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. 2018 Jan 10:7:2.
doi: 10.4103/jehp.jehp_45_17. eCollection 2018.

Developing a pilot curriculum to foster humanism among graduate medical trainees

Sarah K Dotters-Katz  1 , Alice Chuang  2 , Amy Weil  3 , Jennifer O Howell  2
Affiliations

Developing a pilot curriculum to foster humanism among graduate medical trainees

Sarah K Dotters-Katz et al. J Educ Health Promot. .

Abstract

Background: Humanism is a central tenant of professionalism, a required competency for all residency programs. Yet, few residencies have formal curriculum for teaching this critical aspect of medicine. Instead, professionalism and humanism are often taught informally through role-modeling. With increased burnout, faculty professionalism may suffer and may compromise resident role-modeling. The objective of this study was to design a pilot curriculum to foster humanism in among residents and assess its ability to do so.

Materials and methods: Two-phase exploratory sequential mixed methods study. Phase 1: a qualitative analysis of residents' narratives regarding challenges to humanistic behavior, and identified themes of compassion, fatigue, communication challenges, and work-life balance. Themes used as needs assessment to build curriculum. Phase 2: three sessions with themes taken from faculty development course. Participants and controls completed baseline and 60-day follow-up questionnaires assessing burnout, compassion, satisfaction, and ability to practice psychological medicine. Phase one included Obstetrics/Gynecology and internal medicine residents. Phase two included residents from the above programs, who attended at least 2/3 interactive sessions designed to address the themes identified above.

Results: Twelve participants began and ten completed curriculum (83%). The curriculum met course objectives and was well-received (4.8/5). Burnout decreased (-3.1 vs. 2.5, P = 0.048). A trend toward improved compassion (4.4 vs.-0.6, P = 0.096) for participants compared to controls was noted.

Conclusion: A pilot humanism curriculum for residents was well-received. Participants showed decreased burnout and trended to improved compassion scores. Development and evaluation of an expanded curriculum would further explore feasibility and effectiveness of the intervention.

Keywords: Burnout; humanism; humanism curriculum; resident education.

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Mean change in questionnaire domains comparing participants and controls * denotes a P < 0.05
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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