Well‐being curriculum for anesthesiology residents: Development, processes, and preliminary outcomes

Abstract

The shocking statistic that the United States (US) loses one physician per day to suicide equates to 300-400 doctors dying each yearthe equivalent of an entire medical school class. 1 Among physicians, long-term exhaustion and chronic occupational stress often result in burnout, which in turn can lead to adverse consequences to patients, themselves, and their families. This occupational hazard has implications for the entire healthcare system and society. One approach to addressing physician burnout is to offer a formal curriculum that emphasizes strategies for well-being. Over the last few years, physician burnout and healthcare provider well-being have been recognized as issues that transcend specialty and have the ability to negatively impact personal and professional lives. Leading healthcare organizations have defined physician burnout as a public health crisis. 2 Physicians and healthcare workers were in crisis prior to the global pandemic of COVID-19, but now more than ever, physicians, trainees, and healthcare workers are under enormous amounts of stress as they deal with nearly constant change and chronic uncertainty. Well-being initiatives, programming, and access to support for all medical professionals are of paramount importance. Medicine is a career choice that impacts the entire course of one's life. Physicians are gifted with the knowledge and skills to help people in the most critical and vulnerable moments of their lives. However, the impact of continually witnessing death, dying, and suffering can overstress even the most stoic individuals. Therefore, we must educate our physicians on compassion fatigue, mitigate its effect on healthcare workers, and train physicians to recognize burnout in themselves and colleagues. Over the past 20 years, a great deal has been written about physician burnout, with a growing interest in best practices to prevent burnout among medical students and residents. A 2004 meta-analysis of studies on resident burnout concluded that burnout levels were high among residents, but that more robust research on the topic was needed. 3 Shana felt et al, 4 who conducted longitudinal (2011, 2014, 2017) surveys of US physicians that focused on burnout and work-life integration,