23. Creating and Implementing a Wellness-inspired Resident Educational (WIRE) Curriculum

Background: More than 70% of surgical trainees reported symptoms of burnout prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Unaddressed, burnout can result in diminished quality of life, reduced career satisfaction, decreased productivity, and elevated risk of suicidality, especially amongst physicians. Traditional plastic surgery residency curricula have not addressed physician burnout or strategies for managing its sequelae. Methods: Our department create and implemented the Wellness-Inspired Resident Education (WIRE) curriculum. The goals of this initiative are to prepare residents for life after residency, provide residents and faculty with the tools necessary to maximize their personal wellness, and create opportunities for networking with leaders in the field. Feedback obtained from residents who participate in our curriculum is used to shape the following year. Results: The WIRE curriculum was initiated in March 2021 consisting of a leadership retreat and 1-2 wellness lectures per month. Feedback obtained from residents who participated in the sessions indicated a desire for improved balance between educational and wellness inspired didactic sessions, in addition to creating better integration of the sessions such that personal time was not further affected. In the following year, 6 topics were chosen, including three resident-selected topics. Sessions were held on a bimonthly basis and were fully integrated into the didactic schedule. Additionally, a resident wellness retreat was planned for the Fall. Residents were surveyed following conclusion of the academic year, with 90% of residents indicating a desire for more informal wellness events in addition to formal sessions as part of the planned curriculum. Resident-selected topics with more than 50% interest amongst surveyed residents included malpractice, financial planning, recovering from complications and bad interactions, making an impact, mentoring, innovation and invention, conflict resolution, and ergonomics. Conclusion: The WIRE curriculum is an opportunity to better prepare trainees for life after residency and to improve everyday wellness. This curriculum is resident-driven, allowing topics to reflect interests and respond to current and potential future stressors of trainees, while increasing resident buy-in. It is our hope that this curriculum be considered as an addition to plastic surgery training programs across the country.