Physician burnout has become an epidemic of sorts. Neurologists have the third highest burnout rate of all specialties; over half of US neurologists report at least 1 symptom of burnout. Efforts to address burnout in training programs have mostly been aimed at implementing wellness curriculums and offering mental health resources. Training neurology residents to effectively identify, address, and help impaired colleagues is equally crucial in these efforts, yet there is a paucity of literature on this topic.

We developed an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) in our simulation center that focused on identifying and addressing an impaired colleague. Each first year neurology resident in our program (N=17) interacted with a standardized professional (SP) who played the role of a depressed co-resident who was abusing alcohol. Each resident received verbal feedback from a faculty observer and written feedback from the SP regarding their ability to identify depression, inquire about substance use and suicidality, and suggest resources to address the impaired resident. Finally, residents were surveyed about their experience.