Health and well-being are key concepts throughout medical school. Those concepts take on a new level of import, however, at the outset of residency. Once resident physicians begin their graduate medical education, longer hours and increased responsibility can lead to burnout.
Residency programs can help their new residents glean insights on stress management and the signs of burnout in an online course, “Thriving Through Residency: The Resilient Resident.” It is just one of the AMA GME Competency Education Program offerings, which include more than 50 courses that residents can access online through their residency program’s subscription, on their own schedules. The program also features six faculty development courses.
The AMA GME Competency Education Program delivers education to help institutions more easily meet Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education common program requirements. Modules cover five of the six topics—patient care, practice-based learning and improvement, interpersonal and communication skills, professionalism, and system-based practice—within the core competency requirements. The sixth requirement, medical knowledge, is one that is typically addressed during clinical education.
Among the program’s experts are several who contributed to the AMA’s Health Systems Science textbook, which draws insights from faculty at medical schools that are part of the Association’s ChangeMedEd initiative.
Current program subscribers have access to award-winning online education designed for residents on the go. It’s easy to use and saves time with simple tracking and reporting tools for administrators. Learn more.
Defining burnout
The course defines burnout as “a psychological syndrome of the emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment” associated with workplace stress. Burnout during residency is a fairly common occurrence—one study cited says one-third of the residents felt overburdened by the workload often or most of the time, and 69% rated their work intensity as “high.”
Results of burnout can include medical errors, depression and substance-use disorder among physicians.
Six pillars of resident wellness
In an effort to beat burnout, residents need a road map for personal wellness. The course breaks down resident wellness into these six categories.
Emotional well-being involves your awareness and acceptance of your feelings and includes the degree that you feel positive and enthusiastic about yourself and life.
Spiritual well-being is related to your search for meaning and purpose in human existence—the belief and reliance on something larger than ourselves.
Subscribe and thrive in residency
Get tips and insider advice from the AMA on navigating and making the most of medical residency—delivered to your inbox.
Physical well-being goes hand in hand with your need for physical exercise, your desire to learn about diet and nutrition, and your avoidance of tobacco, drugs and excessive alcohol consumption.
Social well-being is the result of maintaining healthy relationships with other people, especially those in your support system. Setting aside time for your relationships—whether with family, friends or a significant other—is important, especially during this challenging phase of your career.
Financial well-being involves feeling secure in your day-to-day activities and being prepared for unexpected events.
Intellectual well-being involves focusing on expanding your overall knowledge and skills, as well as your creativity.
Dive deeper:
- New AMA resource helps overstretched GME program directors
- How resident physicians can assess and plan to boost well-being
- Take a deeper look at burnout in medical education—and how to fix it
Easy to track progress
Residency program directors have access to dashboards and reports that provide a view of progress at the program and institution levels. In addition, customizable reports make it easy to track learner performance and demonstrate compliance for accreditation.
The AMA GME Competency Education Program covers topics including well-being, QI and patient safety, residents as teachers, navigating health systems, health equity, professionalism and faculty development. Schedule a meeting to discuss your organization’s needs.
