Foster Well-being Throughout the Career Trajectory: A Developmental Model of Physician Resilience Training

Abstract

Physician burnout is common across specialties and largely driven by demands of the current health care industry. However, the obvious need for systems change does not address the unavoidable impact of providing care to those who suffer. An intentional, developmental, longitudinal approach to resiliency training would not distract from fixing a broken system or blame physicians for their distress. Existing models and approaches to resilience training are promising but limited in duration, scope, and depth. We call for and describe a career-long model, introduced early in undergraduate medical training, extending into graduate medical education, and integrated throughout professional training and continuing medical education, in intrapersonal and interpersonal skills that help physicians cope with the emotional, social, and physical impact of care provision.