Intimate partner violence: Opening the door to a safer future.

These recommendations can help you to identify patients at risk of violence, create an environment where they feel comfortable disclosing their experiences, and help them plan for their safety.

Social, Individual, and Environmental Characteristics of Family Medicine Resident Burnout: A CERA Study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Burnout impacts medical students, residents, and practicing physicians. Existing research oversimplifies characteristics associated with burnout. Our study examined relationships between burnout, depressive symptoms, and evidence-based risk factors. METHODS: Our study questions were part of a larger survey conducted by the Council of Academic Family Medicine Educational Research Alliance (CERA), from May 9-23, 2020. Three emails were used to recruit a national sample of family medicine residents (n=283; questions completed via Survey Monkey). We determined descriptive statistics (frequency, means) for demographic and work environment characteristics, UCLA Loneliness Scale items, health behaviors, burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization), and depressive symptoms. Multivariate data analysis included developing three logistic regression (LR) equations (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, depressive symptoms) based on four blocks of potential risk factors (demographics, work environment characteristics, UCLA Loneliness items, and health behaviors). RESULTS: Rates of psychological distress included 33.1% emotional exhaustion, 31.1% depersonalization, and 53.0% depressive symptoms. We determined stepwise forward-entry LR models for emotional exhaustion (feel isolated OR=6.89, low quality of wellness program OR=5.91, and low companionship OR=4.82); depersonalization (feel isolated OR=5.59, low quality of wellness program OR=15.11, graduate US osteopathic medical school OR=0.329, and African American OR=7.55); and depressive symptoms (feel isolated OR=5.31, inadequate time for restful sleep OR=0.383, and no dependent children OR=2.14). CONCLUSIONS: Current findings document substantial social disconnection, substandard residency wellness programs, inadequate time for exercise, sleep, and other forms of self-care in addition to substantial levels of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and depressive symptoms. We explore implications for the design of future burnout prevention efforts and research.

Youth e-cigarette use: Assessing for, and halting, the hidden habit.

Using a checklist to establish patients' level of dependence and combining behavioral therapy with nicotine replacement products can help users to quit.

A cross-sectional study of United States family medicine residency programme director burnout: implications for mitigation efforts and future research.

BACKGROUND: Academic physician burnout is concerning. Too little is known about factors associated with residency programme director burnout. Continued uncertainty risks adverse outcomes including graduate medical education leadership turnover and negative impact on recruiting and retaining under-represented minority residency programme directors. OBJECTIVE: This study assessed symptoms of burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization) and depression along with evidence-based individual and environmental risk factors in a U.S. sample of family medicine residency programme directors. METHODS: The omnibus 2018 Council of Academic Family Medicine Education Research Alliance survey was used to contact programme directors at all Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education accredited U.S. family medicine residency programmes via email. Descriptive data included programme director and programme characteristics, Areas of Worklife (workload, values and control), loneliness (lack companionship, feel left out and feel isolated), burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization) and depressive symptoms. Chi-square tests contrasted descriptive variables with burnout and depressive symptoms. Logistic regression (LR) modelled associations between significant descriptive variables and burnout and depressive symptoms. RESULTS: The survey response rate was 45.2% (268/590). Programme directors reported: emotional exhaustion (25.0%), depersonalization (10.3%) and depressive symptoms (25.3%). LR models found significant associations with emotional exhaustion (Workload: lacking time and other work-related resources); lack of companionship, depersonalization (North West Central residency region; Workload and lack of companionship) and depressive symptoms (Black/African American ethnicity). CONCLUSIONS: One-quarter of U.S. programme directors report burnout or depressive symptoms. Future research should consider associated variables as possible intervention targets to reduce programme director distress and turnover.

The role of Balint group training in the professional and personal development of family medicine residents.

This paper presents a study based on the participation of PGY2 and PGY3 family medicine residents in Balint seminars that occurred twice monthly for 24 months. Balint groups were cofacilitated by leader pairs experienced with the Balint method. Prior to residency graduation, 18 of 19 eligible resident physicians (94.5%) completed 30- to 60-min semistructured interviews conducted by a research assistant. Resident physicians were told that these individual interviews concerned "…how we teach communication in residency." The deidentified transcripts from these interviews formed the raw data that were coded for positive (n = 9) and negative (n = 3) valence themes by four faculty coders utilizing an iterative process based on grounded theory. The consensus positive themes included several elements that have previously been discussed in published literature concerning the nature of Balint groups (e.g., being the doctor that the patient needs, reflection, empathy, blind spots, bonding, venting, acceptance, perspective taking, and developing appreciation for individual experiences). The negative themes pointed to ways of possibly improving future Balint offerings in the residency setting ( repetitive, uneasiness, uncertain impact). These findings appear to have consistency with seminal writings of both Michael and Enid Balint regarding the complex nature of intrapsychic and interpersonal skills required to effectively manage troubling doctor-patient relationships. The implications of findings for medical education (curriculum) development as well as future research efforts are discussed.

Anxiety Disorders in Primary Care.

Investigation for a possible anxiety disorder should be considered in patients with multiple or persistent anxiety symptoms or multiple somatic complaints without a clear somatic etiology. The ideal treatment for anxiety disorders is a combination of pharmacologic and behavioral strategies. As primary care health care evolves, it is expected that the management of mental health disorders (including anxiety disorders) will largely occur in the context of collaborative care models in which patients and primary care clinicians are assisted by trained case managers who help facilitate a more comprehensive, holistic treatment plan between primary care and mental health providers.