2023 American Academy of Neurology Abstract Website

Objective:

To investigate different ways of improving neurology resident wellbeing through enhancing the daily work environment.

Background:

Resident physician burnout has been shown to affect the quality of clinical care provided. Burnout may also lead to major depression and increases risk for suicide amongst physicians. Resident burnout rates were higher during the COVID-19 pandemic. At our academic institution, there is 5 adult neurology residents and 1 pediatric neurology resident per year. We implemented multiple changes to improve the residents’ work environment and therefore alleviate some of the burnout associated with long work hours and isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design/Methods:

Quality improvement project. Different changes were implemented then residents were surveyed to measure satisfaction. All questions were measured across a 3-point scale, “yes”, “no”, “maybe”. Analyses were reported as frequencies.

Results:

13 out of 18 residents answered the survey. 100% thought that having a residency wellness chief helped improve wellness overall. 62% reported they worked 70 hours per week. More than 50% felt that getting out on time is the most important thing to their quality of life. 30% of residents thought that feeling heard is most important to them. 92% of residents thought that having snacks and drinks available in the work room was valuable to them. 92% of residents agreed that having a futon in the team room allowed residents to rest during night call amidst the pandemic when there were concerns over sharing call rooms. 62% of residents agreed that we should plan quarterly social events.

Conclusions:

Implementing simple measures like appointing a resident wellness, making snacks available in the work room and adding a futon made our residents feel appreciated. These small changes were effective in alleviating some of the stress associated with working during the pandemic.