Well-being and health of medical students and practitioners

Previous empirical studies give evidence that health care professionals, especially medical doctors, do suffer from extraordinary high levels of work loads and increased risks of work strain syndroms like job burnout. Against the background of concepts of Positive Psychology as well as Work and Organizational Psychology, the project has the following objectives. In a cross-sectional and longitudinal study with medical students (freshmen and students in their clinical internship year) and young physicians in training for medical specialists in Tyrol (Turnus) both dispositional factors (e.g. character strengths) as well as situational factors (e.g. working conditions) will be identified which are able to enhance the subjective and psychological well-being and health in this target group. First, insights will be gained about the personal development taking place during medical education and whether and how individual factors (e.g. possibility to practice signature strengths) increase well- being and healthiness. Strategies for enhancing well-being and healthiness should be derived and implemented consequently within the curriculum. The second aim is to analyze the role of working- task characteristics, work demands and stressors, work resources and organizational climates in the health care setting for putting medical students and young physicians character strengths and virtues into action increasing their work engagement and well-being. Furthermore an investigation, if persons with different levels of well-being show specific structures of character strengths will be conducted. The empirical findings give evidence-based information for deriving effective tools for person- and condition-related interventions in the field like academic choice counseling, career counseling, coaching and job-design guidelines. Consequently this can lead to better studying and working conditions, higher resilience, improved working performance, fewer symptoms of burnout, improved patients safety and a reduction of absenteeism. This would be an enormous benefit for the future health care system. The project contributes to the scientific knowledge about the interaction of personal and situational factors with regard to well-being and healthiness of employees in general. Furthermore, we expect an important positive impact on the quality of medical education and health care in Tyrol and its institutions.

In this 4-year project funded by the Austrian Science Fund person- and condition-related factors in terms of health and well-being of medical students and residents were investigated. In the center of this scientific research was the 24 character strengths model by Peterson and Seligman, subjective and psychological well-being, work engagement, burnout and condition-related factors for the applicability of character strengths. Differentiated positive correlations were shown between character strengths and various aspects of subjective and psychological well-being of medical students, whereas the possession of hope, zest and perseverance was in particular significant for well-being and mental health in the short and long term. Beside the possession, the applicability of character strengths played an important role in work and private life of medical students and residents well-being, but to different degrees. Medical students and residents were positively influenced by the applicability of their most distinct individual character strengths (signature strengths) in terms of a reduced burnout risk and increased well-being and mental health. The top-five individual signature character strengths were fairness, honesty, judgment, kindness, and love. Moreover, condition-related factors in the work context contribute to a higher applicability of character strengths and therefore higher work engagement and well-being as well as less burnout symptoms. Longitudinally decision latitude, and cross-sectionally also social support by colleagues and supervisors, adequacy of ones own skills for the job, and cognitive demands were positively related to the applicability of character strengths. A distinct socio- moral organizational climate (dialogic, participative, cherishing, and supportive) also contributed to a higher applicability of character strengths in the long term, which had in turn a positive reciprocal effect on the socio-moral climate. The importance of reliable appreciation and respect, casual possibilities to communicate and participation of colleagues was underlined by observation data and interviews. The socio-moral climate correlated with a lower burnout risk and a positive perception of patient safety by the physicians, whereas in the course of six months negative impacts on the socio-moral climate were found when burnout symptoms already existed. This results illustrate that the promotion of signature character strengths and their applicability represents a promising approach to improve well- being which can be supported by the creation of health-promoting working conditions and a socio-moral organizational climate within the framework of occupational health management.