”

“…8 This report provides a good start to the validation work of the RCWB as an assessment tool that captures important aspects of community well-being factors affecting resident well-being. 5 The authors developed the RCWB using a comprehensive approach to assess subjective community well-being within an individual residency program. 5 In their review of the literature, they identified 13 different components important to community well-being.…”

“…5 The authors developed the RCWB using a comprehensive approach to assess subjective community well-being within an individual residency program. 5 In their review of the literature, they identified 13 different components important to community well-being. Vermette and colleagues subsequently trimmed items via factor analysis, which resulted in elimination of several of the components they initially sought to include in their assessment of community well-being.…”