Assistant Professor of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Helen DeVos Childrens Hospital Grand Rapids, MI
Physician well-being is an important initiative of the ACGME since well-being, both psychological and emotional, is crucial to the development of the competent, caring physician. This has been supported by the development of the Clinical Learning Environment Review (CLER) pathways and the common program requirements on well-being. Regular exposure to primary and secondary trauma, such as the act of bearing witness to the intense suffering and pain of pediatric patients and families, has a significant effect on healthcare professionals and negatively impacts well-being. It can lead to secondary traumatic stress, a diagnosis that is similar to post-traumatic stress disorder, and it can contribute to the development of burnout or mental health disturbances. In a study of medical students, residents, and early career physicians, all three groups were shown to have higher rates of burnout and depressive symptoms than the general population. Even though medical training appears to be the peak career stage for distress, some syndromes, including burnout, symptoms of depression, and high fatigue, occur at alarmingly high rates (i.e., 40%–50%) among early career physicians. We offer this educational session on the utilization of debrief sessions as a way to mitigate the effects of secondary trauma and foster resilience and post-traumatic growth, thereby allowing others to implement similar programs in their institutions.
