Effects of Scheduled Employee Assistance Program Meetings on Resident Utilization of Counseling Services

Employee assistance programs (EAPs) provide free and confidential counseling services to employees. This study will evaluate the impact of scheduled EAP sessions on the utilization of counseling services among residents across multiple subspecialties at an academic institution.  Methods: Prior to the study period, medicine, pediatrics, and medicine-pediatrics residency programs at a large academic institution were scheduling EAP appointments for the postgraduate year 1 (PGY-1) residents. During the 2023-2024 academic year, incoming PGY-1 residents from five residency programs (medicine, pediatrics, medicine-pediatrics, anesthesiology, and family medicine) were scheduled for an appointment with EAP. The PGY-1 residents completed a pre-EAP survey to evaluate EAP appointment perceived experiences. A post-EAP survey was distributed to all PGY-1 residents, upper-level residents who were not previously scheduled for EAP meetings (anesthesiology and family medicine), and to upper-level residents who had previously been scheduled for an EAP session as a PGY-1 (medicine, pediatrics, and medicine-pediatrics). Participants were also asked to complete the Physician Well-Being Index (PWBI).  Results: Incoming residents felt meetings with EAP would be beneficial if there was enough time to attend. Residents scheduled had a higher rate of attending at least a single EAP session (74%, N = 17) than those not scheduled (32%, N = 6) (p = 0.0119). The most common barriers to attending were relief from clinical duties and sufficient time off. There was no observed difference in the PWBI between scheduled and not-scheduled residents. This study was limited by multiple factors, primarily low statistical power and a low response rate to both the pre- and post-EAP surveys.

Residency programs across different specialties may increase attendance to at least a single EAP session by scheduling residents and providing relief from clinic duties with sufficient time off. Further studies are required to determine the impact of scheduled EAP sessions on resident well-being.