Around 20% of resident physicians meet criteria for major depressive disorder, while more than 50% meet criteria for burnout. To begin to address these challenges, Matthew MacKinnon, MD (PGY-3) and co-investigator Lionel Perez, MD (PGY-2) are leading a multistage study called the University of Washington Resident Physician Well-Being Initiative (UW WBI). Stage one is a biannual longitudinal observational survey that examines burnout rates in more than 400 residents from nine departments (Anesthesiology, Family Medicine, General Surgery, Neurology, OB/GYN, Pathology, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Plastic Surgery, and Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences). Pilot survey data was gathered from residents in our department in May 2017; the first multi-departmental biannual survey was completed in September 2017.

Stage two of the UW WBI is a multipronged resident well-being intervention that addresses burnout and well-being at individual, organizational, and community levels. Causes of resident burnout naturally vary across individuals and so do the ways in which residents achieve well-being. Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, the UW WBI is guided by the belief that diverse interventions across various domains will be able to help the greatest number of trainees thrive in residency. The UW WBI second stage intervention will be piloted in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences beginning in October 2017 and uses stage one comparator departments as controls.

Mackinnon and Perez, along with colleagues Brian Poeschla, MD; Emily Fay, MD (OBGYN); and Hayley MacKinnon, MD (OBGYN), submitted a grant application to the ACGME “Back to Bedside” RFA to fund a stage three quasi-experimental intervention that, if funded, will allow the intervention to be deployed in all nine participating departments in 2018.