Family medicine
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Family physicians routinely manage uncertainty in their clinical practice. During their first year of clinical rotations, medical students learn communication and patient care skills that will influence the care they provide as future physicians. However, little is known about how their reactions to uncertainty change during this formative year, and medical education often fails to teach students how to manage uncertainty effectively. This study employs a repeated measures analysis of students' reactions to uncertainty over the course of their third year. ⋯ These findings confirm that students experience negative reactions to uncertainty during clinical rotations. Students would benefit from curriculum designed to mitigate consequences of negative affective reactions to uncertainty, particularly those students characteristically higher in intolerance of uncertainty. Given that students demonstrated more willingness to communicate about their uncertainty over time, medical school should equip students with the communication skills needed to discuss their uncertainty effectively with patients and preceptors.
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Physician burnout is well described in the literature. In response, experts are now shifting to try to understand physician resiliency. We sought to better understand burnout and resiliency from the perspective of family medicine residents through the qualitative analysis of photographs and discussion. ⋯ Family medicine residents experience burnout in specific, unique ways, and are able to identify common sources of resilience. Family medicine educators can use the Photovoice methodology to help residents capture their personal experiences of burnout, share their experiences with peers, and discover sources of resilience.