Participatory interest groups and the development of residency support networks

Seventeen second-year residents were invited into four participatory interest groups with faculty during a seven-month program. Resident and resident-faculty networks for clinical advice, educational advice, and personal support were measured before and after; active participants showed selected wellbeing and tie gains. The design connects participatory organizational work with distinct support relations and illustrates how network measures can reveal whether a program broadens access to advice rather than only whether attendees liked it.

Seven residents and six faculty were active in the groups; active residents improved on personal accomplishment and learning-environment measures, and active faculty developed more ties, while several network changes were uneven. The program involved 17 residents without a control group, participation was self-selected, only a subset remained active, and faculty and resident exposure varied. Small samples and concurrent changes prevent causal attribution, while nomination counts do not measure advice quality.