Trial Evaluating the Effect of Facilitated Small Group Sessions on Physician Well-Being, Job Satisfaction, and Professionalism

The study purpose is to evaluate the effect of a small group discussion based intervention on physician well-being, job satisfaction, and professionalism. Participants will be put in one of 3 groups by chance (as in the flip of a coin). A computerized selection process will be used to assign participants to the study groups. There is a 1 in 3 chance of being assigned at random to either of the 3 groups.

The first study group will meet once every two weeks for 9 months (from September 2010 through June 2011) from 12:30 pm until 2:00 pm. These meetings will be small group discussion sessions with groups of no more than 15 participants. Lunch will be provided for the first 30 minutes, and group discussion during the next 1 hour will be guided by the session facilitator around such topics as work-life balance, meaning in work, medical mistakes, spirituality, and unmet patient needs. However, the discussions will be open forums, and the groups themselves will help decide on topics relevant to the group. The 1 hour of protected non-clinical time every other week required for this group will be funded by the study.

The second study group will also have 1 hour of protected non-clinical time provided every other week for the same 9 months. This study group will not participate in small group discussions, but may use the protected time for professional tasks as they wish.

Participants in the third study group will continue with their current work practices, but will be provided with protected time to complete study surveys. If group sizes are too small after recruitment to allow a complete study of all three groups, the third study group will be removed and participants will be randomly assigned to one of the first two study groups only.

Participants in all groups will be asked to complete a quarterly survey on well-being, job satisfaction, and professionalism. Follow-up surveys will also be administered 3 months and 1 year after the conclusion of the small group sessions. Each survey is expected to take approximately 20-30 minutes to complete.