Physician and executive collaboration on rapid development of pandemic needs response to support physicians and medical staff during the COVID-19 pandemic in an academic medical center: a descriptive review.

Dialogue on physician well-being was concerning even prior to onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which introduced additional unprecedented strain on healthcare workers compounded by increased personal and family stress. This paper describes our process for a rapid needs assessment and creation of a pandemic resiliency and well-being support infrastructure for physicians and healthcare staff at an academic medical center. In March 2020, executive leadership from our health system and physician group created a Resiliency and Support Steering Committee (RSSC) for rapid development of a pandemic needs response for our healthcare providers. RSSC identified key priorities: psychological care, medical care, basic care, and communication. A brief pandemic-focused needs survey was designed and distributed to healthcare professionals and targeted efforts focused on initiatives prioritized by respondents. A shared drive database allowed initiatives and outcomes to be communicated in real time. A wellness webpage was rapidly built and disseminated. Psychological support initiatives included proactive and reactive support. Providers were offered rapid access scheduling for primary medical care. Vetted resources were shared for regional grab-and-go food, grocery delivery, laundry services, and childcare. Additional resources included personal protective equipment (PPE) supply chain information, PPE guideline updates and training and access to scrubs/scrub laundering. Our pandemic support will fold into ongoing wellness initiatives that will be tailored and intentionally communicated. Multimodal and intentional communication processes will continue with a focus on enhancing bidirectional platform functionality. Cultural awareness of the importance of mitigating distress and supporting well-being will be prioritized through partnership with frontline members and leadership.

A longitudinal study of emotional intelligence training for otolaryngology residents and faculty.

IMPORTANCE: Emotions underlie and influence physician communications and relationships with patients and colleagues. Training programs to enhance emotional attunement, or emotional intelligence (EI), for physicians and assess training effects are scarce. OBJECTIVE: To assess whether an EI training program for otolaryngology residents and faculty affects patient satisfaction. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Prospective longitudinal, cohort study of physician residents and faculty in an EI training program at the Department of Otolaryngology, University of Kansas Medical Center, with annual training from 2005 to 2011. INTERVENTIONS: Three levels of interventions included 4 years of repeated EI assessment, 7 years of highly interactive EI training with high-risk/high-stress simulations, and ongoing modeling and mentoring of EI skills by faculty. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Four levels of outcome of the EI training were assessed with the following questions: Did participants enjoy the program? Could they apply the training to their practice? Did it change their behavior? Did it affect patient satisfaction? The Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i) was administered to faculty and residents, and the Press Ganey Patient Satisfaction Survey was completed by patients. RESULTS: Ninety-seven percent of participants (103 of 106) reported that they enjoyed the programs, and 98% (104 of 106) reported that they have or could have applied what they learned. Participants demonstrated improvement in mean EQ-i scores from 102.19 (baseline/pretraining) to 107.29 (posttraining and assessment 1 year later; change, 6.71; 95% CI, 3.44-9.98). This increase was sustained in successive years, and these results were supported with linear growth curve analysis. The total department mean EQ-i score in pretraining year 2005 was 104.29 ("average" range), with posttraining scores in the "high average" range (112.46 in 2006, 111.67 in 2007, and 113.15 in 2008). An increase in EQ-i scores and EI training corresponded with an increase in patient satisfaction scores. Percentile rank patient satisfaction scores before EI training ranged from 85% to 90%; after training, scores ranged from 92% to 99%. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Emotional intelligence training positively influences patient satisfaction and may enhance medical education and health care outcome.