Identifying Gaps and Launching Resident Wellness Initiatives: The 2017 Resident Wellness Consensus Summit

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Fareen Zaver, University of Calgary; Nicole Battaglioli, Mayo Clinic; William Denq, George Washington University; Anne Messman, Sinai Grace Hospital; Arlene Chung, Mt Sinai Hospital; Michelle Lin, University of California San Francisco; Emberlynn Liu, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2018-03-01
• Publisher: eScholarship Publishing, University of California
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2018 Zaver et al
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.5811/westjem.2017.11.36240
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Western Journal of Emergency Medicine
• ISSN: 1936-900X
• Volume: 19
• Issue: 2
• Start Page: 342
• End Page: 345
• Keywords: POPULATION; SATISFACTION; WORK-LIFE BALANCE; PHYSICIANS; BURNOUT; Emergency Medicine; SUICIDE; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Science & Technology
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Public Health

Abstract

Introduction: Burnout, depression, and suicidality among residents of all specialties have become a critical focus for the medical education community, especially among learners in graduate medical education. In 2017 the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) updated the Common Program Requirements to focus more on resident wellbeing. To address this issue, one working group from the 2017 Resident Wellness Consensus Summit (RWCS) focused on wellness program innovations and initiatives in emergency medicine (EM) residency programs. Methods: Over a seven-month period leading up to the RWCS event, the Programmatic Initiatives workgroup convened virtually in the Wellness Think Tank, an online, resident community consisting of 142 residents from 100 EM residencies in North America. A 15-person subgroup (13 residents, two faculty facilitators) met at the RWCS to develop a public, central repository of initiatives for programs, as well as tools to assist programs in identifying gaps in their overarching wellness programs. Results: An online submission form and central database of wellness initiatives were created and accessible to the public. Wellness Think Tank members collected an initial 36 submissions for the database by the time of the RWCS event. Based on general workplace, needs-assessment tools on employee wellbeing and Kern's model for curriculum development, a resident-based needs-assessment survey and an implementation worksheet were created to assist residency programs in wellness program development. Conclusion: The Programmatic Initiatives workgroup from the resident-driven RWCS event created tools to assist EM residency programs in identifying existing initiatives and gaps in their wellness programs to meet the ACGME's expanded focus on resident wellbeing.