Formal Mentorship in Surgical Training: A Long-Term Prospective Interventional Study

Objective. Surgical training programs have a high prevalence of trainee stress and burnout. Formal mentorship programs (FMP) have been shown to alleviate these factors and improve quality of life (QOL) in short-term follow-up. This study aims to determine the long-term effects of an FMP on the well-being of a single-center cohort of surgical trainees. Methods. A voluntary FMP was established at a surgical training program comprised 8 resident physicians. To quantitatively measure stress and burnout, the Perceived Stress Survey (PSS) and Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) were administered at baseline, 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 months. The World Health Quality of Life-Bref Questionnaire (WH-QOL) was administered at baseline, 12 and 24 months. Results. Baseline levels of stress and burnout were high among all residents with an average PSS of 18.5 and MBI of 47.6, 50.6, and 16.5 for the emotional, depersonalization, and personal achievement domains respectively. After FMP implementation, PSS was reduced to 7.9 at 12 months (P = .001). These scores were sustained at 24 months (6.8, P = 1). MBI scores improved in emotional exhaustion (14.9, P < .0001), depersonalization (20.1, P < .0001), and personal achievement (40.1, P < .0001) at 12 months. All these benefits were sustained at 24 months. Baseline overall WH-QOL scores reflected low QOL (71.9). These significantly improved at 12 months (37.5, P = .002) with further improvement by 24 months (17.2, P = .03). Conclusion. Long-term follow-up of a previously successful academic surgical FMP showed lasting improvements in stress, burnout, and overall QOL, despite new life challenges.