Addressing Well-being, Burnout, and Professional Fulfillment in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Trainees During the COVID-19 Pandemic Through Implementation of a Virtual Balint-Like Group: a Pilot Study

OBJECTIVE: Physicians, including psychiatrists and psychiatry trainees, are at higher risk of burnout compared to the average working population. The COVID-19 pandemic heightens this risk. This pilot aims to enhance professional fulfillment and support while decreasing risk and prevalence of burnout in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (CAP) trainees through virtual delivery of a Balint-like group incorporating brief emotional awareness modules. METHODS: Six CAP trainees participated. Eight 60-min sessions held every 2 weeks were co-facilitated by a psychologist and psychiatrist who developed the curricular content. Five of the eight semi-structured sessions combined a brief emotional awareness enhancing module with a Balint-based approach to case review. The authors assessed trainee well-being, professional fulfillment, and sense of professional support pre- and post-intervention with the Well-being Index (WBI), Stanford Professional Fulfillment Index (PFI), and the authors’ own supplemental survey. Descriptive statistics were reported. RESULTS: Trainees found the curriculum feasible and useful. Surveys showed a reduction in burnout from three to zero participants (p = 0.03) and specific improvements in enthusiasm (p = 0.013), empathy with colleagues (p = 0.093), and connectedness with colleagues (p = 0.007) and patients (p = 0.042) at work. There were also improvements in happiness (p = 0.042) and valued contributions at work (p = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: A novel well-being curriculum focused on combining brief emotional awareness enhancing modules with a Balint-like approach enhances professional fulfillment and a sense of professional support and decreases the risk and prevalence of burnout, even when delivered virtually to a group of CAP fellows. Results support the planned expansion of this low-cost, high-value intervention for trainee well-being.