1. Talk It Out: A Novel Use of Training Groups with EM Residents
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Moira Carroll, MD1; Arlene S. Chung, MD MACM1
1Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Introduction
What Happens in the
Training Groups?
Residency programs must now provide services and resources to support resident well-being.
We developed training group sessions for Emergency Medicine (EM) residents to mitigate burnout and enhance resilience based on a model used in psychiatry residencies.
Training groups are small groups in which participants learn through their interaction with each other while processing mutual experiences.
Through targeted discussion grounded in the fundamentals of cognitive behavioral theory, faculty help residents to identify stressors and sources of burnout specific to each class year’s specific needs. Once stressors are identified, the group works to develop approaches that build resilience. In each session, the group
continues discussion from prior sessions,
prompts new discussion, or
allows residents to determine the content
Provide a confidential and safe environment to discuss stressors
Group Objectives
Plan for Evaluation
Training Group Design
After completion of the training group series, the effectiveness of the training groups will be assessed by two validated tools:
Single item-measures of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization
Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale.  
12 60-minute sessions over the academic year during weekly resident conference
Residents are divided into groups by PGY level
Each training group is led by one psychiatrist and one psychologist who remain with that group for the entire year.
All discussions are confidential and no information is shared with the residency leadership unless a risk of harm is identified.
Reduce burnout through normalization and shared experience
Enhance resilience by learning and practicing coping techniques
References
Connor, Kathryn M., and Jonathan RT Davidson. "Development of a new resilience scale: The Connor‐Davidson resilience scale (CD‐RISC)." Depression and anxiety 18.2 (2003):
West, Colin P., et al. "Single item measures of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization are useful for assessing burnout in medical professionals." Journal of general internal medicine 24.12 (2009): 1318.
Figure 1. Group Objectives