Evaluation of Project ECHO® Sessions on Wellbeing and Burnout for Family Medicine Residents

Context: Burnout among family medicine residents is widespread, impacting the workforce. The American Academy of Family Physicians sought to reduce burnout and promote wellbeing among medical students and residents through program offerings, known as Physician Health First: Building Resiliency Intersectionally During Graduate Education (BRIDGE). As part of the BRIDGE program, the AAFP hosted Project ECHO® (ECHO: Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) sessions, focusing on resident wellbeing and burnout prevention. The Project ECHO series covered various topics, including residents’ experiences of burnout and strategies to improve wellness in their everyday lives.

Objective: Determine whether the BRIDGE Project ECHO promoted wellbeing and prevented burnout among residents.

Study Design and Analysis: Family medicine residency programs applied to participate in the Project ECHO series. Those selected were asked to have 3 residents attend each session. At the end of each ECHO session, a QR code was posted for all attendees to complete a 9-question post-session evaluation survey. Analyses included descriptive statistics and non-parametric statistics.

Setting: 4 Project ECHO series with a total of 61 residencies. Population studied: Residents. Intervention: 4 series: Fall 2022; Spring 2023; Fall 2023; Spring 2024.

Outcome Measures: Post-session measures included practical knowledge, relevancy of information, and challenges in maintaining wellbeing.

Results: Fall 2022 (7 residency programs; 8 sessions; 8-20 residents), Spring 2023 (17 residency programs; 8 sessions; 22-51 residents), Fall 2023 (18 residencies; 8 sessions; 22-48 residents), and Spring 2024 (19 residency programs; 8 sessions; 18-55 residents) post-session surveys indicated (good, very good, excellent) that the sessions provided practical knowledge or strategies that residents could immediately apply to their personal and work life, were relevant to their current life and work situation, and addressed challenges faced in maintaining their wellbeing. In general, the level of difficulty of topics was rated “just right,” and most residents indicated the faculty were knowledgeable. Some residents commented that sessions do not address burnout as a structural issue.

Conclusions: The BRIDGE program’s Project ECHO series had a positive impact on individual resident burnout and wellbeing. Although, change at the structural and policy levels are needed to address wellbeing and burnout comprehensively.