9. UNDERSTANDING BURNOUT THROUGH THE LENS OF THE PEDIATRIC RESIDENCY TRAINING ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

Background Despite interventions, burnout continues to increase among trainees. In a recent study of pediatric residents, the burnout rate was found to be > 50%. Though burnout is a major issue, there is limited data on effective interventions which begs the question, what are we missing? An organizational context for burnout titled Areas of Worklife, identified 6 areas that can affect burnout in the workplace: control, values, reward, fairness, workload, and community. Understanding how residents perceive these areas and their effect on burnout is invaluable as it provides a unique insight into the problem that could inform future interventions. Objectives: This study aimed to gain a deeper understanding of resident perspectives related to the six Areas of Worklife and their significance in the context of residency. Methods Using qualitative methodology, we conducted semi-structured interviews with a convenience sample of 15 residents and focused on resident's perspective of the Worklife areas. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Analysis was conducted concurrent with data collection using a constant comparison method; we used ATLAS.ti to manage the data for coding and the principal investigator and 2 co-investigators created themes. Results Themes identified based on Worklife areas are listed in Table 1. Overall, patient care was a lens through which residents understood the areas of control, reward, values, and workload. The themes identified in these leading areas focused on the resident's ability to interact with and learn from patients. Conclusions Resident definitions of the Worklife areas highlight the importance of patient involvement in the residency training experience, which is consistent with the literature that shows patient care is a means for residents to find meaning in their work. Understanding residents perspectives on Worklife areas is essential when developing potential interventions for burnout in residency.