Does teaching Optimism lower Burnout in residency training- a pilot study

Daniel I Kim; Lawrence K Loo; Roger C Garrison; Ali Motabar; Minho Yu; Brandon Nathaniel; Michael T Ulrich; Lynnetta Skoretz; Jasmine Jafari; Megan Calzia; Mariam Gilmore; Anthony Firek

doi:10.1080/20009666.2021.1910408

Does teaching Optimism lower Burnout in residency training- a pilot study

J Community Hosp Intern Med Perspect. 2021 Jun 21;11(4):429-432. doi: 10.1080/20009666.2021.1910408.

Authors

Daniel I Kim^{1

2

3}, Lawrence K Loo⁴, Roger C Garrison^{5

6}, Ali Motabar^{7

8}, Minho Yu^{9

10}, Brandon Nathaniel¹¹, Michael T Ulrich¹¹, Lynnetta Skoretz^{12

13}, Jasmine Jafari¹⁴, Megan Calzia¹⁵, Mariam Gilmore⁸, Anthony Firek^{16

17}

Affiliations

¹ Chair of Medicine, Riverside University Health System.
² Designated Institutional Official/Director of Medical Education, Riverside University Health System.
³ Program Director, University of California, Riverside Internal Medicine Residency, Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, Riverside School of Medicine Associate Professor of Medicine, Loma Linda University, School of Medicine.
⁴ Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, Riverside School of Medicine Professor of Medicine, Loma Linda University School of Medicine.
⁵ Vice Chair, Department of Medicine, Riverside University Health System.
⁶ Associate Program Director, University of California, Riverside Internal Medicine Residency; Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, Riverside School of Medicine Assistant Professor of Medicine, Loma Linda University, School of Medicine.
⁷ Assistant Program Director, University of California, Riverside Internal Medicine Residency.
⁸ Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of California, Riverside School of Medicine.
⁹ Associate Program Director, Loma Linda University Medical Center, Internal Medicine Residency.
¹⁰ jAssistant Professor of Medicine, Loma Linda University School of Medicine.
¹¹ Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of California, Riverside School of Medicine Assistant Professor of Medicine, Loma Linda University School of Medicine.
¹² Chief Division of Ambulatory Internal Medicine, Riverside University Health System.
¹³ Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of California, Riverside School of Medicine Assistant Professor of Medicine, Loma Linda University.
¹⁴ PGY-1 Internal Medicine Resident, Kaiser Permanente Woodland Hills Medical Center.
¹⁵ PGY-1 Internal Medicine Resident, University of Colorado.
¹⁶ Director Medical Research.
¹⁷ Clinical Effectiveness and Clinical Outcome Research- Riverside University Health System Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, Riverside School of Medicine.

Abstract

Background: Residents frequently experience burnout. Multiple interventions to decrease the risk of burnout have had inconsistent results. In non-medical settings, improving optimism promotes a positive outlook and enhances well-being. Thus, psychological interventions that improve optimism could have potential to decrease the risk for burnout. Objective: Using Lazarus' Ways of Coping as an organizational framework, this intervention sought to evaluate the impact of an optimism curriculum on residents' burnout. Methods: Thirty-six Internal Medicine residents participated in an optimism improvement program from November 2019 to April 2020. We determined pre- and post-curriculum measures of optimism, happiness, and burnout with validated surveys. The Optimism Curriculum was comprised of three one-hour long sessions, which included lectures, group and self-reflective exercises. A post - curriculum evaluation rating the effectiveness of the program was administered separately. Results: Thirty-four out of thirty-six residents completed the post curricular surveys. Individuals with low optimism scores had a higher score for burnout compared to those with higher optimism scores. The post-intervention survey showed numerical improvement in optimism, happiness and burnout, although these changes were not statistically significant. The post-intervention survey showed a decrease in the measure of burnout; however, this was not significant (p = 0.24) with an effect size of 0.34 (Cohen's d). Conclusions: Teaching optimism to residents with the objective of decreasing the risk of burnout is feasible and easily integrated into residency education sessions. The encouraging results of this pilot study lay the foundation for additional studies and suggest a practical role for implementing optimism curricula in residency training programs.

Keywords: Medical education; burnout; happiness; optimism.