Date of Graduation

12-2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education in Human Resource and Workforce Development (EdD)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Counseling, Leadership, and Research Methods

Advisor/Mentor

Maddox, Jim

Committee Member

Grover, Kenda Shea

Second Committee Member

Samuels, Mandel

Keywords

Burnout; Conservation of resources theory; Graduate medical education; Job demands-resource theory; Leaderhip; Organizational culture

Abstract

This phenomenological study examined the lived experience of working as a graduate medical education (GME) program coordinator to determine how organizational culture impacts their burnout. The study was guided by the Job Demand-Resource Theory and the Conservation of Resources theory. When job demands outweigh job resources for an individual for a long period of time, it can result in burnout. Job resources can be used to buffer against demands and promote job growth, engagement, and learning. It is this concept which leads individuals to protect their resources when needed and to strive to develop new resources. Data was collected through nine focus groups conducted on Zoom with a total of 40 participants. Participants were program coordinators from a range of training programs and work within large and small institutions across the United States. The data was analyzed through a qualitative process to uncover emergent themes related to organizational culture and burnout. The first emergent theme from this study consisted of how organizational culture impacted the level of burnout among the research participants. A second theme was how leadership plays a central role in the culture of an organization and has profound impacts on the level of burnout experienced by the participants. Research participants described their methods of responding to increased job demands and methods of conserving their resources. The results of this study reinforce the role that Human Resource Development (HRD) plays in the creation and sustainability of positive organizational cultures through effective leadership development and the creation of supportive workplaces. Additionally, the results can inform GME leadership of their role in fostering a positive workplace culture by recognizing the significance of the program coordinator role as well as giving it equal standing with faculty and trainees. Finally, implications for the role of the accreditation body overseeing residency and fellowship training programs are discussed with a goal of improving the working experience of program coordinators through enhanced guidance and requirements provided to sponsoring institutions and programs. Implications for future research are to study subcultures and their influence on burnout within GME given that participants described different cultures across medical specialties.

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