Evaluation of a Mind-body Education Program to Enhance Resiliency and Reduce Burnout in Residents

Mass General Brigham

Status: Unknown

Conditions: Resident Burnout

Treatments: Behavioral: Stress Management and Resiliency Training for Residents (SMART-R)

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02621801

2015P000916

Details and patient eligibility

About

This prospective, waitlist-control study is evaluating the benefits of a stress management and resiliency training program for residents (SMART-R).

The primary aim of this study is to determine whether the SMART-R is effective at increasing coping skills and reducing stress among residents, reflected by changes in constructs such as emotional growth, perceived stress, optimism, and coping styles. Objective parameters (heart rate, galvanized skin response, sleep duration and quality, exercise and actigraphy) measured with the Basis health tracking device will help correlate objective signs to subjective report of stress.

Full description

The investigators adapted the Benson-Henry Institute Stress Management and Resiliency Training Program -- Relaxation Response Resiliency Program (SMART-3RP) to create the SMART-R resident wellness curriculum. The actual SMART-3RP is both a clinical program and research intervention. The three prongs of the SMART-R include 1) elicitation of the relaxation response through mind-body techniques 2) reducing overall stress reactivity and 3) increasing connectedness to self and others.

In a waitlist-control design, the SMART-R was implemented into multiple residents programs at Mass General Hospital, NYU Langone Medical Center, and Weill Cornell Medical College. The primary aim is to evaluate the effectiveness of the SMART-R in increasing coping skills and reducing stress among residents in the participating programs. Participants enrolled will be invited to complete 1) a brief questionnaire before, during (q3months) and after participation in the program (5 questionnaires total). The investigators will also collect continuous physiologic data using the Basis Peak Health Tracking device to correlate the physiologic data with self-report measures of stress.

Additionally, objective indicators of daily workload (page frequency, and quantity of notes authored by a resident during a given period) will help control for residents' schedules and busyness, in evaluating perceived stress, wellbeing and other outcomes.

Enrollment: 173 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 21+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Residents in the following participating departments: departments of psychiatry, pediatrics, or neurology at MGH, medicine or psychiatry at NYU, or medicine or psychiatry at Cornell

Exclusion criteria

• Not a resident in the participating departments

Trial design

Primary purpose: Supportive Care

Allocation: Non-Randomized

Interventional model: Crossover Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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173 participants in 2 patient groups

Intervention

Experimental group

Description:

Stress Management and Resiliency Training for Residents (SMART-R)

Treatment:

Behavioral: Stress Management and Resiliency Training for Residents (SMART-R)

Waitlist Control

Active Comparator group

Description:

The control group will receive the same intervention (SMART-R) after the experimental group.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Stress Management and Resiliency Training for Residents (SMART-R)