2024 SAEMF Education Research Training Grant - $100,000
"The Resident Unionization Study: A Qualitative Analysis of Drivers and Outcomes"
Resident physician burnout has reached epidemic proportions over the last decade in U.S. medical education with a prevalence near or exceeding 50%, and emergency medicine ranks highest in physician burnout amongst all medical specialties. Simultaneously, we are witnessing residents organizing through labor unions at an unprecedented rate, with membership nearly doubling in the past two years. The underlying reasons for this trend are unclear, however, popular media hypothesizes that this is in response to rising physician burnout and its collateral effects. This project will be the first study to examine the underlying motivations and drivers of resident unionization, and has the potential to provide new insights regarding resident burnout. It can also help identify discordance between residents and leadership perspectives, elucidating new targets for collaboration towards better systems-level interventions to improve U.S. medical training and reduce resident burnout, which threatens the health of our specialty and profession at large.
Recipient
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Vytas P. Karalius, MD, MPH, MA
Stanford University
"The Resident Unionization Study: A Qualitative Analysis of Drivers and Outcomes"
Dr. Karalius is an Assistant Program Director and is completing his Medical Education Scholarship Fellowship at Stanford University’s Department of Emergency Medicine. He earned his medical degree from the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine and completed his emergency medicine residency at Northwestern University. He also holds a Master of Public Health and a Master of Medical Sciences from Loyola University.
Dr. Karalius also continues to serve as a faculty member for the Harvard Macy Institute Program for Educators in the Health Professions, and recently awarded the Exceptional Faculty designation. As a former SAEM RAMS Board member, Dr. Karalius continues to be involved with SAEM and is a member of the SAEM Education Committee, SAEM Wellness Committee, and SAEM Equity & Inclusion Committee.
Dr. Karalius’ primary focus is on graduate medical education, physician/trainee wellness and workforce attrition. He was recently awared the SAEMF Education Research Training Grant in 2024, for his work focusing on resident unionization as it relates to trainee well-being. He is involved in numerous projects and sitting on numerous department, institutional and national committees focused on wellness and medical education, including the Diversity Advisory Group at Stanford, School of Medicine Admissions Committee, and SAEM. Dr. Karalius has co-authored articles for peer-reviewed publications such as Annals of Emergency Medicine and Journal of Graduate Medical Education. He also has contributed to numerous online publications and podcasts, including articles, podcasts and national webinars on education and physician/trainee wellbeing.