Mitigating Resident Physician Burnout with Mentorship-Based Interventions: A Systematic Review
Poster #: 025
Session/Time: B
Author:
Fatima Wajid Chaudhry, BS, MS
Mentor:
Rehan Qayyum, MD, MHS, SFHM, FAHA
Research Type: Educational
Abstract
INTRODUCTION:
Burnout is highly prevalent among resident physicians, driven by heavy clinical workloads, long and irregular hours, and limited autonomy. Prior reviews estimate burnout rates of 50%, rising to 76% after the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, residency programs have increasingly implemented mentorship-based interventions to support residents and foster resilience. However, the effectiveness of these interventions in mitigating burnout remains uncertain. Clarifying their impact is critical not only for resident well-being but also for sustaining the physician workforce and ensuring the quality and safety of patient care. This systematic review synthesizes studies published between July 2016 and September 2024 to evaluate the impact of mentorship-based programs on resident physician burnout.
METHODS:
A systematic review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA 2020 guidelines.Comprehensive searches of PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science were performed using the keywords "burnout" AND ("resident" OR "residency" OR "intern"), yielding 12,550 records.Eligible studies met the following criteria: (1) peer-reviewed publication in English; (2) original research; (3) inclusion of an intervention targeting resident physicians; and (4) reporting of burnout outcomes. References were imported into Covidence for deduplication, screening, and data extraction. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane RoB 2 tool for randomized controlled trials and ROBINS-I for observational studies. Where appropriate, study findings were quantitatively synthesized using random-effects meta-analysis, conducted in Review Manager(RevMan 5.4), with pooled estimates generated for both continuous and categorical outcomes. The overall certainty of evidence was appraised using the Grading of Recommendations,Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) framework.
RESULTS:
Eighteen studies, encompassing 1,818 resident physicians, evaluated mentorship-based interventions delivered through mentorship, coaching, or structured therapeutic approaches. Of these, six employed randomized controlled trial designs, while twelve utilized non-randomized designs. Pooled analyses from five eligible studies demonstrated that mentorship-based interventions did not significantly reduce emotional exhaustion (pooled mean difference [PMD]= -0.16; 95% CI: -0.33 to 0.01; p = 0.07), depersonalization (PMD = -0.14; 95% CI: -0.31 to0.03; p = 0.10), or enhance professional accomplishment (PMD = 0.18; 95% CI: -0.01 to 0.36; p= 0.06). A modest but statistically significant reduction was observed for overall burnout (PMD= -0.18; 95% CI: -0.35 to -0.01; p = 0.04). All categorical outcomes found no benefit of mentorship-based interventions. Substantial heterogeneity was identified for emotional exhaustion (I² = 73%), professional accomplishment (I² = 93%), and overall burnout (I² = 94%),with moderate heterogeneity for depersonalization (I² = 39.8%).
CONCLUSION:
Mentorship-based interventions did not demonstrate significant efficacy in alleviating emotional exhaustion and depersonalization or advancing professional accomplishments. However, the marginal decrease in overall burnout suggests mentorship may have a role in influencing burnout. Although the observed effects were limited, further examination is recommended to more clearly establish its impact.
Burnout is highly prevalent among resident physicians, driven by heavy clinical workloads, long and irregular hours, and limited autonomy. Prior reviews estimate burnout rates of 50%, rising to 76% after the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, residency programs have increasingly implemented mentorship-based interventions to support residents and foster resilience. However, the effectiveness of these interventions in mitigating burnout remains uncertain. Clarifying their impact is critical not only for resident well-being but also for sustaining the physician workforce and ensuring the quality and safety of patient care. This systematic review synthesizes studies published between July 2016 and September 2024 to evaluate the impact of mentorship-based programs on resident physician burnout.
METHODS:
A systematic review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA 2020 guidelines.Comprehensive searches of PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science were performed using the keywords "burnout" AND ("resident" OR "residency" OR "intern"), yielding 12,550 records.Eligible studies met the following criteria: (1) peer-reviewed publication in English; (2) original research; (3) inclusion of an intervention targeting resident physicians; and (4) reporting of burnout outcomes. References were imported into Covidence for deduplication, screening, and data extraction. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane RoB 2 tool for randomized controlled trials and ROBINS-I for observational studies. Where appropriate, study findings were quantitatively synthesized using random-effects meta-analysis, conducted in Review Manager(RevMan 5.4), with pooled estimates generated for both continuous and categorical outcomes. The overall certainty of evidence was appraised using the Grading of Recommendations,Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) framework.
RESULTS:
Eighteen studies, encompassing 1,818 resident physicians, evaluated mentorship-based interventions delivered through mentorship, coaching, or structured therapeutic approaches. Of these, six employed randomized controlled trial designs, while twelve utilized non-randomized designs. Pooled analyses from five eligible studies demonstrated that mentorship-based interventions did not significantly reduce emotional exhaustion (pooled mean difference [PMD]= -0.16; 95% CI: -0.33 to 0.01; p = 0.07), depersonalization (PMD = -0.14; 95% CI: -0.31 to0.03; p = 0.10), or enhance professional accomplishment (PMD = 0.18; 95% CI: -0.01 to 0.36; p= 0.06). A modest but statistically significant reduction was observed for overall burnout (PMD= -0.18; 95% CI: -0.35 to -0.01; p = 0.04). All categorical outcomes found no benefit of mentorship-based interventions. Substantial heterogeneity was identified for emotional exhaustion (I² = 73%), professional accomplishment (I² = 93%), and overall burnout (I² = 94%),with moderate heterogeneity for depersonalization (I² = 39.8%).
CONCLUSION:
Mentorship-based interventions did not demonstrate significant efficacy in alleviating emotional exhaustion and depersonalization or advancing professional accomplishments. However, the marginal decrease in overall burnout suggests mentorship may have a role in influencing burnout. Although the observed effects were limited, further examination is recommended to more clearly establish its impact.