Burnout In Radiation Oncology: A Pilot Residency Wellness Program

Residency burnout has been of increasing concern in recent years and radiation oncology residents are no exception. As there has been no formal residency wellness curricula published within the field, we set about to report upon the process of formation of a pilot wellness program developed at a signal institution. First, a wellness committee was established within the residency program with an attending advisor. Prior to initiation of the curriculum, a questionnaire was distributed to the residents to gauge interest in wellness activities and to determine presence of any major concerns preliminarily relating to wellness. When it came to development of the specific curriculum, an informal survey of other residency programs within the hospital was also conducted. In order to target the needs of our radiation oncology department specifically, we focused on the most popular options from the initial questionnaire as well as our unique stressors. The questionnaire was then again distributed approximately 1 year later as well as a resident satisfaction survey. The committee conducted meetings, mostly via conference call, a total of 13 times during the period reported, 3/24/17-7/13/18. The ultimate curriculum design included a variety of events: a formal retreat for the incoming residents, a lecture on burnout, less formal weekend and after-work gatherings, as well as a guided meditation session. A list of wellness and/or mental health resources was also compiled and made available to residents. Lists of resources were compiled and distributed to the residents along with encouraging supplementary content in the form of a wellness newsletter. Impediments included limited funding for off-campus activities and resident coverage of multiple hospitals throughout two boroughs. However, activities were always completed within allocated resources with positive feedback. Per the exit resident satisfaction survey, most common barriers to participation included lack of time, lack of management support, or inconvenient time/location and incentives most likely to increase participation included time off for allocated activity and convenient location. All residents were somewhat to extremely satisfied with the initiative, found the initiative somewhat to extremely valuable, and believed a wellness program to be somewhat if not one of the top priorities within the residency program. The pilot wellness program initiated at this institution represents the first such curriculum to be reported in our field. In doing so, we were able to identify impediments to establishing a wellness program, some of which were unique to this program but most of which are likely common amongst radiation oncology residencies. We also found the initiative to be well received and appreciated by residents. We encourage other departments to pursue similar wellness efforts and hope that they will be aided on an individual and organizational level to help maximize their ultimate impact.