Resident Physician Burnout and Well-being

NCT ID: NCT04125615

Last Updated: 2019-10-14

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 19 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2017-09-01
• Study Completion Date: 2018-06-30

Brief Summary

Pilot study shows that two hours of weekly protected non-clinical time is associated with decreased burnout and increased well-being in otolaryngology residents

Detailed Description

Burnout amongst physicians is high with resulting concern over quality of care. With burnout beginning early in training, much-needed data is lacking on interventions to decrease burnout and improve well-being amongst resident physicians. The primary objective was to design and evaluate the impact of a departmental-level burnout intervention for otolaryngology residents. The secondary objective was to describe how residents utilized and perceived the study intervention.

All current residents in the Department of Otolaryngology at the University of Minnesota were solicited for participation. Inclusion criteria included all residents willing to complete the study protocol. Exclusion criteria included the principal investigator. All 19 eligible residents consented to participate. All participants were assigned two hours of weekly, protected non-clinical time alternating with a control period of no intervention at 6 week intervals.

Burnout was measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and Mini-Z Questionnaire (Mini-Z). Well-being was measured by the Resident and Fellow Well-Being Index (WBI) and a quality-of-life (QOL) single-item self-assessment (SA). In addition to baseline demographic survey, participants completed the aforementioned surveys at approximately 6-week intervals from October 2017 to July 2018.

Conditions

Stress

Study Design

• Allocation Method: NON_RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Primary Study Purpose: OTHER
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Protected Non-Clinical Time

Protected non-clinical time

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Protected Time Intervention

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Participants were assigned two hours of protected, non-clinical time by the chief resident of the service. Chief residents were instructed to assign this time when clinical learning opportunities were lowest. Each participant acted as their own control and was on the intervention phase of the study for the first or last 6 weeks of a quarterly rotation. Residents were concurrently assigned to the same phase of the study (intervention versus control). Participants were not specifically limited in what they could do during their non-clinical time, but they were encouraged to use this time in a way they felt would decrease their own personal burnout and increase their well-being, whether this be performing work-related administrative duties previously done on personal time or fulfilling obligations that are integral to personal health and well-being that can only be completed during normal business hours.

Control Period

No protected non-clinical time

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

Protected Time Intervention

Participants were assigned two hours of protected, non-clinical time by the chief resident of the service. Chief residents were instructed to assign this time when clinical learning opportunities were lowest. Each participant acted as their own control and was on the intervention phase of the study for the first or last 6 weeks of a quarterly rotation. Residents were concurrently assigned to the same phase of the study (intervention versus control). Participants were not specifically limited in what they could do during their non-clinical time, but they were encouraged to use this time in a way they felt would decrease their own personal burnout and increase their well-being, whether this be performing work-related administrative duties previously done on personal time or fulfilling obligations that are integral to personal health and well-being that can only be completed during normal business hours.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• all resident physicians (PGY1 - PGY5) in the Department of Otolaryngology that were willing to complete the study protocol

Exclusion Criteria

• principal investigator(s) were excluded from participation

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

University of Minnesota

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Kristin Stevens, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Minenesota

Locations

University of Minnesota

Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

Countries

United States

Other Identifiers

1612E02561

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id