C. A. Liebert1, A. Salles1,2, M. Esquivel1, R. S. Greco1, C. Mueller1 1Stanford University,Surgery,Palo Alto, CA, USA 2Washington University,Surgery,St. Louis, MO, USA
Introduction: Surgical residents are at increased risk for depression, burnout, and suicide compared to age-matched peers in the general population. A multifaceted Balance in Life program designed to improve residents’ physical, psychological, professional, and social wellbeing was implemented at an academic residency program. This study evaluated the value of the individual program components amongst the residents.
Methods: General Surgery residents (n=64) completed a voluntary electronic survey in 2014 and 2015 regarding utilization and perceived value of key components of the Balance in Life program during the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 academic years. Program components included group psychological counseling sessions, a refrigerator stocked with healthy food, a Resident Peer Mentorship Program, a Class Representative System, social events, a ropes course, and a 1-day offsite resident retreat. Means and standard deviations were calculated for Likert responses overall, as well as by gender and PGY-level; t-tests were performed to assess for differences between subgroups.
Results: Residents perceived all components of the program as valuable. The most valued components were the resident retreat (mean=1.27, 1=extremely valuable, 2=moderately valuable, 3=somewhat valuable, 4=slightly valuable, 5=not at all valuable) and the refrigerator (1.43), followed by social events (2.25), group psychological counseling sessions (2.33), the ropes course (2.38), the Resident Peer Mentorship Program (3.02), and the Class Representative System (3.11). Group psychological counseling sessions were valued highest by preliminary general surgery residents compared to categorical residents (1.96 vs. 2.59, p=0.03) and junior residents compared to senior residents (2.00 vs. 2.58, p=0.047). Gender differences between perceived value of the components were identified. Females valued the group psychological counseling sessions (p=0.02), refrigerator (p=0.03), social events (p=0.03), and Class Representative System (p=0.003) more than male residents. There were no statistical differences in perceived value of the components between the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 years.
Conclusion: A novel multifaceted Balance in Life program to address the physical, professional, and psychosocial wellbeing of surgical trainees is feasible and highly valued by residents. Gender and PGY-level differences exist in the perceived value of components, with females, junior residents, and preliminary residents placing higher value on specific components of the program. Further research is needed to quantify the effectiveness and longitudinal impact such a program has on resident depression, burnout, and other psychological factors.