Florida Society of Anesthesiologists

2020 FSA Posters

P060: ENHANCING CAMARADERIE USING SHOW-AND-TELL ROUNDS
David Cohen, EdD; University of Miami

In a recent article, "Combating Clinician Burnout with Community-Building," from the NEJM Journal Catalyst, the authors wrote: "As the field of clinician wellness evolves, it’s imperative to focus on the formal and informal ways that human connections can be created and sustained. Surely, other interventions aimed at tapping into this underlying phenomenon have yet to be discovered."

Former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy created an activity called “Inside Scoop” that allowed different team members to take a few minutes to share something personal before the beginning of regular staff meetings and felt that it made his staff less stressed, more valued, and more connected.

I developed an informal easy to implement exercise in the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Miami for residents and faculty to increase feelings of camaraderie, build community, and feel more connected.

Residents and faculty were asked to volunteer to present for five minutes before regularly scheduled Grand Rounds lectures about whatever they were passionate about outside of work.

Presentation topics have included Astronomy, Nutrition/Fasting, Photography, Kiteboarding, Soccer, Mountain Climbing, and Drone Flying.

To assess effectiveness of the initiative, an online anonymous survey was sent to residents and fellows.

  • 44 residents and faculty completed the survey.
  • 35 responders (80%) strongly agreed or agreed that the initiative increased feelings of camaraderie, 6 (13%) were not sure and 3 (7%) disagreed.
  • 38 responders (86%) strongly agreed or agreed that the initiative should continue, 4 (9%) were not sure and 2 (5%) disagreed.

Comments included:

  • "It was a meaningful activity."
  • "It was humanizing."
  • "It was a great and refreshing initiative."
  • "I need public speaking practice and this provided me a good opportunity to start."

The initiative was received favorably by all participants.

Therefore, the Department of Anesthesiology has continued the initiative based on positive feedback.