Purpose: To deliver a wellness curriculum for residents and faculty via a departmental book club.
Background: Given the high rates of physician burnout syndrome in obstetrics and gynecology, physician well-being has become a core focus area. While academic departments commonly institute activities like wellness days and resident retreats, these events do little to develop the individual physician and their abilities to deal with the rigors of daily life in a stressful career.
Methods: We developed a curriculum from a best-selling personal development book, The Success Principles, written for an audience outside of medicine that focuses on the individual’s personal goals. Six monthly sessions were organized that drew interest from faculty and residents alike. Participants responded to a survey evaluating perceptions of their own success and the 5-item World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5) before starting the sessions and after the last session. A final survey will be done three months after completing the program.
Results: We saw a statistically significant (F= 1877, P= 0.009) improvement in the mean survey score between the pre-program (M= 3.7, 95% CI= 3.4 - 4) and post-program survey (M= 4.2, 95% CI= 4 - 4.6). Results from the three-month post-program survey are pending.
Discussions: Residents and faculty developed personal definitions of success in terms of personal and career goals. This focus, and the book-club setting, fostered intimate conversations that helped define work-life balance and helped both residents and faculty take steps toward their visions of success. Additionally, the book club format proved useful in delivering non-clinical curriculum to our department.
Topics: CREOG & APGO Annual Meeting, 2022, Resident, Faculty, Residency Director, Professionalism, Interpersonal & Communication Skills, GME,
Lee D. Moore, MD, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at the Permian Basin; Alice Fa, MD; Kathryn Hutton, DO; Michael Galloway, DO
