• Andrei Brateanu, Benjamin Switzer, Susan C Scott, Jennifer Ramsey, James Thomascik, Amy S Nowacki, and Colleen Y Colbert.
• Department of Internal Medicine, Cleveland Clinic (AB, BS, SCS), Cleveland, Ohio; Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University (AB, JR, ASN, CYC), Cleveland, Ohio. Electronic address: abratean@ccf.org.
• Am. J. Med. Sci. 2020 Oct 1; 360 (4): 357-362.

BackgroundThe association between grit, defined as perseverance and passion for long-term goals, and professional burnout has not been studied in internal medicine residents. Our objective was to examine whether internal medicine residents' scores on a grit scale were associated with various measures of burnout.MethodsAll residents from a single internal medicine program were invited to participate in a study of grit and burnout. Grit and burnout were measured using the Short Grit Scale and modified Maslach Burnout Inventory, respectively. In addition, demographics, last In-Training Examination (ITE) score, and interest in a subspecialty were captured.ResultsA total of 139 of 168 eligible residents (83%) participated. Emotional exhaustion and depersonalization (i.e., burn out) were identified in 63% and 42% of residents, respectively. Endorsement of emotional exhaustion was higher for residents living with family members, postgraduate year (PGY)1 and PGY2 compared with PGY3 residents, and residents scoring above the 50th percentile on the last ITE. Grit scores were higher for residents not reporting emotional exhaustion. As grit score increases, the odds of reporting emotional exhaustion significantly decreased, after adjustments for demographics, ITE scores, type of medical school, PGY level, and interest in a subspecialty (odds ratio = 0.36, 95% CI 0.15-0.84).ConclusionsGrit appeared to be an independent predictor of burnout in internal medicine residents in this sample, with lower grit scores associated with higher burnout scores. By measuring grit early in residency, programs can potentially identify residents at risk for symptoms of burnout, specifically emotional exhaustion, and implement targeted interventions.Copyright © 2020 Southern Society for Clinical Investigation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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