Wellness behavior profiles of internal medicine and psychiatry residents

BackgroundThe ACGME requires that residency training programs (RTP) establish interventions that facilitate resident well-being, promote resilience, and guard against burnout. There is, however, limited data characterizing residents’ engagement in wellness promoting behaviors during training to guide these initiatives. MethodsWe surveyed all internal medicine and psychiatry residents at our institution regarding sixteen self-care or wellness-promoting behaviors that could have been performed away from work over the preceding 30-days; they were divided into activities done alone and those involving others. Results101 residents were invited to share their behavioral profiles. Most residents completed the entirety of the survey (86%, n=87). Getting a good night’s sleep (sleeping >7 hours consecutively) was the most frequent behavior that did not require others (averaged 14 times in prior 30 days). The most frequent wellness activities involving others included “cuddling” with another adult (16 times), calling family members (13 times), and sharing a meal with friends or family (11 times). Most behaviors (13/16) were performed more frequently among residents compared to interns; two of these reaching statistical significance - sleeping >7 hours consecutively and attending a special event (both P < 0.05). DiscussionThis study offers a glimpse into the self-care activities of interns and residents in 2 training programs. The wellness behaviors that were most commonly endorsed involved trainees’ friends and family. These behavioral profiles of interns and residents may serve to inform the development of the program-specific wellness curricula that have been mandated by the ACGME.