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Roni Robbins | October 7, 2022 | Contributor Information
Training during a pandemic has been challenging; maintaining relationships and a work-life balance remains a struggle. But residents seem to be prioritizing what's important in terms of their social life and well-being, as Medscape reveals in its 2022 Residents Lifestyle & Happiness Report.
We polled 1376 US medical residents between March 24 and May 25 about these issues, along with the impact of training during COVID and their mental health.
(Note: Some totals in this presentation do not equal 100% owing to rounding.)
Roni Robbins | October 7, 2022 | Contributor Information
Sixty-four percent of residents say they lead a satisfying social life at least sometimes. This year's figures were practically the same as in last year's report, with 65% of residents claiming they had a satisfying social life, and both years were down from the 72% in the same category in 2020.
Kolin Meehan, a PGY-2 internal medicine resident in Florida, says he has a satisfying social life.
"But I can see how some specialties or programs in certain parts of the country really limit a resident's life outside the hospital."
Roni Robbins | October 7, 2022 | Contributor Information
About two fifths of residents report that their work-life balance is worse than they expected. Note that nearly the same percentage say the balance is neither better or worse, and more than 1 in 5 say that the balance was at least somewhat better than they expected.
Female residents are more likely than their male peers to report their work-life balance as somewhat or much worse than they expected (44% vs 35%).
Roni Robbins | October 7, 2022 | Contributor Information
On the basis of respondents who sometimes, rarely, or never have time to lead a satisfying social life, the majority of residents report failed relationships owing to lack of time for a satisfying social life.
On a brighter note, the issue of failed relationships has improved somewhat since last year, when 70% of residents claimed that relationships failed because of the lack of social life.
Roni Robbins | October 7, 2022 | Contributor Information
With the Step 1 exam changed to a pass-fail format and the switch to online interviews due to the pandemic, residents are equally divided as to whether their journey was the same or harder than that of those who came before them.
A PGY-3 psychiatry resident in Delaware, Emily Goncalves goes against the grain. "I think the journey for current residents is easier because there is not as much pressure to perform well on Step 1. Online interviewing saves time and money. I think it is less stressful to interview at home but not as helpful for learning about a program."
Roni Robbins | October 7, 2022 | Contributor Information
More than 9 in 10 respondents report caring for patients with COVID, either in person and/or via telemedicine. That's a big increase from 2020, when 54% were seeing patients with COVID.
Roni Robbins | October 7, 2022 | Contributor Information
The majority of residents feel at least slightly concerned about COVID and their health. Understandably, in 2020, residents were more worried about COVID, with 47% concerned or very concerned and 23% slightly concerned or not concerned at all.
Roni Robbins | October 7, 2022 | Contributor Information
On the basis of respondents who have been directly involved in treating patients with COVID, over three quarters of residents feel that their safety has improved while treating such patients in recent months vs last year.
Roni Robbins | October 7, 2022 | Contributor Information
Feeling worried about healthcare and less appreciated as a medical professional are among the top sentiments that residents expressed about being part of the response to COVID.
Half of female residents (50%) feel less appreciated as a medical professional, compared with 38% of their male counterparts. Conversely, male residents feel more appreciated than female residents do (18% vs 13%).
Roni Robbins | October 7, 2022 | Contributor Information
Among respondents who were residents prior to COVID-19, more than 4 in 10 have considered a different career choice since starting their residency — but that leaves more than half who have not considered such a change.
Dozens of respondents said they'd consider any career other than medicine. "I thought about law, business, consulting, staying at home with my child. Literally anything else," one resident said. Other common responses included engineer, teacher, or a finance career.
In 2020 and 2021, a larger percentage (84% and 83%, respectively) were more positive about their decision to enter medicine, convinced it was the right choice.
Roni Robbins | October 7, 2022 | Contributor Information
About one third of residents report work-life balance as their biggest challenge during residency.
Kolin Meehan agrees with that struggle. He reported his biggest challenge as "navigating a complex work environment while finding time to study, meet with friends and family, and retain hobbies."
Male residents more often say debt is a challenge compared with their female peers (13% vs 9%).
Other respondents listed their challenges as their relationships with attending physicians, dealing with patient death or treatment of chronically/terminally ill patients, relationships with nurses and/or physician assistants, or "other" issues.
Roni Robbins | October 7, 2022 | Contributor Information
Women are more likely than men to:
Isolate from others (33% vs 26%)
Talk with family/close friends (81% vs 69%)
Sleep (82% vs 73%)
Eat junk food (49% vs 36%)
Other respondents said they smoke marijuana or consume marijuana products (6%); use prescription drugs (4%); smoke cigarettes or use products containing nicotine (3%); or use "other" outlets for stress relief.
Roni Robbins | October 7, 2022 | Contributor Information
More than half of residents say their workplaces offer a program to reduce stress, but among those who do, only a minority take advantage of those services.
Resident respondents said they don't use these services because they don't need to, they don't have time, it's inconvenient, or they find other ways to deal with these issues. "I don't think it's necessary for programs to come up with elaborate ways to relieve our stress," Meehan said.
Male residents like Meehan are less likely to take advantage of stress reduction programs offered by their workplace compared with their female peers (24% vs. 33%).
Roni Robbins | October 7, 2022 | Contributor Information
More than half of residents agree that there is a stigma among peers when it comes to seeking mental health support.
Sixth- to eighth-year residents (72%) are more likely to agree there is a stigma among peers around seeking mental health compared with first-year (59%) and second-year (60%) residents.
Women (69%) more often agree that there's a stigma when it comes to seeking mental health support than do men (63%).
Roni Robbins | October 7, 2022 | Contributor Information
"Doing practical things like paying us more and reducing scut work would go way further than a random pizza party," Meehan says.
"The demanding nature of our job causes profound levels of depression and anxiety in trainees. The only practical way we can guard against it is to support each other, find a way to decompress, and if needed, maintain regular contact with a mental health professional."
Other respondents listed positive attitudes by colleagues to reduce burnout, adequate amount of paid vacation, educational and professional growth opportunities, and "other" solutions.
Roni Robbins | October 7, 2022 | Contributor Information
First-year residents (50%) are more likely to rank work schedule/call hours as important compared with fifth- (34%) and sixth- to eighth-year (24%) residents.
Female residents (24%) are more likely to rank supportive environment as important than are their male peers (17%).
Male residents (9%) more often rank potential for career advancement as important than do their female peers (3%).
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