Trial Evaluating the Effect of Facilitated Small Group Sessions on Physician Well-Being, Job Satisfaction, and Professionalism

The study purpose is to evaluate the effect of a small group discussion based intervention on physician well-being, job satisfaction, and professionalism. Participants will be put in one of 3 groups by chance (as in the flip of a coin). A computerized selection process will be used to assign participants to the study groups. There is a 1 in 3 chance of being assigned at random to either of the 3 groups.

The first study group will meet once every two weeks for 9 months (from September 2010 through June 2011) from 12:30 pm until 2:00 pm. These meetings will be small group discussion sessions with groups of no more than 15 participants. Lunch will be provided for the first 30 minutes, and group discussion during the next 1 hour will be guided by the session facilitator around such topics as work-life balance, meaning in work, medical mistakes, spirituality, and unmet patient needs. However, the discussions will be open forums, and the groups themselves will help decide on topics relevant to the group. The 1 hour of protected non-clinical time every other week required for this group will be funded by the study.

The second study group will also have 1 hour of protected non-clinical time provided every other week for the same 9 months. This study group will not participate in small group discussions, but may use the protected time for professional tasks as they wish.

Participants in the third study group will continue with their current work practices, but will be provided with protected time to complete study surveys. If group sizes are too small after recruitment to allow a complete study of all three groups, the third study group will be removed and participants will be randomly assigned to one of the first two study groups only.

Participants in all groups will be asked to complete a quarterly survey on well-being, job satisfaction, and professionalism. Follow-up surveys will also be administered 3 months and 1 year after the conclusion of the small group sessions. Each survey is expected to take approximately 20-30 minutes to complete.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Physician Well-being; Physician Job Satisfaction
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Facilitated small groups; Behavioral: Unstructured time.; Behavioral: Usual practice

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 74
• Phase: Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Minnesota
    • Rochester, Minnesota, United States, 55905
      • Mayo Clinic

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Senior Associate Consultant or Consultant in the Mayo Clinic Department of Medicine.

Exclusion Criteria:

• No clinical effort.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Facilitated small group; Facilitated small groups.	Behavioral: Facilitated small groups; 1 hour sessions every 2 weeks for small groups of 9 participants, 19 sessions over 9 months.
Active Comparator: Unstructured protected time; Same time provided as for facilitated small groups, but without structure.	Behavioral: Unstructured time.; 1 protected hour every 2 weeks for 9 months, without small group structure.
Placebo Comparator: Usual practice; No protected time.	Behavioral: Usual practice; No protected time provided.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Physician burnout	Burnout measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory.	September 2010 - June 2012

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Physician job satisfaction	Job satisfaction measured by validated scales.	September 2010 - June 2012

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Mayo Clinic

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• West CP, Dyrbye LN, Rabatin JT, Call TG, Davidson JH, Multari A, Romanski SA, Hellyer JM, Sloan JA, Shanafelt TD. Intervention to promote physician well-being, job satisfaction, and professionalism: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA Intern Med. 2014 Apr;174(4):527-33. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.14387.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: June 1, 2010
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 1, 2012
• Study Completion (Actual): June 1, 2012

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 8, 2010
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 9, 2010
• First Posted (Estimate): July 12, 2010

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): November 15, 2012
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 14, 2012
• Last Verified: November 1, 2012

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: 09-008232