Assistant Professor UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Background: Gratitude practice has been shown to improve well-being. Facilitating expressions of gratitude between peers may improve well-being and decrease burnout in pediatric faculty. Objective: To promote faculty well-being by facilitating expressions of gratitude. Design/Methods: Pediatric faculty nominated peers for “Thank Yinz” recognitions via the department website, including a brief description of the reason for the nomination. Recipients were notified by email of their nomination and their division director and nominator were copied. Nominations were displayed on the Thank Yinz website and shared with the department chair. Recipients received a $5 coffee shop gift card. The program name reflects local culture, as “Yinz” is local jargon for “You all”. Faculty completed the Physician Fulfillment Index (PFI) both before and after the 6-month pilot program. A survey was sent to faculty after the pilot to evaluate the program. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze survey data and t-test was used for PFI data. Results: 420 faculty members were eligible for the program. During the 6-month pilot, 363 Thank Yinz were sent representing 135 individual nominators and 216 individual nominees. The pre and post-program surveys each had a 20% response rate. 94% of post pilot survey respondents participated in the program (32% received, 28% gave, 33% both). 82.5% of respondents felt the program should be continued (17.5% “indifferent”, 1% “no”). Respondents reported high or very high value in the following domains: Allowing faculty to recognize colleagues-91%, connecting faculty within divisions-64%, connecting faculty between divisions-49%, Improving wellbeing-59% and mitigating burnout-35%. PFI scores were not different between the pre and post groups for Professional Fulfillment (pre: 2.67, post: 2.61, p=0.67) Emotional Exhaustion (pre: 1.53, post: 1.33, p=0.10) or Interpersonal Disengagement (pre: 0.85, post: 0.71, p=0.14).
Conclusion(s): The “Thank Yinz” program, aimed to improve well-being through encouraging expressions of gratitude, was valued by participants. Faculty rated the program highly for allowing recognition, improving well-being and connecting faculty within divisions. A minority of respondents rated the program highly for connecting faculty between divisions and mitigating burnout. Professional fulfillment and burnout are multi-factorial measures which were not significantly affected by this single intervention. The “Thank Yinz” program demonstrates the feasibility of promoting a culture of well-being through expressions of gratitude.
