Physicians in the USA are experiencing burnout symptoms at alarming rates, with women surpassing men. Many modalities are used to combat burnout. Leadership training is one proven strategy. Baylor Scott & White Health developed a program of systematic leadership development with quantitative and qualitative surveys and feedback from the 200 female participants of the pilot year. The Women Leaders in Medicine Program invited all Baylor Scott & White Health female physicians in both Central and North Texas to leadership training, which focused on (1) peer networking, (2) leadership skill building, and (3) mentoring, advocacy, and sponsorship with system leaders. The program was well received and highlighted the need for more in-person networking and skill-building opportunities for this demographic. Based on the data collected, the investigators are confident that this program is feasible for replication in diverse clinical settings for all female physicians.

The shifting health care landscape in the United States has surfaced challenges related to increased accountability, interprofessional health care teams, and changes in federal policy-all of which compel physicians to adopt roles beyond clinician such as clinical investigator, team leader, and manager. To address these challenges, leadership development programs across the continuum of medical education aim to develop critical leadership skills and competencies, such as emotional intelligence. Such skills and competencies are largely taught through didactic approaches (e.g., classroom). These approaches often neglect the context of learning. From medical residency to a hospital or clinic, the contextual lived experience is habitually overlooked as a vehicle for developing emotional intelligence. This article highlights lived experience, such as medical residency, as an approach to develop emotional intelligence. First, we address the need for developing emotional intelligence as a leadership skill as well as the suitability of medical residency for such development. Next, we discuss the background of lived experience and emotional intelligence. Lastly, we identify future directions for leveraging lived experiences of medical residency to develop emotional intelligence.