Primary Care Training Enhancement

The Physician Well-Being module allows students to explore and better understand the systems factors that contribute to physician burn-out as well as discuss why this is a problem for clinicians, patients, and society. Individual and systems-level solutions to help address this pervasive issue are discussed.  Students learn by engaging in pre-reading and writing, which they receive feedback on before participating in a live workshop.  The workshop features a panel discussion involving a diverse group of physicians speaking about how this issue has impacted them as well as ways they have worked to address these challenges.  Students have the opportunity to discuss their personal concerns about maintaining wellness during their clinical training and careers and brainstorm with one another as well as faculty regarding potential solutions.

Session Length: 90 minutes

Prerequisite(s): Prework includes required readings (see below) as well as responses to a series of brief short answer questions ahead of the session.

Learning Objectives

• Describe the role of systems issues in contributing to physician burnout.

• Discuss the impact of burnout on physicians, patients, and society.

• Articulate strategies that physicians can use to promote systems-level changes that reduce burnout.

• Describe the Triple and Quadruple Aims and their impact on physician practice.

• Reflect on changes in types of stressors and stress management as a learner immersed in clinical experiences

Author:  Alex Heintzelman, MD and Erica Stovsky, MD, MPH

School: Northeast Ohio Medical University