Resident Responses to a Wellness Survey and Significant Unreported Distress

Obstet Gynecol. 2020 Apr;135(4):832-835. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000003742.

Abstract

Resident well-being is a significant issue affecting our future physicians' abilities to fulfill their potential in training and practice. In the 2017 Council on Resident Education in Obstetrics and Gynecology National Wellness Survey, residents identified many challenges to wellness and had the opportunity to provide free-text responses about these issues. Secondary analysis of these responses revealed clusters of symptoms associated with mood disorders, including high rates of reported anxiety and depression symptoms, and even suicidality. The prevalence of these self-reported symptoms underscores the importance of targeting wellness programming efforts, improving health care work environments, advancing access to care, and destigmatizing mental health concerns for our learners.

MeSH terms

  • Burnout, Professional*
  • Gynecology / education
  • Humans
  • Internship and Residency*
  • Obstetrics / education
  • Self Report
  • Stress, Psychological*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • United States