An Internal Medicine Intern Retreat to Facilitate Transition to PGME and Promote Peer Interaction

Interns in the internal medicine program at American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) come from diverse educational backgrounds based on American, French, and Egyptian systems, similar to other settings in the Middle East. To help this diverse group of trainees integrate into their new ro...

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Published inJournal of graduate medical education Vol. 11; no. 4 Suppl; pp. 165 - 168
Main Authors Ghazal, Nisrine, Akl, Imad Bou, Aoun, Roni, Ziadeh, Nathalie, Houranieh, Renee, Khalil, Pierre Bou
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education 01.08.2019
Subjects
Adult
Communication
Curriculum
Education, Medical, Graduate
Educational Innovation
Humans
Inservice Training
Internal Medicine - education
Internship and Residency
Peer Group
Physician-Patient Relations
Surveys and Questionnaires
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Summary:Interns in the internal medicine program at American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) come from diverse educational backgrounds based on American, French, and Egyptian systems, similar to other settings in the Middle East. To help this diverse group of trainees integrate into their new role, the institution launched an intern retreat in 2014 and repeated the event 3 times to date. We describe the experience with the AUBMC intern retreat and discuss the format and interns' perceptions of the benefits of the event. The retreat was divided into workshops and team-building sessions. Workshop topics focused on communication, teamwork, time management, survival tips, patient-physician interaction, and resident well-being. Fun activities were meant to strengthen peer-to-peer relationship and included a treasure hunt, Jeopardy game, and basketball. Retreats took place in 2014, 2016, and 2017, and involved 72 of 102 interns (71%), as participation was optional. The 2015 retreat had to be canceled due to logistical problems. Of 72 eligible interns, 61 (85%) responded to the evaluation survey. The majority rated the activity as fun or interesting; sessions with the highest ratings included communication, patient-physician interaction, and resident well-being. There was unanimous agreement to make the retreat a yearly tradition. Each year, we collected feedback and made changes to further improve the retreat experience. The retreat is now an established activity. In an institution that accepts interns from different backgrounds, the retreat has strengthened peer-to-peer relations, improved communication, and contributed to a collegial and supportive work environment.
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Nisrine Ghazal, MD, and Imad Bou Akl, MD, have contributed equally to the study and should be considered co-first authors.
The authors would like to thank Fuad Ziyadeh, MD, internal medicine department's chairman, and Kamal Badr, MD, associate dean for medical education, for their support as well as Diana Saadeh, internal medicine program coordinator, and Amal Said, department administrator, for their help in preparing the successful activities.
Editor's Note: The online version of this article contains a survey used in the study and descriptions of sessions presented at intern retreats between 2014 and 2017.
Funding: The authors report no external funding source for this study.
Nisrine Ghazal, MD*, is a Physician, Department of Internal Medicine, Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Center, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Imad Bou Akl*, MD, is Assistant Professor of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon; Roni Aoun, MD, is a Resident, Department of Internal Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon; Nathalie Ziadeh, MD, is a Resident, Department of Internal Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon; Renee Houranieh, MD, is a Resident, Department of Internal Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon; and Pierre Bou Khalil, MD, is Associate Professor of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon.
Conflict of interest: The authors declare they have no competing interests.
ISSN:1949-8349
1949-8357
DOI:10.4300/JGME-D-18-01043