ACGME Well-Being Podcasts

In this interview with Dr. Srijan Sen, Frances and Kenneth Eisenberg Professor of Depression and Neurosciences and Associate Chair for Research and Research Faculty Development at the University of Michigan’s School of Medicine, we discuss his research into the factors that contribute to burnout and depression among medical students and residents.  Dr. Sen led a ten-year, multi-institutional study of medical interns to determine how genetic factors are involved in moderating the relationship between stress and depression. In this interview, Dr. Sen talks about what inspired him to pioneer research into well-being among medical interns, what his findings suggest for how programs can better prepare residents for the stressors they face during clinical training--and his hopes for how residents learn to cultivate the supports they need to thrive, not just survive, during residency.

In this second interview with Dr. Sydney Ey, Professor of Psychiatry and Associate Director of the Resident and Faculty Wellness Program at the Oregon Health and Science University Medical School, she is joined by Dr. Stuart Slavin, ACGME Senior Scholar for Well-Being. In this interview, Dr. Slavin and Dr. Ey explore how imposter phenomenon manifests itself among residents and faculty, how it relates to perfectionism and depression, and discuss the multiple impacts impostor phenomenon has on their well-being. They also discuss the roots of impostor phenomenon and why it seems endemic to the experience of residency, sharing some of the strategies programs have used for combatting the hold it has over a person’s self-perceptions and the expectations they have of themselves.