Intern Mental Health Interventions

Intern year is a uniquely stressful transition with interns facing higher rates of major depression compared with the general population. While burnout and depression during intern year are well documented, we aimed to examine which interventions have been implemented to prevent these issues and to consider the effectiveness of these interventions.

Based on a review of recent literature, we located very few studies focusing on interventions for resident mental health and even fewer focusing on interns specifically. We found that such studies vary in design with most using online or app-based tools and others incorporating in-person workshops. There is significant variation among the scales used and the primary outcomes in each study. While most studies demonstrate a modest reduction in depression and burnout with implementation of some form of mindfulness practice, many were unable to reach a significant level of statistical power. More research is needed to determine generalizable findings.