A New Perspective on Burnout: Snapshots of the Medical Resident Experience

Background: Burnout is harmful and frequently experienced by medical residents. Causes of burnout are numerous. To date, there have been no qualitative studies incorporating semistructured interviews and resident-taken photographs on their perspectives of burnout. This method is advantageous for its ability to explore the lived experience of burnout, in depth. Objective: The purpose of this study is to discover, through photographs and semistructured interviews, medical residents’ perspectives on what burnout means in their lives and how they manage burnout experiences. Methods: In 2017, 8 residents from Internal Medicine and Family Medicine Residency Programs at a large, Midwestern academic medical center participated in this study. The Transcendental Phenomenological Method was used to analyze the data collected through semistructured interviews, which used resident photographs as a guide. Results: Residency training was often described as a challenging experience, particularly because it took away residents’ ability to focus on their personal lives due to long work hours. This often resulted in exhaustion, self-doubt, and damaged or neglected relationships. Despite this, residents took active steps to mitigate burnout through a variety of coping strategies. In addition, residents found camaraderie, joy, and personal growth during their residency experience. Conclusion: Burnout continues to be an important topic in medical education and specifically for medical residents. Learning more about how burnout is perceived and the effects of burnout on residents day-to-day lives can guide the future development of strategies to promote wellness and minimize the impact of burnout.