Identifying Gaps and Launching Resident Wellness Initiatives: The 2017 Resident Wellness Consensus Summit

Abstract

IntroductionBurnout, depression, and suicidality among residents of all specialties have become a critical focus for the medical education community, especially among learners in graduate medical education. In 2017 the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) updated the Common Program Requirements to focus more on resident wellbeing. To address this issue, one working group from the 2017 Resident Wellness Consensus Summit (RWCS) focused on wellness program innovations and initiatives in emergency medicine (EM) residency programs.MethodsOver a seven-month period leading up to the RWCS event, the Programmatic Initiatives workgroup convened virtually in the Wellness Think Tank, an online, resident community consisting of 142 residents from 100 EM residencies in North America. A 15-person subgroup (13 residents, two faculty facilitators) met at the RWCS to develop a public, central repository of initiatives for programs, as well as tools to assist programs in identifying gaps in their overarching wellness programs.ResultsAn online submission form and central database of wellness initiatives were created and accessible to the public. Wellness Think Tank members collected an initial 36 submissions for the database by the time of the RWCS event. Based on general workplace, needs-assessment tools on employee wellbeing and Kern’s model for curriculum development, a resident-based needs-assessment survey and an implementation worksheet were created to assist residency programs in wellness program development.ConclusionThe Programmatic Initiatives workgroup from the resident-driven RWCS event created tools to assist EM residency programs in identifying existing initiatives and gaps in their wellness programs to meet the ACGME’s expanded focus on resident wellbeing.

Survey results of job status of residents in a standardized residency training program

“…Curriculum setting should integrate resources, attention to be paid to teaching students in accordance with their aptitude and demand, and carry out stratified teaching. The training of professional accomplishment, communication skills, balancing work and family, healthy diet and exercise, and improvement of work efficiency should be introduced into the SRTP or even in the education system of medical colleges [6]. It is very difficult to improve job burnout once it arises [39].…”

“…While the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) has been continuously improving the medical residency training system in the United States for a long time [1–6], China has been progressively promoting the standardized residency training programs (SRTP) for the residents throughout the country over the past ten years. As the top medical college in China, Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) has the oldest history and experience of SRTP in the country.…”

The Implementation of a National Multifaceted Emergency Medicine Resident Wellness Curriculum Is Not Associated With Changes in Burnout

“…In the years since our curriculum was developed, academic leaders in EM, internal medicine, and pediatrics have recognized the need for a more comprehensive approach to creating and distributing well‐being resources. The 2017 Emergency Medicine Resident Wellness Consensus Summit used a learning network of residents and attending physicians to create a 17 module resident wellness curriculum, educator toolkit resources, resident needs assessment, and program‐level planning tool as well as a wellness‐targeted technology database . The Collaborative for Healing and Renewal in Medicine (CHARM), supported by the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine (AAIM) is a clearinghouse for learner wellness resources and scholarly activity .…”

“I Cannot Take This Any More!”: Preparing Interns to Identify and Help a Struggling Colleague

“…6 Recent media coverage highlights growing concerns: intern suicides are highly covered news events, and opinion pieces written by interns have shed light on feelings of isolation in residency. 7,8 Although residencies have implemented wellness curricula, [9][10][11][12] house staff generally receive little training in recognizing a colleague at risk. Even if they are aware that a colleague needs help, stigma deters individuals from revealing emotional distress or seeking help for mental illness, and residents may be reluctant to recommend that peers get care.…”