Residency is where medicine leaves the textbook and comes to life. For three to four years during residency, newly graduated physicians gain hands-on experience, learn specialized skills, and manage patients. It’s a life phase unlike any other, says UC San Francisco Director of Well Being for UCSF Graduate Medical Education, Larissa Thomas, MD, MPH.
“Residents and fellows are in a unique position of being almost equally a trainee and an employee but never treated fully as either one,” says Thomas, a hospitalist who is also a professor of Medicine. “They’re working long hours, they’re not making a ton of money — although they carry a high debt burden — and they’re learning a lot, so the cognitive load is very high.”
The load comes with a cost. About a third of medical residents nationally reported burnout in 2024, according to the latest American Medical Association survey. Gender differences are stark: About 40% of women residents were burned out — a proportion more than 10 percentage points higher than that of male peers.
To support UCSF residents, Thomas and Assistant Professor of Medicine Kendra Moore, MD, created one of the country’s first formal peer support leadership programs within Graduate Medical Education.
Each year, about a dozen residents become Peer Support Ambassadors, receiving training in peer support skills, including reflective listening, trauma-informed care, and how to access a range of campus resources. Supported by a small stipend, they serve as a university-wide resource for residents and fellows regardless of department and receive regular referrals to support peers after challenging cases.
Tag along to see how Thomas is equipping today’s young physicians for a career of success and service.
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Catching up with our amazing Peer Support Ambassadors