Role adoption in residency training

Two hundred residents in training in Wisconsin during 1982 responded to a survey that assessed attitudes, stressors, and coping strategies in each of three areas: work environment, role adoption, and personal life. Results indicate that successful role adoption (making difficult decisions, displaying leadership, dealing with uncertainty, being personally responsible for patients' care) is the primary task of residency, balanced by increasing stress in maintaining social support systems in family and peer groups. Coping strategies are directed at promoting role adoption and preserving personal ties. Work factors that accentuate the tension between these two aspects create the most distress. The degree to which role adoption is accomplished, the stress imposed, and coping strategies employed differed significantly with gender, specialty, and program type.