School of Medicine and Health Sciences Poster Presentations
Resident Wellness Quality Improvement Project
Document Type
Poster
Keywords
WELLNESS; BURNOUT; QUALITY IMPROVEMENT
Publication Date
Spring 2017
Abstract
Background: Physician burnout is a well-known phenomenon among health workers that has become the subject of widespread investigations over the past several years. Multiple studies have shown an increased prevalence of burnout among both medical students and residents in all specialties. Increasing evidence of the negative impact of physicians’ burnout on patient health care and the health care system in general has led to the establishment of many programs to address these concerns and to minimize the consequences. The aim of this quality improvement (QI) project was to lower physical / mental burnout among Internal Medicine (IM) residents at The George Washington University Hospital by 25% over a six-month period.
Methods: A modified burnout questionnaire was distributed to IM residents and interns to assess pre-intervention burnout level. Then several quality-improvement initiatives were developed and provisional plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycles were devised. The first cycle was comprised of 2-3 minutes of breathing exercises during the morning report. The second cycle required a medical team to perform a group breathing exercises before starting their medical rounds. The third cycle involved residents in a 10-15 minutes of mindful eating at noon conference. The fourth cycle included playing classic music in medical team room. Verbal feedback was acquired from study participants following the completion of each task during each cycle. At the end of the project, a modified burnout questionnaire will be distributed to assess post-intervention burnout level.
Result: Initial burnout questionnaire was sent to a126 residents with 43.7% (n=55) response rate. Twenty-five percent of the participants reported a moderate to severe burnout level while the majority reported no to mild symptoms of burnout. Difficulties in time management, and sleep deprivation were identified as factors contributing to burnout by 63.6% and 70.2% of participants, respectively. Constructive feedback (42.6%), meditation (42.6%), and listening to music (46.8%) were the most suggested interventions. We expect to update the results of this QI upon completion of the PDSA cycles.
Discussion:
Findings from the initial survey suggest that most IM residents are not experiencing high level of burnout, which could be related to factors that are intrinsic to the medicine residency program or to the time of the year when the survey was assessed. Future analysis will be conducted to determine whether the PDSA interventions that were tested will yield any changes in resident burnout levels.
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Open Access
1
Resident Wellness Quality Improvement Project
Background: Physician burnout is a well-known phenomenon among health workers that has become the subject of widespread investigations over the past several years. Multiple studies have shown an increased prevalence of burnout among both medical students and residents in all specialties. Increasing evidence of the negative impact of physicians’ burnout on patient health care and the health care system in general has led to the establishment of many programs to address these concerns and to minimize the consequences. The aim of this quality improvement (QI) project was to lower physical / mental burnout among Internal Medicine (IM) residents at The George Washington University Hospital by 25% over a six-month period.
Methods: A modified burnout questionnaire was distributed to IM residents and interns to assess pre-intervention burnout level. Then several quality-improvement initiatives were developed and provisional plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycles were devised. The first cycle was comprised of 2-3 minutes of breathing exercises during the morning report. The second cycle required a medical team to perform a group breathing exercises before starting their medical rounds. The third cycle involved residents in a 10-15 minutes of mindful eating at noon conference. The fourth cycle included playing classic music in medical team room. Verbal feedback was acquired from study participants following the completion of each task during each cycle. At the end of the project, a modified burnout questionnaire will be distributed to assess post-intervention burnout level.
Result: Initial burnout questionnaire was sent to a126 residents with 43.7% (n=55) response rate. Twenty-five percent of the participants reported a moderate to severe burnout level while the majority reported no to mild symptoms of burnout. Difficulties in time management, and sleep deprivation were identified as factors contributing to burnout by 63.6% and 70.2% of participants, respectively. Constructive feedback (42.6%), meditation (42.6%), and listening to music (46.8%) were the most suggested interventions. We expect to update the results of this QI upon completion of the PDSA cycles.
Discussion:
Findings from the initial survey suggest that most IM residents are not experiencing high level of burnout, which could be related to factors that are intrinsic to the medicine residency program or to the time of the year when the survey was assessed. Future analysis will be conducted to determine whether the PDSA interventions that were tested will yield any changes in resident burnout levels.
Comments
Poster to be presented at GW Annual Research Days 2017.