Family medicine
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The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to burnout among residents, a population already at increased risk for heightened stress and work-related fatigue. Residency programs were also forced to alter schedules and educational objectives. We assessed how social distancing restrictions (specifically self-isolation) enacted early in the COVID-19 pandemic affected family medicine (FM) resident well-being and burnout. Our FM department created a 2-week reserve rotation as a response to the need to socially distance and protect the residents. We explored how the reserve rotations impacted their experiences. ⋯ The COVID-19 pandemic placed an additional burden on residents, a group already at increased risk for burnout. While uncertainty and disruptions in work and home life were significant stressors, this cohort demonstrated adaptability and resilience that was facilitated by peer support and effective communication. These factors, along with the reserve rotation with decreased clinical responsibilities, led to an improved sense of well-being and decreased feelings of burnout.
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Residency program directors (PDs) are tasked with supporting resident well-being, and a 2018-2019 CERA survey found PDs to be generally satisfied with residency wellness curricula. However, less is known about graduate medical education wellness programming following the unprecedented social and public health stressors of 2020. This study aimed to evaluate PDs' satisfaction with wellness programming and perceived changes in wellness program implementation in the context of these factors. ⋯ Despite significant social and public health challenges to curriculum delivery, family medicine PDs did not perceive significant reductions in wellness programming, and in fact reported increases in some specific curricular elements and an overall increased emphasis on well-being. Future studies should explore the factors that facilitate and impede the implementation of wellness programming.
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Given their broad scope of training, family medicine residents were uniquely situated to care for the American public throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, yet little has been written about their experiences. The objective of this report is to capture the diversity of experiences and contributions of family medicine residents across the United States to the care of the American public during the COVID-19 pandemic. ⋯ The story of family medicine contributions to the care of the public during COVID-19 reflects the history of COVID-19 in the United States, and the critical role trainees and family medicine physicians have in the US health care system.
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Patients are best served by a health care workforce that reflects the diversity of their community. Increasing diversity of family medicine requires a long-term effort to recruit more medical students from underrepresented in medicine (URiM, defined as people of Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, Native American or Pacific Islander heritage) backgrounds into family medicine residencies. This paper examines factors that influence URiM medical students to choose family medicine residencies. ⋯ The presence of teaching faculty and community preceptors from URiM backgrounds is correlated with the rate at which students who are URiM choose family medicine. People, rather than activities, seem to influence the career choices of students from URiM backgrounds.
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The John Peter Smith (JPS) Family Medicine Residency Program participated in two national experiments: Preparing the Personal Physician for Practice (P4, 2007-2012) and the Length of Training Pilot, which began in 2013. In these experiments, JPS created optional integrated 4-year areas of emphasis (AOE). The objective of this study was to examine the career outcomes of JPS graduates differentiated by those who completed a 4-year AOE, versus traditional fourth-year fellowship, vs 3-year only. ⋯ In JPS graduates, 4 years of training with an integrated AOE had a large association with serving vulnerable populations, and providing broader cognitive and procedural services.