Addressing the physician burnout epidemic with resilience curricula in medical education: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: A variety of stressors throughout medical education have contributed to a burnout epidemic at both the undergraduate medical education (UGME) and postgraduate medical education (PGME) levels. In response, UGME and PGME programs have recently begun to explore resilience-based interventions. As these interventions are in their infancy, little is known about their efficacy in promoting trainee resilience. This systematic review aims to synthesize the available research evidence on the efficacy of resilience curricula in UGME and PGME. METHODS: We performed a comprehensive search of the literature using MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Educational Resources Information Centre (ERIC), and Education Source from their inception to June 2020. Studies reporting the effect of resilience curricula in UGME and PGME settings were included. A qualitative analysis of the available studies was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Risk of bias was assessed using the ROBINS-I Tool. RESULTS: Twenty-one studies met the inclusion criteria. Thirteen were single-arm studies, 6 quasi-experiments, and 2 RCTs. Thirty-eight percent (8/21; n = 598) were implemented in UGME, while 62 % (13/21, n = 778) were in PGME. There was significant heterogeneity in the duration, delivery, and curricular topics and only two studies implemented the same training model. Similarly, there was considerable variation in curricula outcome measures, with the majority reporting modest improvement in resilience, while three studies reported worsening of resilience upon completion of training. Overall assessment of risk of bias was moderate and only few curricula were previously validated by other research groups. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that resilience curricula may be of benefit to medical trainees. Resilience training is an emerging area of medical education that merits further investigation. Additional research is needed to construct optimal methods to foster resilience in medical education.

MEDTalks: a student-driven program to enhance undergraduate student understanding and interest in medical schools in Canada.

Given the lack of programs geared towards educating undergraduate students regarding medical school, the purpose of this study was to evaluate whether medical student-driven initiative program, MEDTalks, enhanced undergraduate student understanding of medical school in Canada and stimulated interest in pursuing medicine. The MEDTalks program that ran between January and April 2018 in the University of Ottawa consisted of 5 teaching sessions, each including large-group lectures, small group case-based learning, physical skills tutorials, and anatomy lab demonstrations, to mimic the typical Medical School curriculum. At the end of the program, undergraduate student learners were invited to complete a feedback questionnaire. Twenty-nine participants provided feedback. Twenty-five reported that MEDTalks allowed them to gain exposure to the University of Ottawa Medical Program; 27 said that it gave them a greater understanding of the teaching structure; and 25 responded that it increased their interest in attending medical school. The MEDTalks program successfully developed greater understanding of medical school and helped stimulate interest in pursuing medical studies in undergraduate students.