Background characteristics and burnout of Japanese resident physicians who did and did not share voluntary clinical cases

Knowledge on case sharing among healthcare professionals, its determinants, and its association with clinical competence and burnout among Japanese resident physicians remains limited. We compared background characteristics between resident physicians who did and who did not share voluntary their own clinical cases and examined the associations between case sharing with burnout and clinical competence—based on the General Medicine In-Training Examination [GM-ITE®] score. The presence or absence of case sharing was assessed using a questionnaire item, asking, “Do you share your own clinical cases with resident colleagues for learning or educational purposes?” Participants responded YES or NO. Of the 6,063 resident physicians, 4,635 (76.4%) reported sharing their cases. The case-sharing group tended to be women and had more emergency department duties and longer daily study times. The overall burnout prevalence was 1.7% and was significantly lower in the case-sharing group; furthermore, GM-ITE® scores were higher in the case-sharing group. Case sharing was common among resident physicians and was associated with lower burnout prevalence and higher GM-ITE® scores. Residents who engaged in case sharing also reported greater clinical and educational engagement. While causal relationships cannot be inferred, these findings highlight the potential relevance of informal peer-to-peer case sharing during residency training.