AI Article Synopsis

  • Medical training poses significant challenges for residents, necessitating effective support programs that are accessible and responsive to their unique experiences.
  • The Directors of Resident Support (DRS) program at the University of Calgary offers near-peer guidance through trained faculty, addressing diverse resident issues such as feedback, mental health, and experiences of racism and harassment.
  • Evaluation of the program indicated a moderate level of satisfaction among residents, with many finding the support helpful, although some expressed a desire for more follow-up.

Article Abstract

Background: Medical training can be a challenging time for residents both professionally and personally. Resident support programs must be able to address a range of potential experiences, be accessible and easy to navigate, and consider the unique context of residency. Rigorous evaluation of resident support programs is needed to determine whether these programs are meeting these goals.

Methods: The Directors of Resident Support (DRS) program, launched in January 2021 at the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary, is a near-peer support model consisting of three faculty physicians, trained in peer support, who receive contacts from residents needing support for any issue. DRS physicians provide empathetic listening, referral to existing resources, and peer support for residents. A multisource evaluation of the DRS program, including field notes, data collection forms, and surveys, was guided by the Donabedian framework.

Results: There were 62 total contacts in the 2-year evaluation period which required a median 2 h to address (range 5 min to more than 40 h). The most common topic for contact was to discuss feedback or evaluation (n = 10, 24.4%) and the most common response was listening and support (n = 29, 70.7%). Residents also contacted DRS to discuss experiences of racism, physical assault, sexual harassment, and mental health crises. Residents (n = 13) rated a median score of 74 out of possible 100 for usefulness (interquartile range [IQR] 1-100, with higher scores suggesting greater usefulness). Free text survey responses suggested that residents felt validated by contact with the program though some residents felt that additional follow-up would have been helpful.

Conclusion: The DRS program has been well-utilized by residents for a variety of issues. Postgraduate Medical Education offices seeking to create resident support programs may anticipate that about 3% of residents may use a similar program per year and that the typical interaction would last 2 h, with a wide range. Feedback suggested that similar programs should have a formal process for follow-up with residents to ensure their concern was addressed and that resident supporters should have diverse lived experiences.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11487989PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-06176-6DOI Listing

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