Caring for Caregivers - Resident Physician Health and Wellbeing

OBJECTIVE: There is a national epidemic of physician burnout and serious concerns exist regarding the wellbeing of future physicians. This project seeks to address resident physician health, by creating a sense of support and community during training, as a method to target one of the many facets of burnout. DESIGN: We created a program that allows residents who fall ill to receive a health package, delivered to work or home, consisting of essential medications, vitamins, nutrition, and hydration. The recipients were asked to answer a short survey regarding their experience. SETTING: Stanford Health Care, Department of Surgery, Division of General Surgery, Palo Alto California. RESULTS: Eighteen packages have been delivered since the start of the project. One hundred percent of residents agree that this program fulfills an otherwise unmet need in residency. Similarly, all felt that the supplies they received helped them recover faster. The majority (83%) of the packages were requested by colleagues of the ill residents. CONCLUSIONS: We present an innovative project aimed at improving resident physician health, fostering a feeling of support, and helping to reduce resident burnout. This is the first report of a program of this kind and we hope that it incentivizes a broader discussion and implementation of similar initiatives in other residency programs across the country. (C) Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of Association of Program Directors in Surgery.