Enhancing teamwork between chief residents and residency program directors: description and outcomes of an experiential workshop.

BACKGROUND: An effective working relationship between chief residents and residency program directors is critical to a residency program's success. Despite the importance of this relationship, few studies have explored the characteristics of an effective program director-chief resident partnership or how to facilitate collaboration between the 2 roles, which collectively are important to program quality and resident satisfaction. We describe the development and impact of a novel workshop that paired program directors with their incoming chief residents to facilitate improved partnerships.
METHODS: The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education sponsored a full-day workshop for residency program directors and their incoming chief residents. Sessions focused on increased understanding of personality styles, using experiential learning, and open communication between chief residents and program directors, related to feedback and expectations of each other. Participants completed an anonymous survey immediately after the workshop and again 8 months later to assess its long-term impact.
RESULTS: Participants found the workshop to be a valuable experience, with comments revealing common themes. Program directors and chief residents expect each other to act as a role model for the residents, be approachable and available, and to be transparent and fair in their decision-making processes; both groups wanted feedback on performance and clear expectations from each other for roles and responsibilities; and both groups identified the need to be innovative and supportive of changes in the program. Respondents to the follow-up survey reported that workshop participation improved their relationships with their co-chiefs and program directors.
CONCLUSION: Participation in this experiential workshop improved the working relationships between chief residents and program directors. The themes that were identified can be used to foster communication between incoming chief residents and residency directors and to develop a curriculum for chief resident development.