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

Phase 2

Completed

• Conditions: Physician Well-being; Physician Job Satisfaction
• Interventions: Behavioral: Usual practice; Behavioral: Facilitated small groups; Behavioral: Unstructured time.

• Registration Number: NCT01159977
• Lead Sponsor: Mayo Clinic

Brief Summary

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.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2010-06
• Study First Submitted: 2010-07-08
• Study First Submitted QC: 2010-07-09
• Study First Posted: 2010-07-12
• Primary Completion: 2012-06
• Study Completion: 2012-06
• Status Verified: 2012-11
• Last Update Submitted: 2012-11-14
• Last Update Posted: 2012-11-15

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 74

Inclusion Criteria

• Senior Associate Consultant or Consultant in the Mayo Clinic Department of Medicine.

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Exclusion Criteria

• No clinical effort.

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Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Usual practice	Usual practice	No protected time.
Facilitated small group	Facilitated small groups	Facilitated small groups.
Unstructured protected time	Unstructured time.	Same time provided as for facilitated small groups, but without structure.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Physician burnout	September 2010 - June 2012	Burnout measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Physician job satisfaction	September 2010 - June 2012	Job satisfaction measured by validated scales.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Mayo Clinic; 🇺🇸 Rochester, Minnesota, United States