PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Aisling Higham
AU  - Sophie Behrman
AU  - Haido Vlachos
AU  - Heidi Lightfoot
AU  - Richard Stevens
AU  - Gerti Stegen
TI  - Let's embed peer-support groups into the medical curriculum for all
AID  - 10.7861/fhj.2021-0041
DP  - 2021 Nov 01
TA  - Future Healthcare Journal
PG  - e692--e694
VI  - 8
IP  - 3
4099  - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/8/3/e692.short
4100  - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/8/3/e692.full
SO  - Future Healthc J2021 Nov 01; 8
AB  - Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, attending to the mental wellbeing of all doctors was high on the political agenda. The quality of patient care is also known to be related to doctors’ wellbeing. Now, in the midst of a global pandemic, doctors are having to cope with ever more trauma and moral injury. Group-based peer support and regular reflective practice are interventions known to reduce clinician burnout and optimise wellbeing.Junior doctors are the most likely of all medical groups to be at a high risk of burnout. The NHS Staff and Learners’ Mental Wellbeing Commission report advocates establishing explicit peer support mechanisms and the use of peer support as part of the first line of psychological first aid.Peer support is not addressed in the curriculum for the majority of medical specialties. We recommend that regular peer-support reflective groups are provided during protected time for all trainees.