Coping with the Practice of Medicine: Religion, Spirituality, and Other Personal Strategies.

With the increasing demands on the practice of medicine, this qualitative study asked residents and their faculty (n = 44) to reflect on how they cope with their work. They provided written reflections to questions about successful and disappointing patient experiences, as well as describing their personal, religious, or spiritual practices. Key themes included connecting with family and friends, learning from their mistakes, using cognitive behavioral tools, and engaging with their spirituality and religiosity. One third specifically mentioned they used prayer and/or meditation. We contextualized selected quotes with their level of spiritual well-being, religiosity, and burnout.