Improving Physician Well-Being and Reducing Burnout Using a Peer-to-Peer Recognition Program
Abstract
Learning Objectives: The objective of our study is to utilize a peer-to-peer recognition program to reduce burnout and improve well-being in our residency program by demonstrating a 10% increase in the Stanford Professional Fulfillment Index (PFI) after participating in this program for 6 months.
Introduction/Background: Physician burnout is a well-known phenomenon and is a work-related syndrome driven by an intricate interplay between healthcare organizational structures, societal influences, and individual level factors. Burnout has been labeled to be a public health crisis and reported to be as high as 70% amongst Emergency Medicine (EM) residents. Given that burnout can lead to an increase in substance abuse, physical/mental health issues, and professional attrition, interventions that can help decrease this phenomenon are imperative. In the traditional workforce, peer-to-peer recognition programs have shown great success in reducing burnout by building a sense of community and camaraderie to create a wellness culture.
Curricular Design: This is a 6-month study that involves 84 EM residents in an urban EM residency. All residents have access to the recognition platform called Bonusly, an intuitive program that allows residents and attending physicians to acknowledge the residents for their achievements through praise on a public forum and the provision of points that can be redeemed as meaningful rewards. Residents were queried with an anonymous voluntary survey before the implementation of the intervention and then will be surveyed again at 6 months. The survey contains the Stanford PFI and 6 additional Likert-style questions assessing well-being and work engagement. The pre-intervention survey answers showed that 86% of the EM residents answered some degree of burnout and only 11 % were happy at work.
Impact: Our intervention aims to reduce the onus of physician self-care on an individual level. Since inception in July 2021, on average each month, 87% of residents are recognized on the platform and 70% of residents gave recognition. Using the Stanford PFI, we hope to show that the implementation of a peer-to-peer recognition program improves physician well-being and if successful, can easily be extended into residency programs across the nation to help build a culture of wellness.