Impact of a family medicine resident wellness curriculum: a feasibility study.
Christine Runyan, Judith A Savageau, Stacy Potts, Linda Weinreb
Medical education online June 8, 2016 DOI: 10.3402/meo.v21.30648 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Feasibility study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 12 |
| Population | Second-year family medicine residents |
| Duration | 1-month curriculum, 3-month follow-up |
| Measures | Self-Compassion Inventory (Mindfulness Scale), Jefferson Empathy Scale |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Humans Feasibility studies Stress, psychological Leadership Burnout, professional Family practice Curriculum Internship and residency Schools, medical Resilience, psychological Residency education Physician wellness Burnout prevention |
| Key points | The authors report that a one-month mindfulness and self-compassion wellness curriculum for family medicine residents showed positive trends on all outcome measures, particularly self-compassion and empathy, but the small sample size limited statistical inference. They conclude the curriculum is feasible and was well received, with high participant satisfaction. |
Abstract
Background: Up to 60% of practicing physicians report symptoms of burnout, which often peak during residency. Residency is also a relevant time for habits of self-care and resiliency to be emphasized. A growing literature underscores the importance of this; however, evidence about effective burnout prevention curriculum during residency remains limited.
Objectives: The purpose of this project is to evaluate the impact of a new, 1-month wellness curriculum for 12 second-year family medicine residents on burnout, empathy, stress, and self-compassion.
Methods: The pilot program, introduced during a new rotation emphasizing competencies around leadership, focused on teaching skills to cultivate mindfulness and self-compassion in order to enhance empathy and reduce stress. Pre-assessments and 3-month follow-up assessments on measures of burnout, empathy, self-compassion, and perceived stress were collected to evaluate the impact of the curriculum. It was hypothesized that this curriculum would enhance empathy and self-compassion as well as reduce stress and burnout among family medicine residents.
Results: Descriptive statistics revealed positive trends on the mean scores of all the measures, particularly the Mindfulness Scale of the Self-Compassion Inventory and the Jefferson Empathy Scale. However, the small sample size and lack of sufficient power to detect meaningful differences limited the use of inferential statistics.
Conclusions: This feasibility study demonstrates how a residency wellness curriculum can be developed, implemented, and evaluated with promising results, including high participant satisfaction.
Citations in the library
Cited by 2
Cites 2
- Association of an Educational Program in Mindful Communication With Burnout, Empathy, and Attitudes Among Primary Care Physicians JAMA September 22, 2009
- Cultivating mindfulness in health care professionals: a review of empirical studies of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR). Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice February 28, 2009