Daily self-care and cognitive restructuring: A potentially potent prescription for physician wellness

Abstract

Burnout among physicians has increased dramatically over the past decade. Recently, the United States Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education has prioritised the development of strategies aimed at promoting physician wellness and self-care. This pilot study sought to assess the feasibility of delivering a wellness curriculum in the context of multispecialty learning communities and to determine whether interns would benefit from being taught wellness strategies within these group settings. We examined outcomes of a wellness curriculum for interns from 14 different specialties at a large academic institution. 188 interns were assigned to one of 18 multispecialty learning communities (MSLC). Thirty-seven interns (20%) completed questionnaires at the end of the study. Interns reported an increased awareness of the need to take care of themselves and to practice wellness strategies, particularly cognitive restructuring and daily intentional self-care, as well as an improved ability to practice these wellness techniques. Almost all the interns reported they would be likely to continue to use these strategies throughout the remainder of their residency. Based on these preliminary findings, it appears that teaching wellness in multispecialty learning communities may be feasible and interns may benefit from being taught targeted, evidence-based wellness strategies in these focused group settings.

Keywords

• physician wellness
• junior doctors
• physician burnout
• postgraduate medical education
• cognitive restructuring