Developing a pilot curriculum to foster humanism among graduate medical trainees

Humanism is a central tenant of professionalism, a required competency for all residency programs. Yet, few residencies have formal curriculum for teaching this critical aspect of medicine. Instead, professionalism and humanism are often taught informally through role‑modeling. With increased burnout, faculty professionalism may suffer and may compromise resident role‑modeling. The objective of this study was to design a pilot curriculum to foster humanism in among residents and assess its ability to do so.

Two‑phase exploratory sequential mixed methods study. Phase 1: a qualitative analysis of residents’ narratives regarding challenges to humanistic behavior, and identified themes of compassion, fatigue, communication challenges, and work‑life balance. Themes used as needs assessment to build curriculum. Phase 2: three sessions with themes taken from faculty development course. Participants and controls completed baseline and 60‑day follow‑up questionnaires assessing burnout, compassion, satisfaction, and ability to practice psychological medicine. Phase one included Obstetrics/Gynecology and internal medicine residents. Phase two included residents from the above programs, who attended at least 2/3 interactive sessions designed to address the themes identified above.

Twelve participants began and ten completed curriculum (83%). The curriculum met course objectives and was well‑received (4.8/5). Burnout decreased (−3.1 vs. 2.5, P = 0.048). A trend toward improved compassion (4.4 vs.−0.6, P = 0.096) for participants compared to controls was noted.

A pilot humanism curriculum for residents was well‑received. Participants showed decreased burnout and trended to improved compassion scores. Development and evaluation of an expanded curriculum would further explore feasibility and effectiveness of the intervention.