Disclosures: Tomas W. Salazar, MD: Nothing to disclose

Objective: A recent study on physician burnout and wellness found that only 19% of physiatrists are happy at work, dead last among the 29 specialties surveyed. The same study found over half of physiatrists are burned out, third most among specialties. In 2017, the ACGME made it a requirement for residency programs to address physician well-being. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of residency-sponsored social events on workplace happiness.

Design: Prospective cohort study. Residents provided weekly ratings of workplace happiness on a scale of 1 to 10.

Setting: PM&R Residency Program

Participants: 10 physiatry residents

Interventions: Three residency funded social events were implemented throughout the year with happiness scores recorded before and after.

Main Outcome Measures: Self-reported workplace happiness scores

Results: Effect size was calculated using Cohen’s d with d = 0.414, 0.303, and -0.102 for the three events. Effect size was also calculated using pooled average scores from the events together with Cohen’s d = 0.272. Our study demonstrated a positive effect of the social events on resident workplace happiness.

Conclusions: Multiple studies have demonstrated that burned out physicians have less job satisfaction; these physicians have decreased quality of patient care, make more major medical errors, and are more likely to suffer from psychiatric disorders such as depression. Additional studies show that patients are more likely to follow recommendations of physicians who are happy at work. Our pilot study revealed that a multifaceted approach to resident wellness with focuses on professional, physical, psychological, and social aspects leads to a positive effect on workplace happiness; this in turn improves patient care. We are actively recruiting residents and fellows with hope that a larger sample size will further reinforce these positive findings.

Level of Evidence: Level II

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PM&R Meeting Abstracts - https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/the-positive-impact-of-residency-program-sponsored-social-events-on-resident-wellness/