“It’s such a shock at the beginning”: a multispecialty qualitative interview study exploring first-year resident perspectives on the transition to residency

Abstract Purpose This study explores how new residents experienced the transition to residency, examines factors that made the transition process more or less difficult, and identifies potentially modifiable program features that enhanced or would have enhanced transition experiences. Method The authors conducted a qualitative interview study of postgraduate year (PGY) 1 residents in emergency medicine, family medicine, general surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatric and adolescent medicine, and psychiatry at Mayo Clinic sites in Arizona, Florida, Minnesota, and Wisconsin between December 2020 and March 2021. Open-ended questions explored residents’ transition experiences. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, coded inductively, and analyzed iteratively using general thematic analysis from an epistemologically constructivist perspective. Results Forty-five residents (25 women, 20 men) from 12 programs, 7 specialties, and 4 states participated. PGY-1 residents experienced the transition to residency as a confluence of overlapping and interconnected transitions that unfolded over time, spanned multiple life domains, and generated numerous personal and professional demands. Residents appraised demands based on their effects on patient care, professional growth, and personal well-being and struggled when coincident demands forced tradeoffs among these concerns. Residents who experienced many difficulties during the transition to residency reported high demands (eg, due to transition-related discontinuities, depleted resources from prior transitions or a difficult match experience, structural and systemic barriers, coincident personal or situational stressors) and/or fewer resources (eg, insufficient residency or life skills, limited social support, financial strain). Preparedness and supportive relationships eased the transition process. Residency program features that enhanced or would have enhanced the transition experience included monitoring and limiting overall demands, minimizing unhelpful and harmful demands, calibrating constructive demands, and increasing holistic support. Conclusions Study findings illuminate transition experiences of PGY-1 residents, reveal person-centered considerations to inform ongoing improvement efforts, and identify potentially actionable steps programs can take to improve resident transition experiences.