Peer Accountability: A Strategy for Maintaining Commitment to Personal and Professional Obligations
There are a number of personal attributes characterizing the professional identity of “physician.” We are dedicated to patients, committed to lifelong learning, and responsible for a variety of other professional obligations. Each requires physicians to be highly accountable – obligated or willing to accept responsibility for one’s actions. In this post we present examples of how we’ve adopted peer accountability as a strategy to help us with the myriad responsibilities and obligations at the heart of our profession. Just in time for the New Year – we challenge each of our readers to consider finding an “accountability partner” in 2020!
It’s almost the end of your sixth shift in a row. You are trying to finish up notes when you hear an overhead page. You find yourself in the middle of a pediatric code that has a poor outcome and you have 5 minutes to spend with the family before being pulled into another patient’s room. You have no time to address the difficult case you just encountered. As an emergency physician, this may happen on a daily basis but some cases hit closer to home. How do you recover after these shifts, and how do you prepare for the next difficult patient encounter? Members of the 
This is a call to action for residents who have the creativity and passion to make life better for all trainees. The 2017 Wellness Think Tank survey of more than 1,500 EM residents found that, on average, 15 out of every 16 residents are struggling with burnout. It’s time to change that! We are looking for motivated residents to be a part of a one-of-a-kind grassroots movement to create a better and more sustainable culture within Emergency Medicine. Apply to join the 2018 Wellness Think Tank today!