There has been a cultural shift in the state of residency training over the past two decades. While the traditional view of trainees heavily emphasized the service component of residency, training programs are gaining an increasing awareness of the trainees' well-being as crucial to their functioning, the success of the training program, and ultimately, to the care of patients. To this end, work-hour limitations have been imposed universally. Additionally, some programs have established interventions that allow residents to lead balanced lives with emphasis on time away from work, sleep, and outside activities. A paradigm shift recognizing the importance of wellness in residency may reduce the risk of physician burnout in the long term.

Transitions from medical school training to residency and then on to practice can be very challenging. An important but often overlooked aspect of medical education is the development of strategies to improve and sustain individual well-being so that trainees can successfully complete their training and transition into practice. In this chapter, we will be discussing ways in which physician and trainee well-being can be objectively assessed through the use of a burnout and work engagement index, as well as components of a wellness curriculum that can help to maintain and improve physician well-being across the continuum of training. Establishing a framework and wellness curriculum can help to prevent physician burnout and improve physician and trainee work engagement and well-being.