The Effect of Community Building Through Virtual, Team-Based Exercise on Burnout

The MedMotion Trial on Community Building Through Virtual, Team-Based Exercise and Affects on Physician and Trainee Burnout: A Randomized, Controlled, Multi-Center Trial

This study is a randomized controlled trial that will look at whether virtual, team-based exercise improves burnout, sense of community, and mentorship connections among medical students, residents, fellows, and physicians.

Participants will be randomized to either a control group or an intervention group. The intervention group will be further randomized onto teams that will exercise for 3 months. All exercise (including walking, biking, lifting, yoga, and 40+ exercises) will be tracked via user's smartwatches (ie Apple, Garmin), smartphone fitness apps (ie MapMyRun), or manual upload, converted into Metabolic Equivalent of a Task (MET) minutes, and displayed on online leaderboards. Group activities will be encouraged by awarding raffle tickets for prizes to those who submit pictures with their teammates. Primary outcomes will be burnout, sense of community, and mentorship connections, with the hypothesis that getting everyone together for this team-based exercise will improve these metrics. After 3 months, both the control and intervention group will be enrolled in 3 months of the intervention to assess secondary outcomes: long-term burnout, sense of community, and mentorship connections, as well as adherence.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Harvard Medical Students (HMS)
• Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Residents, Fellows, or Attendings

Exclusion Criteria:

• Non HMS Students or MGH Residents, Fellows, or Attendings