Burnout is a syndrome caused by chronic occupational stress,
characterized by a combination of emotional exhaustion,
depersonalization,
and a sense of low personal accomplishment [1,2].
While the prevalence of burnout among physicians is debated,
the most popularly cited number is 50% [3],
with training physicians,
including residents and medical students,
showing some of the greatest susceptibility [4].
Sequelae of burnout can be even more dire,
as burnout has been linked to higher rates of depression,
suicidal ideation,
substance abuse,
and a negative impact on patient care,
including increased medical errors,
poorer patient outcomes,
and lower patient satisfaction scores [5-8].
Our institution’s Human Resources Employee Assistance Counselor,
Beth Milaszewki,
LICSW,
whose background is in providing support to military and first responders exposed to trauma,
recognized similarities between the cause of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms and the cause of burnout symptoms in healthcare providers through her work with both populations.
While it is known on the most basic level that many symptoms of PTSD are,
in part,
due to affect dysregulation caused by the trauma [9-14],
Milaszewski recognized that the symptoms of burnout also seemed to be due,
in part,
to affect dysregulation.
Milaszewski then set out to create a resiliency curriculum,
incorporating Dan Siegel’s work on the Window of Tolerance,
which is often used to explain and teach about affect dysregulation [15],
and Herbert Benson’s Relaxation Response,
combined with Marsha Linehan’s Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills,
which are an evidence-based way of managing affect dysregulation [11,16].
The purpose of this study was to assess the quality of this resiliency curriculum and determine the feasibility of administering it to resident physicians in the departments of radiology and emergency medicine at our institution,
two groups known to have high levels of burnout.
Secondary aims included normalizing the discussion of burnout and improving resilience and promoting vitality in participants.