Perceived Value of a Program to Promote Surgical Resident Well-being

• Published in: Journal of surgical education Vol. 74; no. 6; pp. 921 - 927
• Main Authors: Salles, Arghavan, MD, PhD, Liebert, Cara A., MD, Esquivel, Micaela, MD, Greco, Ralph S., MD, FACS, Henry, Rebecca, PhD, Mueller, Claudia, PhD, MD
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.11.2017
• Subjects: Adaptation, Psychological; Adult; burnout; Burnout, Professional - prevention & control; Cross-Sectional Studies; Education, Medical, Graduate - organization & administration; Female; General Surgery - education; Health Promotion - organization & administration; Humans; Internship and Residency - organization & administration; Male; Mentors; Perception; Program Evaluation; Quality of Life; resident well-being; resource utilization; Risk Assessment; Surgeons - psychology; Surgery; surgical residency; Surveys and Questionnaires; Systems-Based Practice; surgical residency; resident well-being; resource utilization; burnout; Systems-Based Practice
• ISSN: 1931-7204; 1878-7452
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jsurg.2017.04.006

Objective The demands of surgical residency are intense and threaten not only trainees’ physical wellness, but also risk depression, burnout, and suicide. Our residency program implemented a multifaceted Balance in Life program that is designed to improve residents’ well-being. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the program utilization and perceived value by residents. Design, Setting, Participants Residents ( n = 56, 76% response rate) were invited to participate in a voluntary survey from December 2013 to February 2014 regarding utilization, barriers to use, and perceived value of 6 program components (refrigerator, After Hours Guide , psychological counseling sessions, Resident Mentorship Program, Class Representative System, and social events). They were also asked questions about psychological well-being, burnout, grit, and sleep and exercise habits before and after implementation of the program. Results The most valued components of the program were the refrigerator (mean = 4.61) and the psychological counseling sessions (mean = 3.58), followed by social events (mean = 3.48), the Resident Mentorship Program (mean = 2.79), the Class Representative System (mean = 2.62), and the After Hours Guide (mean = 2.10). When residents were asked how they would allocate $100 among the different programs, the majority was allocated to the refrigerator ($54.31), social events ($26.43), and counseling sessions ($24.06). There was no change in psychological well-being or burnout after the program. Residents had higher levels of grit (β = 0.26, p < 0.01) and exercised (β = 1.02, p < 0.001) and slept (β = 1.17, p < 0.0001) more after the program was implemented. Conclusions This study demonstrated that a multifaceted program to improve the well-being of trainees is feasible, highly valued, and positively perceived by the residents. Further research is needed to quantify the effectiveness and longitudinal impact such a program has on resident depression, burnout, and other psychological factors.