Charney Burk, MD, assistant program director and assistant clinical professor of Emergency Medicine at UCSF Fresno, recalled a time during residency when she was unable to end a pediatric resuscitation attempt.
“I was a third-year resident, and it was the first time I led the team in pediatric resuscitation efforts,” Burk said. “I found myself unable to stop. It was emotionally wrecking. My faculty member was cognizant and stepped in and called it for me.”
That experience was the inspiration behind Burk starting Caring for the Caregiver at UCSF Fresno. Modeled after a similar program at UCSF with the same name and other programs across the U.S., Caring for the Caregiver is a peer-support program for supporting physicians through the challenges of residency training and practicing medicine, including second-victim syndrome, the severe emotional and physical trauma experienced by health care providers following an unanticipated or adverse patient outcome.
“After that code, I was nauseous and felt terrible,” said Burk. “My faculty member was wonderful, but there didn’t seem to be a good avenue for reckoning with the feelings and the shame that comes with having such intense feelings. What I realize now is that everybody has those feelings. We just don’t talk about it.”
Burk, working with Stacy Sawtelle Vohra, MD, Assistant Dean for Graduate Medical Education and Designated Institutional Official at UCSF Fresno, applied for and received an Innovations Funding Award from the Haile T. Debas Academy of Medical Educators. In 2024, Caring for the Caregiver was launched at UCSF Fresno. The program, now funded by UCSF Fresno Risk Management, works by training faculty members and residents to serve as peer supporters to provide confidential assistance and a safe space for trainees to talk through their emotions and feelings.
The program is hybrid, offering in-person and on-call support. Trainees log into the website to submit a request for peer support. Support may be requested anonymously if desired. Trainees can also reach out directly to the on-call peer supporter.
In addition, many conversations happen organically. Peer supporters wear Caring for the Caregiver badges, and trainees may approach them any time to talk. Peer supporters are also encouraged to reach out to trainees who have recently had a particularly challenging patient care case or encounter.
“Physician wellness is a priority at UCSF Fresno,” said Sawtelle Vohra. “In addition to training residents and fine-tuning their clinical expertise within their fields, we strive to equip trainees with the tools and resources to help them thrive as clinicians and as individuals. The very best patient care happens when those two aspects are in harmony. I applaud Dr. Burk for making Caring for the Caregiver available at our campus.”
Currently, Caring for the Caregiver is open to residents and medical students at UCSF Fresno, but the program is in the process of expanding to include UCSF faculty at the Fresno Regional Campus as well.
A needs assessment survey of residents at UCSF Fresno prior to starting Caring for the Caregiver revealed that 85% of them experience second-victim syndrome. A recent survey of faculty indicated they experience second-victim syndrome about 84% of the time.
It’s a side effect of being a physician, said Burk. The adage is very clear; you must care for yourself to successfully care for others.
Flight attendants instruct passengers to put the oxygen mask on themselves first before helping those around them. That’s because in the sudden loss of cabin air pressure, a person has seconds before losing consciousness, rendering them unable to care for themself much less anyone else. Physician wellness is a similar concept. Caring for the Caregiver at UCSF Fresno strives to help doctors balance providing the very best care for patients while caring for themselves.
Caring for the Caregiver is available online for the UCSF Fresno regional campus community at: https://fresno.ucsf.edu/caring4caregiver
