The READ-SG Study: Effect of Peer-Facilitated Small Group Discussions

Burnout, Professional Clinical Trial

— READ-SG  

Official title:

The Reflect, Empathize, Analyze, and Discuss in Small Groups Study: The Effect of Peer-facilitated Small Group Discussions on Burnout and Professional Development Among Physician Trainees

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT03163251
• Other study ID #: AAAP0006
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: June 1, 2016
• Est. completion date: July 1, 2018

Study information

• Verified date: August 2021
• Source: Columbia University
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

This study evaluates the effect of peer facilitated monthly small group topic-based small group discussions on various themes common to physician training that pertain to aspects of humanism on rates of burnout. Attendance to these sessions and completion of the surveys is voluntary.

Description:

It is widely known that physicians have rates of suicide that are far higher than in other professions: 70% higher for men and 250-400% higher for women. While the reasoning behind why this occurs has not been well elucidated, physicians do face some unique challenges including the responsibilities of the lives of others, a duty to always uphold the highest level of a moral and ethical standard, as well as being faced with both physical and emotional exhaustion. Trainees in particular seem at risk due to the rigors of the job in addition to the stress of the rapid expansion of the physical and emotional expectations put upon them.

To the investigator's knowledge, there has yet to be any study that has shown any beneficial outcomes regarding burnout using a small group curriculum among physician trainees that also encompasses analysis of the effect of an intervention on the emotional development of trainees. However, there has been a randomized trial on the effect of small groups for junior attendings that showed decreased rates of depersonalization, emotional exhaustion, and physician burnout in the intervention group. The implications of such programs on the trainee population could result in decreased levels of physician/ trainee burnout, depression, and potentially even suicide, aside from providing trainees with a sense of increased job satisfaction.

While many people in the scientific community judge the success of a physician by their medical achievements and diagnostic acumen, many patients judge the successes of their doctors based on empathy, communication, and bedside manner. While many resources exist to teach residents about the science of medicine, there does not exist to my knowledge a standardized curriculum to teach residents about the humanistic side of medicine and the importance of emotional development. Implementing such a curriculum could provide exactly what is missing from formal residency training as it stands now. Such a program that could be easily adapted to a large number of trainees would seem to be beneficial and also be in line with the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)'s core competencies intended for residents to improve on patient care, professionalism, and interpersonal communication.

Peer support and teamwork seem like logical coping mechanisms for a vulnerable population that can feel isolated, such as physician trainees. The study aims to elucidate whether the peer-facilitated READ-SG method is effective at reducing burnout, as assessed by the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the gold standard in the field of assessing burnout, as well as to gauge the perceived effect of each session on participants' professional development and symptoms of burnout.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 137
• Est. completion date: July 1, 2018
• Est. primary completion date: July 1, 2018
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 21 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Internal Medicine trainees in the PGY-1 through PGY-3 years at New York Presbyterian - Columbia University Medical Center.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Not open to anyone outside of the Internal Medicine trainees at New York Presbyterian - Columbia University Medical Center.

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Burnout, Professional
• Burnout, Psychological
• Emotional Intelligence
• Peer Influence

Intervention

Behavioral:
• READ-SG Sessions
In the Internal Medicine residency program at Columbia University Medical Center, PGY-1 trainees receive an hour of protected time to attend a monthly peer-facilitated small group session, outlined above. PGY-2 and 3 trainees have a similar combined session separate from the PGY-1s. Facilitators are chosen by the READ-SG Committee, which is comprised of Mark P. Abrams (Director, Co-Investigator), Evelyn Granieri (Faculty Advisor, PI), a Chief Resident from the program (Program Liaison), and the facilitators.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	Columbia University Medical Center	New York	New York

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Columbia University

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

References & Publications (3)

Abrams MP, Granieri E. Peer facilitation and burnout: the READ-SG pilot. Clin Teach. 2018 Jun;15(3):226-230. doi: 10.1111/tct.12666. Epub 2017 May 10. — View Citation

Abrams MP. Improving Resident Well-Being and Burnout: The Role of Peer Support. J Grad Med Educ. 2017 Apr;9(2):264. doi: 10.4300/JGME-D-16-00805.1. — View Citation

West CP, Dyrbye LN, Rabatin JT, Call TG, Davidson JH, Multari A, Romanski SA, Hellyer JM, Sloan JA, Shanafelt TD. Intervention to promote physician well-being, job satisfaction, and professionalism: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA Intern Med. 2014 Apr;174(4):527-33. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.14387. — View Citation

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Change in Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) Personal Accomplishment Score (section 1)	This is designed to prospectively measure whether the intervention affects and/or mitigates burnout rates over residency training. The survey has 3 sections.	Baseline, 1 year
Primary	Change in Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) Depersonalization Score (section 2)	This is designed to prospectively measure whether the intervention affects and/or mitigates burnout rates over residency training. The survey has 3 sections.	Baseline, 1 year
Primary	Change in Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) Emotional Exhaustion Score (section 3)	This is designed to prospectively measure whether the intervention affects and/or mitigates burnout rates over residency training. The survey has 3 sections.	Baseline, 1 year
Secondary	Dose response relationship ratio	This is designed to evaluate whether there is a dose response relationship between the number of sessions attended and the effect of the sessions on burnout scores, measured by p-value.	Up to 1 year
Secondary	Change in Likert-scale Score	This is designed to validate whether the READ-SG Study Survey correlate with the already validated single-question/abbreviated burnout questions.	Baseline, monthly for up to 1 year