Abstract
Emergency medicine ranks first among specialties in rates of burnout, and this emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and self doubt begin early in medical education. The ACGME recognizes that in the current health care environment, residents and faculty are at increased risk for burnout and depression. There are no studies in the emergency medicine literature that discuss the development of a wellness curriculum. We performed a needs analysis of emergency medicine resident perceptions’ concerning the incorporation of wellness education into residency. In February 2017, we performed a multi-center study at five emergency medicine residencies. We administered a four-question survey to determine (1) How important residents believe it is to include information about wellness topics into residency training (2) How relevant the topic of wellness is to the resident physician (3) How comfortable the resident is with her/his knowledge of wellness principles (4) How valued the incorporation of wellness principles is to the maintenance of her/his career as a practicing emergency physician. Residents answered the question with single number on a 100-point Likert scale. A total of 163/186 residents completed the survey leading to an 88% response rate. The age of participants ranged from 25-41 with a median age of 29 (IQR: 28-31); 32% of respondents were in the postgraduate year (PGY)1, 31% were PGY2; 31% were PGY3, and 6% were PGY4. The median response for question 1 was 80 (IQR 65-93.5); for question 2 was 90 (IQR: 75-100); for question 3 was 70 (IQR: 50-85); and for question 4 was 88.5 (IQR: 70.75-100). There was no statistically significant association between the answers to the wellness questions when compared to age, postgraduate year, sex, ethnicity, residency program, or burnout as measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory. In this multi-center survey study of emergency medicine residents, we determined that while residents believe that it is important to include information about wellness topics into residency training, that the topic is relevant to the resident, and is valued in their career, they are not as comfortable with their knowledge of wellness principles. These findings support the need to develop a formal wellness curriculum that can be incorporated into resident education.
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