Well-being in residency: a time for temporary imbalance?

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Physician Well-being
• Qualitative Research

Background:

• Existing research on physician well-being predominantly focuses on negative aspects like burnout.
• There is a need to understand residents' own perspectives on well-being.
• This study explores factors influencing resident well-being beyond negative indicators.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore residents' qualitative experiences and perceptions of well-being during medical training.
• To identify factors that promote or detract from resident well-being.
• To inform residency programs on strategies to enhance physician well-being.

Main Methods:

• Conducted 45-minute semi-structured interviews with 26 residents from 9 programs at 2 academic hospitals.
• Employed random sampling stratified by program and gender.
• Utilized an editing analysis style for independent coding and template agreement.

Main Results:

• Six key themes emerged: balance across domains, professional development vs. temporary imbalance, professional satisfaction, maintaining self-identity, stressors/coping, and program influence.
• Residents defined well-being as a balance across professional, relational, and health domains.
• Residency often involves temporary imbalance for professional growth, sometimes leading to a 'loss of self'; residents shared coping strategies and program-supported well-being enhancements.

Conclusions:

• Resident well-being is intrinsically linked to professional development, often necessitating personal prioritization shifts.
• Achieving well-being requires a dynamic re-balancing of personal priorities alongside professional demands.
• Residency programs should consider these findings to actively foster a supportive environment for resident well-being.