Resident resistance

Clearly, faculty must work hard with residents to explore the nature of their resistance to a program's learning and growth opportunities. Initial steps to a deeper, more effective, and longer-lasting change process must be pursued. If resident resistance is mishandled or misunderstood, then learning and professional growth may be sidetracked and the purposes of residency training defeated. Listening to the whole person of the resident and avoiding the trap of getting caught up in merely responding to select resident behaviors that irritate us is critical. Every faculty member in the family practice residency program must recognize resistance as a form of defense that cannot immediately be torn down or taken away. Resident defenses have important purposes to play in stress reduction even if they are not always healthy. Residents, especially interns, use resistance to avoid a deeper and more truthful look at themselves as physicians. A family practice residency program that sees whole persons in their residents and that respects resident defenses will effectively manage the stress and disharmony inherent to the resistant resident.