Physician burnout is a reaction characterized by emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), and lack of personal accomplishment (PA). There are lot of personal and professional repercussions due to burnout. We hypothesized physician peer coaching (PPC) will reduce burnout in hospital-based physicians.
A multi-site randomized controlled trial was conducted in a large integrated health system. 45 hospital-based physicians were randomized to PPC for 6 sessions/6 months (Intervention) or no coaching (Control). The primary outcome was burnout measured by Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and subscales (EE, DP, and PA). Secondary outcomes were systemic causes of burnout measured by the Areas of Worklife Survey (AWS) and physician satisfaction.
MBI repeated measures trends for Intervention group (median scores at baseline, 3, 6, and 9 months): EE (30, 25, 18, 17; p<.01); DP (6, 5, 2.5, 3; p=0.01); PA (37, 40, 41.5, 39; p=0.02); Overall burnout (60.9%, 52.2%, 40.9%, 33.3%; p=0.05); High EE (60.9%, 39.1%, 31.8%, 23.8%; p=0.01); Control group had no significant findings.
AWS repeated measures trends for Intervention group (median scores at baseline, 3, 6, and 9 months): Workload (2.2, 2.4, 2.4, 2.9; p<0.01); Reward (3.0, 3.5, 3.5, 3.5; p<0.01); Control group had no significant findings.
Intervention group satisfaction survey median scores (baseline, 3, 6, and 9 months): Emotional Health (4, 8, 8, 8); Professional Support (2, 7, 7, 7); Career (2, 7, 7, 7); all p<0.01.
Physician peer coaching (PPC) demonstrated significant trends in reducing overall burnout, high emotional exhaustion, and all three MBI subscales in hospital-based physicians. PPC showed significant improvement in AWS Workload and Reward. PPC significantly improved physician satisfaction regarding emotional health, physician support, and career.