Mental Health Awareness
Completing a residency is a grueling task that leaves little time to devote to personal well-being and health. In recognition of this, the ACGME revised the common program requirements in 2017 to incorporate psychological, emotional, and physician well-being as foundational necessities for a positive learning and working environment—elements historically overlooked in GME program curricula.
Despite these efforts, the rate of depression or depressive symptomology during residency has been reported to be as high as 43%, and institutional and program leaders continue to grapple with numerous barriers to mental healthcare resource use for physicians in training.
In this article, ECG’s Jessica Wells discusses these barriers and offers five action steps that organizational leaders should consider to provide comprehensive and holistic support programs for their residents. As Jessica points out, only once organizational and individual values, culture, and behaviors are aligned can we begin to train a truly healthy physician workforce.
Edited by: Emily Johnson
