This post is part of our series of Research Roundups — a list of recently published studies on humanism in medicine. If you would like to be notified each time a Research Roundup is published, send an email to bking@gold-foundation.org with the subject line “Subscribe RR”.
Testing accelerated experience-based co-design: A qualitative study of using a national archive of patient experience narrative interviews to promote rapid patient-centred service improvement
Locock L, Robert G, Boaz A, Vougioukalou S, Shuldham C, Fielden J, Ziebland S, Gager M, Tollyfield R, Pearcey J. Health Services and Delivery Research 2014 Feb; 2(4).
Two new websites in the UK are providing free, reliable information about cancer, autism, depression and other conditions by sharing people’s real-life experiences. Researchers are using these 3,000+ videos to find ways to improve healthcare services. Using the existing video material to stimulate discussions between staff and patients cuts the time and costs of the process greatly, and makes the approach more scalable. This University of Oxford writeup describes specific changes that have been made.
The relationship between grit and resident well-being
Salles A, Cohen GL, Mueller CM. Am J Surg. 2014 Feb;207(2):251-4.
“Grit” is a psychological factor defined as perseverance and passion for long-term goals. In this study of 141 residents across nine surgical specialties, researchers found that grit was predictive of later psychological well-being as measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Psychological General Well-Being Scale.
A qualitative study of physicians’ views on compassionate patient care and spirituality: Medicine as a spiritual practice?
Anandarajah G, Roseman JL. R I Med J 2014 Mar; 97(3):17-22.
This in-depth, qualitative interview study explores practicing physicians’ views regarding the relationship between compassion and spirituality in medical practice. Despite diversity of personal spiritual beliefs, all study physicians felt compassion was “essential for a physician.” Significant barriers to compassionate care included time pressures and values of the current culture of medicine. Facilitators included time for self-care.
Burnout among U.S. medical students, residents, and early career physicians relative to the general U.S. Population
Dyrbye LN, West CP, Satele D, Boone S, Tan L, Sloan J, Shanafelt TD. Acad Med. 2014 Mar;89(3):443-51.
A national survey of over 13,000 medical students, residents/fellows, and early career physicians assessed burnout, symptoms of depression and suicidal ideation, quality of life, and fatigue. Researchers found that training appears to be the peak time for distress among physicians, but differences in the prevalence of burnout, depressive symptoms, and recent suicidal ideation are relatively small. At each stage, burnout is more prevalent among physicians than among their peers in the U.S. population.
Role-modeling and medical error disclosure: A national survey of trainees
Martinez W, Hickson GB, Miller BM, Doukas DJ, Buckley JD, Song J, Sehgal NL, Deitz J, Braddock CH, Lehmann LS. Acad Med. 2014 Mar;89(3):482-9.
A survey of almost 900 residents and medical students from seven U.S. medical schools showed that training on how to respond to errors had the largest independent, positive effect on trainees attitudes about responding to medical errors; negative role-modeling had the largest independent, negative effect. Exposure to negative role-modeling was independently associated with an increased likelihood of trainees’ nontransparent behavior in response to an error.
A framework for professionalism in surgery: What is important to medical students?
Sullivan ME, Trial J, Baker C, Inaba K, Etcheverry J, Nally M, Crookes P. Am J Surg. 2014 Feb;207(2):255-9.
168 3rd-year medical students participated in a focus group and completed a questionnaire regarding their perceptions about professionalism. Respect was rated as the single most important characteristic of professionalism but was the attribute with the most witnessed violations.
And a publication from one of our Gold Foundation grant-funded projects:
Burnout in pediatric residents over a 2-year period: A longitudinal study
Pantaleoni JL, Augustine EM, Sourkes BM, Bachrach LK. Acad Pediatr. 2014 Mar-Apr;14(2):167-72.
The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) was administered to pediatric residents 6 times between entering residency and the middle of their senior year. Between the start of residency and mid-intern year, emotional exhaustion and depersonalization increased while sense of personal accomplishment decreased. During the same time frame, prevalence of burnout increased from 17% to 46%.
This post was written by Brandy King, Head of Information Services at The Arnold P. Gold Foundation Research Institute
