The Resilient Resident: A Pilot Resiliency Curriculum on Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Resident Burnout

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/ijms.2025.3000

Keywords:

Resiliency, • Education, Medical [I02.358.399], Curriculum, Burnout, Physician

Abstract

Background: Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) physicians are among those most affected by burnout. Following the 2017 Revision of ACGME (Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education) Requirements, programs and institutions were encouraged to emphasize physician well-being and recognition and strategies to mitigate burnout.  As an at-risk specialty, we desired to develop and implement a facilitated resilience curriculum for Resident Physicians (RPs).

Methods: Resilience Series workshop curriculum was put into action during the 2018-2019 academic year at a Rehabilitation Hospital. The leader of each workshop previously underwent formal resilience training in integrative health coaching and organizational leadership. In part with all RP’s, a four-part workshop series was conducted using four guiding questions: (1) “Who am I and who are we?”, (2) “What contributes to resilience?”, (3) “What challenges our resilience?”, and (4) “How can we combat challenges to resilience?”. Pilot data on curriculum usability was collected via an End of Curriculum Assessment (ECA) administered to all RPs. Data did not require specific statistical analysis computation.

Results: Key RP ECA themes highlighted that (1) RPs were highly engaged in the process, (2) all RPs reported the Resilience Curriculum was helpful, (3) strategies learned in times of stress were firmly adopted, (4) RPs endorsed increased comfort discussing personal struggles with peers and more control over work schedules.

Conclusions: Our resilience curriculum is a pilot program that provides an example curriculum to address RP burnout in the workplace and can be used to meet ACGME residency program requirements.

References

1. Maslach C, Jackson SE, Leiter MP. Maslach Burnout Inventory: 3rd ed. Consulting Psychology Press. 1986.

2. Shanafelt TD, Boone S, Litjen T, Dyrbye LN, Sotile W, Satele D, et al. Burnout and Satisfaction with Work-life Balance Among US Physicians Relative to the General US Population. Arch Intern Med. 2012;172(18):1377-85. doi: doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2012.3199

3. Shanafelt TD, Hasan O, Dyrbye LN, Sinsky C, Satele D, Sloan J, et al. Changes in Burnout and Satisfaction with Work-Life Balance in Physicians and the General US Working Population Between 2011 and 2014. Mayo Clin Proc. 2015;90(12):1600-13. doi: 10.1016/j.mayocp.2015.08.023

4. Medscape. Medscape National Physician Burnout and Suicide report 2020. Available from: https://www.medscape.com/slideshow/2020-lifestyle-burnout-6012460; updated 2020 Jan 15.

5. Medscape. ‘Death by 1000 Cuts’: Medscape National Physician Burnout and Suicide Report 2021. Available from: https://www.medscape.com/slideshow/2021-lifestyle-burnout-6013456; updated 2021 Jan 22.

6. Shanafelt TD, West CP, Sinsky C, Trockel M, Tutty M, Satele DV, et al. Changes in Burnout and Satisfaction with Work-Life Integration in Physicians and the General US Working Population Between 2011 and 2017. Mayo Clin Proc. 2019;94(9):1681-1694. doi: 10.1016/j.mayocp.2018.10.023

7. Dyrbye LN, Burke SE, Hardeman RR, Herrin J, Wittlin NM, Yeazel M, et al. Association of Clinical Specialty with Symptoms of Burnout and Career Choice Regret Among US Resident Physicians. JAMA. 2018;320(11):1114-1130. doi:10.1001/jama.2018.12615

8. Bean AC, Schroeder AN, McKernan GP, Mesoros M, Silver JK, Verduzco-Gutierrez Monica, et al. Factors Associated with Burnout in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residents in the United States, Am Journ of Phys Med & Rehab: 2022;101(7)674-684. doi: 10.1097/PHM.0000000000001886

9. Duke Health. Duke Health and Well-Being Coach Training. Available from: https://dhwprograms.dukehealth.org/health-wellbeing-coach-training/; updated 2024.

10. Silver JK, Bhatnagar S. Physician Burnout in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R): Should We Focus More on Physiatrists' Mission? Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 2017 Aug;96(8): e159-e161. doi: 0.1097/PHM.0000000000000674.

11. Rath, T. Strengths Finder 2.0. New York, NY: Gallup Press; 2007.

12. Briggs, Katharine C. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Form G. Palo Alto, Calif.: Consulting Psychologists Press, 1987.

13. Kolbe Corp. KOLBE A™ INDEX. Available from: https://secure.kolbe.com/k2/show_takeIndex/indexType_A; updated 2021; cited 2024.

14. LaFontaine TP, DiLorenzo TM, Frensch PA, Stucky-Ropp RC, Bargman EP, McDonald DG. Aerobic Exercise and Mood. Sports Medicine. 1992 Mar;13(3):160–70. doi: 10.2165/00007256-199213030-00002

15. Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. ACGME Common Program Requirements Section VI with Background and Intent; updated 2017 Feb

16. Atrium Health. Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Well-Being Policy. updated June 2024.

17. Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Counseling and Well-Being Services. Available from: https://school.wakehealth.edu/about-the-school/health-and-wellness/counseling-and-well-being; updated 2024

18. Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Mindful Medicine. Available from: https://school.wakehealth.edu/education-and-training/certificate-programs/mindful-medicine; updated 2024

19. Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Active Resilience Training. Available from: https://school.wakehealth.edu/education-and-training/certificate-programs/active-resilience-training; updated 2024

20. Liaison Committee on Medical Education. Functions and Structure of a Medical School: Standards for Accreditation of Medical Education Programs Leading to the MD Degree. 2024 March.

21. Ogrinc G, Davies L, Goodman D, Batalden PB, Davidoff F, Stevens D. SQUIRE 2.0 (Standards for Quality Improvement Reporting Excellence): revised publication guidelines from a detailed consensus process. BMJ Quality & Safety 2016; 25:986-992.

This timeline illustrates the development and implementation of a well-being program for residents, beginning with the ACGME Guidelines Update regarding Common Program Requirements for Well-Being. It tracks the progression into Curriculum Design, which included resilience series discussions during monthly Graduate Medical Education (GME) meetings, and the execution of Workshop #1, titled "Who am I and who are we?", which utilized the Gallup CliftonStrengths Assessment to foster self-awareness and team cohesion.

Downloads

Published

2025-10-28 — Updated on 2025-12-19

How to Cite

McClintock, A., Michunovich, A., Ference, E., Bruce, J., Kult, J., Nguyen, V., … Desai, S. A. (2025). The Resilient Resident: A Pilot Resiliency Curriculum on Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Resident Burnout. International Journal of Medical Students, 13(4), 425–433. https://doi.org/10.5195/ijms.2025.3000

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 4 (2025)

Section

Short Communication

Categories

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Alicia McClintock, Ana Michunovich, Edward Ference, Jordan Bruce, Vu Nguyen, Mark Hirsch, Sima Desai, Justine Levesque

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

  1. The Author retains copyright in the Work, where the term “Work” shall include all digital objects that may result in subsequent electronic publication or distribution.
  2. Upon acceptance of the Work, the author shall grant to the Publisher the right of first publication of the Work.
  3. The Author shall grant to the Publisher and its agents the nonexclusive perpetual right and license to publish, archive, and make accessible the Work in whole or in part in all forms of media now or hereafter known under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License or its equivalent, which, for the avoidance of doubt, allows others to copy, distribute, and transmit the Work under the following conditions:
    1. Attribution—other users must attribute the Work in the manner specified by the author as indicated on the journal Web site; with the understanding that the above condition can be waived with permission from the Author and that where the Work or any of its elements is in the public domain under applicable law, that status is in no way affected by the license.
    2. The Author is able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the nonexclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the Work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), as long as there is provided in the document an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
    3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post online a prepublication manuscript (but not the Publisher’s final formatted PDF version of the Work) in institutional repositories or on their Websites prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work. Any such posting made before acceptance and publication of the Work shall be updated upon publication to include a reference to the Publisher-assigned DOI (Digital Object Identifier) and a link to the online abstract for the final published Work in the Journal.
    4. Upon Publisher’s request, the Author agrees to furnish promptly to Publisher, at the Author’s own expense, written evidence of the permissions, licenses, and consents for use of third-party material included within the Work, except as determined by Publisher to be covered by the principles of Fair Use.
    5. The Author represents and warrants that:
      1. the Work is the Author’s original work;
      2. the Author has not transferred, and will not transfer, exclusive rights in the Work to any third party;
      3. the Work is not pending review or under consideration by another publisher;
      4. the Work has not previously been published;
      5. the Work contains no misrepresentation or infringement of the Work or property of other authors or third parties; and
      6. the Work contains no libel, invasion of privacy, or other unlawful matter.
    6. The Author agrees to indemnify and hold Publisher harmless from the Author’s breach of the representations and warranties contained in Paragraph 6 above, as well as any claim or proceeding relating to Publisher’s use and publication of any content contained in the Work, including third-party content.

Enforcement of copyright

The IJMS takes the protection of copyright very seriously.

If the IJMS discovers that you have used its copyright materials in contravention of the license above, the IJMS may bring legal proceedings against you seeking reparation and an injunction to stop you using those materials. You could also be ordered to pay legal costs.

If you become aware of any use of the IJMS' copyright materials that contravenes or may contravene the license above, please report this by email to contact@ijms.org

 

Infringing material

If you become aware of any material on the website that you believe infringes your or any other person's copyright, please report this by email to contact@ijms.org