Maren Olson
University of Minnesota / Children's Minnesota
Purpose: This study examined the impact of a 2019 oral storytelling event for medical trainees and faculty from seven academic health systems in Minnesota, in order to explore whether storytelling events in graduate medical education could be an effective approach for building connection and helping attendees find meaning and purpose in their work, thus promoting resilience and mitigating burnout.
Methods: Multiple types of data were collected from a variety of sources during and after the event, including post-event surveys of both storytellers and audience members, in-depth follow-up with members of both groups, social media postings, short reflections written during the event, and correspondence about the event between participants and members of the research team. Qualitative analysis was performed using both deductive and inductive coding, with the conceptual frameworks of reflective practice and social constructivism.
Results: There were 334 attendees. Survey response rate for physicians was 65%, with 63% of respondents volunteering to do follow-up interviews. Of those, 38% completed the follow-up interview. Additionally, 129 reflections and 33 tweets were analyzed. Across data sources, feedback was consistently positive. Themes that emerged included a sense of connection and community, re-connection with meaning and purpose in work, renewal and hope, and gratitude. In follow-up interview questions specifically addressing burnout, the majority of respondents felt that the event could have some protective effect against burnout, but that more work is needed.
Conclusion: These results support the use of storytelling events as a way to promote well-being in graduate medical education trainees. These data clearly demonstrate that the event positively impacted both storytellers and audience through an increased sense of connection and community, a renewal of meaning and purpose in their work, and a sense of gratitude. Oral storytelling events can serve as a tool to foster resilience and mitigate the effects of burnout.
