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Personal growth during internship

A qualitative analysis of interns’ responses to key questions

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: During clinical training, house officers frequently encounter intense experiences that may affect their personal growth. The purpose of this study was to explore processes related to personal growth during internship.

DESIGN: Prospective qualitative study conducted over the course of internship.

PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-two postgraduate year (PGY)-1 residents from 9 U.S. internal medicine training programs.

APPROACH: Every 8 weeks, interns responded by e-mail to an open-ended question related to personal growth. Content analysis methods were used to analyze the interns’ writings to identify triggers, facilitators, and barriers related to personal growth.

RESULTS: Triggers for personal growth included caring for critically ill or dying patients, receiving feedback, witnessing unprofessional behavior, experiencing personal problems, and dealing with the increased responsibility of internship. Facilitators of personal growth included supportive relationships, reflection, and commitment to core values. Fatigue, lack of personal time, and overwhelming work were barriers to personal growth. The balance between facilitators and barriers may dictate the extent to which personal growth occurs.

CONCLUSIONS: Efforts to support personal growth during residency training include fostering supportive relationships, encouraging reflection, and recognizing interns’ core values especially in association with powerful triggers.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Houston Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

    Paul Haidet MD, MPH

  2. University of Missouri, Kansas City, MO, USA

    Brent W. Beasley MD

  3. Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    Lisa Bensinger MD

  4. Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Donald W. Brady MD

  5. Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, Huntington, WV, USA

    Todd Gress MD, MPH

  6. Boston University Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA

    Jennifer Hughes MD

  7. York Hospital, York, PA, USA

    Ajay Marwaha MD

  8. Highland General Hospital, Oakland, CA, USA

    Jennifer Nelson MD

  9. Division of General Internal Medicine, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, 4940 Eastern Avenue, Building B2N, Room 235, 21224, Baltimore, MD

    Rachel B. Levine MD, MPH, David E. Kern MD, MPH & Scott M. Wright MD

Authors
  1. Rachel B. Levine MD, MPH
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  2. Paul Haidet MD, MPH
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  3. David E. Kern MD, MPH
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  4. Brent W. Beasley MD
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  5. Lisa Bensinger MD
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  6. Donald W. Brady MD
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  7. Todd Gress MD, MPH
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  8. Jennifer Hughes MD
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  9. Ajay Marwaha MD
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  10. Jennifer Nelson MD
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  11. Scott M. Wright MD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rachel B. Levine MD, MPH.

Additional information

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Dr. Wright is an Arnold P. Gold Associate Professor of Medicine. Dr. Haidet is supported by a Career Development award from the Office of Research and Development, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

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Levine, R.B., Haidet, P., Kern, D.E. et al. Personal growth during internship. J Gen Intern Med 21, 564–569 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1525-1497.2006.00383.x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1525-1497.2006.00383.x

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