Insights on Residency Training

June 29th, 2022

The Talent Code of Residency Training

Abdullah Al-abcha, MD

After spending 4 to 6 years in medical school, physicians typically spend 3 to 7 years in residency training. Residency training is a crucial step that shapes us as physicians. We spend long hours at the hospital taking care of patients, and we learn directly from these encounters. We also spend a lot of hours […]

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May 4th, 2022

Insights from the AAFP Physician Health and Well-Being Conference

Mikita Arora, MD

Physician well-being has long been an issue in all medical fields, but especially in primary care — the concept of well-being is to heal the healers. Right now, this is especially important to those who have are burdened with burnout and the COVID-19 pandemic. A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend the […]

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October 26th, 2020

Futility as a Cause of Burnout in Residency

Holland Kaplan, MD

At the beginning of my residency training, one of our program leaders defined burnout as “work out of proportion to meaning.” In a sense, I think this also defines futility – performing a disproportionate amount of work compared with the results or meaning you are deriving from the work. The proposed causes of burnout in […]

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August 19th, 2020

Residency Reflections from an Intern Gardener

Stephanie Braunthal, DO

Starting Our Garden Last year, my boyfriend asked if I wanted to join a community garden. As he handed me the paperwork, he said he would be the “primary,” I would be listed as a “helper,” and for only $10, we could grow our own vegetables. Distracted by whichever rotation I was on, I agreed […]

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August 5th, 2020

Can We Rename Resident Burnout, Please?

Daniel Orlovich, MD, PharmD

It is time we stopped framing resident burnout in a certain way. Let’s be honest, the current descriptions give us nothing to build on. How is burnout currently framed?  In a strict academic sense, we are guided by clear, globally accepted definitions. We are familiar with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, depersonalization, emotional exhaustion, and reduced personal […]

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July 22nd, 2020

Patient Death and Physician Grief

Prarthna Bhardwaj, MD

A few months ago, one of my colleagues spoke about ‘Patient Death and Physician Grief’ at a morning conference — somewhat unusual, considering our conferences largely revolve around medical topics. I was stunned by how the next hour unfolded that morning. The session started off like a traditional morning report with an opening line of the […]

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April 30th, 2020

Why Is Burnout Still Occurring, Even with Work-Hour Restrictions?

Daniel Orlovich, MD, PharmD

“Daniel, this guy is one… sick… puppy,” he stated emphatically, drawing out the last three words.  I put my phone down and turned my chair away from the computer. He had my attention. Not because I haven’t taken care of any sick patients before, but because this statement was coming from him. I’m sure your hospital has […]

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February 18th, 2020

How Can Attendings Affect Resident Burnout?

Daniel Orlovich, MD, PharmD

A Sad Short Story Harvard medical school. Stanford general surgery training. Northwestern vascular surgery fellowship. Suicide. This devastating path, taken by a 33-year-old trainee in 2010, is not unique. An estimated one physician commits suicide every single day in the U.S. alone (JAMA 2014; 312:1725). A number of these lives are taken on the hospital premises, places […]

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January 22nd, 2020

The ACGME Needs to Mandate Parental Leave

Eric Bressman, MD

My wife and I had a baby a few months ago. Or, more accurately, she birthed a child while I sat in the corner contemplating the miracle of reproductive physiology in a vasovagal fugue. In the months leading up to and following that wondrous moment, we found ourselves navigating the labyrinthine complexity of parental leave in […]

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December 19th, 2019

Yogurt – The Cure to Resident Burnout

Daniel Orlovich, MD, PharmD

What is the latest answer to resident burnout? It may surprise you.  Recent research from a large Midwest academic center suggests that not one but two dollops of yogurt may help stymie resident burnout. “When we first started to look at the reasons why so many residents were burned out, we couldn’t understand it,” stated the […]

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