Strategies for coping with stress in emergency medicine: Early education is vital

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Gillian R. Schmitz, University of California, San Diego; Mark Clark, University of California, San Diego; Sheryl L Heron, Emory University; Tracy Sanson, University of South Florida, Tampa; Gloria Kuhn, Wayne State University; Christina Bourne, University of South Carolina; Todd Guth, University of Colorado at Denver; Mitch Cordover, Missouri Baptist Medical Center; Justin Coomes, University of Louisville
• Language: English
• Date: 2012-01-01
• Publisher: Medknow Publications
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © Journal of Emergencies, Trauma, and Shock
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/0974-2700.93117
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Journal of Emergencies, Trauma, and Shock
• ISSN: 0974-2700
• Volume: 5
• Issue: 1
• Start Page: 64
• End Page: 69
• Grant/Funding Information: Source of Support: Nil.
• Keywords: emergency medicine; resident; wellness; Graduate; Education
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, General; Health Sciences, Medicine and Surgery

Abstract

Introduction: Physician burnout has received considerable attention in the literature and impacts a large number of emergency medicine physicians, but there is no standardized curriculum for wellness in resident education. A culture change is needed to educate about wellness, adopt a preventative and proactive approach, and focus on resiliency. Discussion: We describe a novel approach to wellness education by focusing on resiliency rather than the unintended endpoint of physician burnout. One barrier to adoption of wellness education has been establishing legitimacy among emergency medicine (EM) residents and educators. We discuss a change in the language of wellness education and provide several specific topics to facilitate the incorporation of these topics in resident education. Conclusion: Wellness education and a culture of training that promotes well-being will benefit EM residents. Demonstrating the impact of several factors that positively affect emergency physicians may help to facilitate alert residents to the importance of practicing activities that will result in wellness. A change in culture and focus on resiliency is needed to adequately address and optimize physician self-care.