Work Related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Medicine Residents

Abstract

Objective: This study sought to screen for the burden of work-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in internal medicine residents.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey of internal medicine residents from three academic institutions was conducted using the PCL-5 screening tool.

Results: Off all residents surveyed, 5.2% screened positive for PTSD symptoms (N = 194). 86.1% of all trainees identified stressors during training. Positive PTSD screens were significantly higher in PGY3 residents (X² = 15.24, p = 0.0005). Of all PGY3 residents, 9.8% (N = 4) and 14.6% (N = 6) of residents screened positive for PTSD symptoms based on absolute and cluster score criteria, respectively. Verbal/physical assault by patients/families/colleagues were triggers for the most cases of positive screens.

Conclusions: Self-reported stressors are highly prevalent in internal medicine trainees. Verbal/physical assault by patients and families appear to be the triggering event for most positive screens. These observations will help with future study designs to quantify the burden of work related PTSD in internal medicine trainee physicians so that appropriate supportive measures can be provided.

Keywords: Internal medicine training; Post-traumatic stress disorder; Residents.