Clinical trial NCT06000488: Trial to Evaluate the Efficacy of a Manualized Reflective Writing Program for Clinical Phase Physician Assistant (PA) Students.
Official title: Open-label Controlled Trial to Evaluate the Efficacy of a Manualized Reflective Writing Program for Clinical Phase PA Students.
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: SUSPENDED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Burn Out
Student Burnout
Physician Assistant Student Burnout
Lead sponsor: Yale University
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2023-08-21
Enrollment: 35
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Intervention model description: The study sample will consist of clinical-phase PA students enrolled in the Yale Physician Associate Program Class of 2024.
Primary purpose: SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Brief summary: The following will be an open label controlled efficacy trial of the effects of longitudinal participation in an existing reflective writing program for medical students on burnout in physician assistant students.

Detailed description: The pilot of the reflective writing workshop for PA students will follow the existing curriculum used for the MD program. The workshops will run for 75 minutes with additional time at the end of the session to complete a post-intervention assessment survey. Planning and adaptation of the program materials will be conducted by a group of PA students and the current MD-student leaders of the reflective writing program under the guidance of Dr. Anna Reisman.

All PA student participants will be split up into 1-2 groups of 6-10 students based on the number of participants. Sessions are expected to be held in-person pending COVID-19 guidance and will be held in reserved classroom space in the PA program building (100 Church Street South) or in reserved conference rooms at the Cushing-Whitney Medical Library. Trained PA and/or MD student facilitators will then use prepared materials to guide each group through a series of prompts, each eliciting written reflections of varying lengths. While all participants are encouraged to reflect, write, and share their responses, participation at all levels remains optional. Facilitators will not solicit any participants for a response. All program participants will be asked to complete a brief post-assessment survey consisting of short-answer and Likert scale questions about their attitudes towards program participation. Responses collected will be used to assess the feasibility and acceptability of the program for PA students and as feedback to guide potential future implementation of the program.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* able to offer consent
* able to speak and read English.
* must be a student in Yale Physician Associate Program Class of 2024

Exclusion Criteria:

-

Primary outcomes:
measure: Change in total burnout score over time as measured by the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI)
timeFrame: baseline (week 0), and weeks 4,12, and 26
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Attitudes and mediators of behavioral change assessed by self report
timeFrame: week 26
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: New Haven
country: United States
facility: Yale University
state: Connecticut
Study officials:
affiliation: Yale University
name: Mathew Chiang
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: