ABSTRACT
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To critically appraise available literature on interventions to increase resilience in physicians. BACKGROUND: The increasing rate of burnout in physicians has sparked interest in interventions that increase their resilience. Research on improving resilience among health professionals is still in its infancy, yet understanding what interventions are effective in counteracting burnout is vital to ensuring a resilient medical workforce. DESIGN: A focused review of research literature. METHODS: The review used key terms and Boolean operators across a five-year time frame in PsycINFO, MEDLINE, CINAHL and Google Scholar for relevant articles. Ten articles are included in the structured literature review. RESULTS: Interventions were tested in eight of the 10 studies, with mindfulness a common theme. Results for effectiveness of training programs were mixed, with some studies reporting significant improvements in resilience and others not. Some group, online and coaching interventions were found to be effective in increasing resilience. The percentage of physicians participating in these studies varied, and results regarding physicians were not always reported separately. CONCLUSIONS: This review examined a range of interventions, with varying measures of effectiveness. Common limitations in the reviewed studies included self-selection bias, lack of a control group, and uncertainty over whether changes could be attributed to the intervention. The findings presented were not limited to physicians, but included a broader range of health professionals. It is not possible to generalize the results of these studies to physicians. Further research is needed to refine interventions and pinpoint precisely what increases resilience in physicians.
