Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023;16(3):457-462.
doi: 10.3233/PRM-230031.

Wellness in residency: Addressing the neglected need in lower middle-income countries

Muhammad Tawab Khalil  1 , Farooq Azam Rathore  1 , Rochelle Dy  2
Affiliations

Wellness in residency: Addressing the neglected need in lower middle-income countries

Muhammad Tawab Khalil et al. J Pediatr Rehabil Med. 2023.

Abstract

The concept of wellness incorporates many domains, including mental, physical, social, and integrated well-being. However, it is not well understood in most lower middle-income countries (LMIC). The significance of practicing wellness during residency, focusing on the context of LMIC, is described here. Based on the authors' experiences of working in LMIC, the challenges faced during residency and the importance of prioritizing self-care and well-being is highlighted. Physician burnout is a global concern having a negative impact on patient care quality, patient satisfaction, and professionalism. Interventions to address wellness can be individual and organization-based. Individual interventions include mindfulness training, behavioral interventions, self-care practices, and support networks. Organizational interventions involve the establishment of wellness committees, introduction of wellness curricula, optimization of workflows, and creation of shared social spaces. There is a need for implementing wellness practices within residency programs in LMIC. By focusing on wellness, physicians can mitigate burnout, enhance their well-being, and improve patient care outcomes.

Keywords: Burnout; Pakistan; awareness; health metrics; quality indicators.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Domains of wellness.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Health of Residents. Hospital (Lond 1886). 1907;42(1076):101–102. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Malik AA, Bhatti S, Shafiq A, et al. Burnout among surgical residents in a lower-middle income country – Are we any different? Ann Med Surg (Lond). 2016;9:28–32. doi: 10.1016/j.amsu.2016.05.012. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Moradi Y, Baradaran HR, Yazdandoost M, Atrak S, Kashanian M Prevalence of Burnout in residents of obstetrics and gynecology: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Med J Islam Repub Iran. 2015;29(4):235. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ogboghodo EO, Edema OM Assessment of burnout amongst resident doctors in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. Niger Postgrad Med J. 2020;3:215–223. doi: 10.4103/npmj.npmj_37_20. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Common program requirements (residency). Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education; 2022. [cited 2023 Jun 22]. Available from: https://www.acgme.org/globalassets/pfassets/programrequirements/cprresid...

LinkOut - more resources