Mental Health Conditions Among Struggling GME Learners: Results From a Single Center Remediation Program

Graduate medical education (GME) learners may struggle with clinical performance during training. A subset of these trainees has mental health conditions (MHCs).

To characterize the MHCs that underlie poor trainee performance and their relationship to specific clinical performance deficit (CPD).

At the University of Virginia (UVA), GME learners not meeting appropriate milestones, or who request help, have the option to self-refer or be referred to COACH (Committee on Achieving Competence Through Help). A physician remediation expert assesses the learner and identifies a primary CPD. If there is concern for an MHC, referral is made to a psychologist with expertise in working with trainees. All learners are offered remediation for the CPD. Using descriptive statistics, we tracked the prevalence of MHC and their correlation with specific CPDs.

Between 2016 and 2019, COACH assessed 7% (61 of 820) of GME learners at UVA. Thirty-eight percent (23 of 61) had an MHC associated with the CPD. Anxiety was the most common MHC (48%), followed by depression (17%), cognitive dysfunction (17%), adjustment disorder (13%), and other (4%). Professionalism was the most identified CPD among learners with MHCs (52%). Of remediated learners, 47% have successfully finished remediation, 21% were terminated or voluntarily left their program, and 32% are still being remediated (83% of whom are in good standing).

MHCs were identified in nearly 40% of struggling learners referred to a centralized remediation program. Professionalism is the most identified CPD among learners with MHCs.