Protecting the Well-Being of Medical Residents and Faculty Physicians During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Making the Case for Accessible, Comprehensive Wellness Resources.

Accounts of frontline health care workers experiencing distress in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic highlight the need for accessible psychological support for them. Prior to the pandemic, medical residents and physicians often experienced difficulty receiving counseling due to concerns about confidentiality, stigma, cost, time, and reportability to licensure/credentialing bodies. Since 2004, the OHSU Resident and Faculty Wellness Program (RFWP) team has sought to reduce these barriers by providing on-site free, confidential, individual counseling and medication management. Utilization of this program is high with over 500 physicians a year seeking care; 38% of all OHSU residents/fellows and 7% of all faculty eligible for our services participated in 2019-20. In the present essay, we describe how our model of care for trainees and faculty was a key wellness resource during COVID-19. Similar to other accounts of lower help-seeking by health professionals initially during the pandemic, we experienced a slight downturn in utilization rates during the initial weeks of when the pandemic struck our area, but quickly returned to normal and exceeded prior levels. All appointments shifted to telehealth visits and a number of physicians expressed gratitude for the opportunity to talk through concerns and strengthen coping. A number of physicians requested medication consultations to address severe insomnia, anxiety, and depression. We hope that being present in our physicians' lives when they are exposed to COVID-related stress or trauma will keep them safe, help them cope with difficult experiences and losses, and ultimately facilitate both recovery and post-traumatic growth.

Feasibility of a Comprehensive Wellness and Suicide Prevention Program: A Decade of Caring for Physicians in Training and Practice.

BACKGROUND: Comprehensive treatment models reduce distress and suicide risk in military, university, and community populations, but are not well studied with in medical trainees and physicians in practice. Physicians face unique internal and external barriers that limit access to psychological or psychiatric treatment, which may contribute to higher rates of burnout, depression, and suicide. OBJECTIVE: Our goal is to report on the feasibility and utilization of a wellness and suicide prevention program for residents, fellows, and faculty in an academic health center. METHODS: The program provides individual counseling, psychiatric evaluation, and wellness workshops for residents/fellows (N = 906) and faculty (N = 1400). Demand for services is demonstrated by the participation rate of eligible trainees. Acceptability within the target population is examined in a 2011 survey in which trainees (N = 116, 97% participation) and program directors (N = 23, 88% participation) rated their satisfaction. Start-up costs and funding sources to sustain a wellness program are outlined. RESULTS: Over 10 years, utilization of services grew from 5% in the program's first year (2004-2005) to a high of 25% of eligible trainees for 2013-2014, and faculty utilization grew to 6% to 8% for 2014-2015. Trainees and program directors reported a high level of satisfaction with this wellness program. Funding for clinic space and clinical staff is provided by the hospital via the graduate medical education budget. CONCLUSIONS: Increased utilization over 10 years, high satisfaction, and consistent institutional support suggest that this comprehensive model of care is feasible and valued.

"If you build it, they will come": attitudes of medical residents and fellows about seeking services in a resident wellness program.

BACKGROUND: High rates of burnout and distress in resident physicians suggest a significant number would benefit from counseling. INTERVENTION: A resident wellness program (RWP) was designed to lower known barriers limiting resident access to services. METHODS: In 2011, medical residents and fellows were surveyed and logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify demographic and training program differences in perceived barriers and willingness to access the RWP. RESULTS: Of the 88% of trainees who knew about the RWP, 87% indicated they would be very likely or somewhat likely to seek out services. Time remained the biggest barrier for residents to getting help. Being male (odds ratio [OR]  =  0.54, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.34-0.84) or an ethnic/racial minority (OR  =  0.49, 95% CI 0.28-0.85) was associated with greater unwillingness to seek counseling. Reluctance to access the RWP was associated with concerns about helpfulness, confidentiality, being unable to take a break, and stigma. Women (OR  =  1.60, 95% CI 1.06-2.42) and primary care residents (OR  =  1.58, 95% CI 0.98-2.54) were more likely to be concerned about taking a break. Men were more likely to question the helpfulness of counseling (OR  =  0.55, 95% CI 0.36-0.85). CONCLUSIONS: The RWP removed barriers of cost and knowledge about counseling services. More educational outreach is needed to address sex and ethnic differences about RWP utilization and attitudes in medical culture about a physician's right to address personal health care needs.