Research Priorities for Physician Wellness in Academic Emergency Medicine: Consensus from the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine Wellness Committee

Abstract

Background: Physicians and trainees in academic health care settings face unique challenges to maintaining and enhancing their well-being compared to their community practice counterparts. Objective: Our objective was to develop a research agenda focused on well-being, resilience, and career longevity issues specific to practicing emergency medicine in an academic setting. Methods: We convened an expert group of academic emergency physicians prior to the 2018 annual meeting of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine to determine a set of uniformly accepted research priorities in the field by consensus. Results: Three themes emerged as components of a comprehensive research agenda: 1) origins and natural history of burnout, resilience, well-being and other related concepts; 2) influence of early training and the learning environment; and 3) impact of burnout, attrition, and lack of organizational or system support for wellness on operations. Conclusion: We believe that this agenda will inform future research and effective interventions to support physician and trainee well-being.