BurnoutNCT05949216
The Impact of Musical Engagement on Medical Resident Well-being
A study testing Musical engagement sessions in people with Burnout and Student Burnout, run by Conor Donnelly at 1 site in Canada.
Trial summary
It is common knowledge that music has a positive impact on human well-being. It is also well-known that medical residents are frequently stressed and burnt out. With these two thoughts in mind, the investigators want to explore how participating in a musical engagement program may positively impact medical resident… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Burnout, Student Burnout, Physical Disability
- What is being tested?
- Musical engagement sessions
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 8 participants
- Where
- 1 siteCanada
- Study dates
- 1 Aug 2023to 31 Jan 2024
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 years and older
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Participants will be residents in the Family Medicine program at McMaster University, in any year of study
- Participants may be on any rotation in their program schedule and located at any site
- Participants may be of any gender identity, age, ethnicity, and sexual orientation
- Must identify as a "musician", whether casual, professional, or somewhere in between - however, they require enough musical training so that they may comfortably participate in the planned sight reading and improvisation within the study
- Participants must be able to supply their own physical instrument for sessions
- Must be aged 18 or over
- Must be English-speaking
Who cannot join
- Potential participant may not be a resident of any other residency program, or be from a university other than McMaster
- If a participant is unable to participate in two or more musical sessions, they will not be included in this study
- If a participant is unable to complete the qualitative and quantitative survey forms in their entirety, they will not be included in this study
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
It is common knowledge that music has a positive impact on human well-being. It is also well-known that medical residents are frequently stressed and burnt out. With these two thoughts in mind, the investigators want to explore how participating in a musical engagement program may positively impact medical resident well-being. The investigators hope to do this by hosting four informal musical engagement sessions with medical residents, which will involve playing instruments, improvising, and reading sheet music. To study the impact that this program has on participants, investigators will ask participants to complete a survey. The investigators hope to find that participants are positively impacted by participation in the study, in terms of factors like stress reduction and minimized burnout symptoms. Hopefully, the study results may inform residency program curriculum designers in the future may incorporate music into wellness programming.
- Conditions
- Burnout, Student Burnout, Physical Disability, Resident Doctor, Music Therapy, Music
- Being tested
- Musical engagement sessions
- Medical subject headings
- Burnout, Psychological, Psychological Well-Being
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Musical engagement sessionsBehavioural
Musical engagement sessions will be 2 hours long and involve improvisation and sight-reading of sheet music. Participants will supply their own instrument of choice to play. There will be four sessions total.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Musical engagement sessions | Experimental | The single group of this study will participate in four musical engagement sessions as described in the intervention section. Receives: Behavioral: Musical engagement sessions |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Improvement of burnout symptoms
Participants will respond to three questionnaires - before, during, and after the study has completed. Questions will pertain to burnout symptoms and each will use a 5-point Likert scale. Options will be "strongly disagree", "disagree", "neutral", "agree", and "strongly disagree". Examples of questions include "I feel burnt out" and "I have difficulty concentrating at work". Questions will be identical between each questionnaire. By comparing answers between surveys we will be able to determine how burnout symptoms may have changed during the course of the study.
Measured: Eight weeks
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted17 Jul 2023
- Study start1 Aug 2023
- Primary completion30 Sep 2023
- Study completion31 Jan 2024
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for BurnoutStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 8 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Conor Donnelly
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor-investigator, Conor Donnelly, McMaster University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05949216
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- MRM_Study
- Status last verified
- May 2025
- First submitted
- 28 Jun 2023
- Last updated
- 9 May 2025
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 9 May 2025. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- The Impact of Musical Engagement on Medical Resident Well-being
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05949216
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- MRM_Study
- Conditions
- Burnout, Student Burnout, Physical Disability, Resident Doctor, Music Therapy, Music
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 8 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Conor DonnellyUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 1 Aug 2023 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 30 Sep 2023 (actual)
- Study completion
- 31 Jan 2024 (actual)
- First posted
- 17 Jul 2023 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
It is common knowledge that music has a positive impact on human well-being. It is also well-known that medical residents are frequently stressed and burnt out. With these two thoughts in mind, the investigators want to explore how participating in a musical engagement program may positively impact medical resident well-being. The investigators hope to do this by hosting four informal musical engagement sessions with medical residents, which will involve playing instruments, improvising, and reading sheet music. To study the impact that this program has on participants, investigators will ask participants to complete a survey. The investigators hope to find that participants are positively impacted by participation in the study, in terms of factors like stress reduction and minimized burnout symptoms. Hopefully, the study results may inform residency program curriculum designers in the future may incorporate music into wellness programming.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 1
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Musical engagement sessions | Experimental | Behavioral: Musical engagement sessionsThe single group of this study will participate in four musical engagement sessions as described in the intervention section. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (7 listed)
- Participants will be residents in the Family Medicine program at McMaster University, in any year of study
- Participants may be on any rotation in their program schedule and located at any site
- Participants may be of any gender identity, age, ethnicity, and sexual orientation
- Must identify as a "musician", whether casual, professional, or somewhere in between - however, they require enough musical training so that they may comfortably participate in the planned sight reading and improvisation within the study
- Participants must be able to supply their own physical instrument for sessions
Key exclusion criteria (3 listed)
- Potential participant may not be a resident of any other residency program, or be from a university other than McMaster
- If a participant is unable to participate in two or more musical sessions, they will not be included in this study
- If a participant is unable to complete the qualitative and quantitative survey forms in their entirety, they will not be included in this study
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Musical engagement sessionsMusical engagement sessions will be 2 hours long and involve improvisation and sight-reading of sheet music. Participants will supply their own instrument of choice to play. There will be four sessions total. | Behavioural | Musical engagement sessions |
Primary outcome
Improvement of burnout symptoms
Time frame: Eight weeks
Participants will respond to three questionnaires - before, during, and after the study has completed. Questions will pertain to burnout symptoms and each will use a 5-point Likert scale. Options will be "strongly disagree", "disagree", "neutral", "agree", and "strongly disagree". Examples of questions include "I feel burnt out" and "I have difficulty concentrating at work". Questions will be identical between each questionnaire. By comparing answers between surveys we will be able to determine how burnout symptoms may have changed during the course of the study.
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 9 May 2025.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
The record lists no contact. Use the official record to reach the sponsor.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Musical engagement sessions in people with Burnout and Student Burnout, run by Conor Donnelly at 1 site in Canada.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 7 inclusion and 3 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 9 May 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Canada. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Improvement of burnout symptoms (time frame: Eight weeks). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 9 May 2025.