Encouraging Entrustment: A Qualitative Study of Resident Behaviors That Promote Entrustment

To explore resident and attending physician perceptions of resident behaviors and skills that demonstrate trustworthiness and promote entrustment by supervisors.

Using grounded theory methodology, the authors conducted 3 focus groups with pediatric residents from the Boston Combined Residency Program and 3 focus groups with attending physicians who were either general pediatric hospitalists or other pediatric subspecialists at Boston Children's Hospital and Boston Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts, from May to December 2018. Data were collected and analyzed iteratively until theoretical saturation was achieved. Three independent reviewers coded each transcript. Codes were grouped into dominant themes to develop a conceptual model.

Twelve residents and 18 attending physicians participated in the focus groups. Participants described actions that they felt actively demonstrated residents' trustworthiness within previously described domains of trustworthiness. Four modifiers emerged that affect a resident's progression from trustworthiness to entrustment: (1) self-management, (2) relationships, (3) self-advocacy, and (4) patient-centeredness. Findings were synthesized into a conceptual model depicting how trainees can promote their own entrustment by supervisors.

Trainees must actively demonstrate their trustworthiness to be entrusted. This study proposes that trainees can further gain entrustment through self-management, relationships, self-advocacy, and patient-centeredness. When they understand the actions and behaviors that promote entrustment, trainees may be better able to foster autonomy and progress toward more independent clinical practice. These findings add to existing evidence regarding entrustment and provide a novel, actionable framework for trainees to increase their own entrustment.