The COMET Study: a Prospective COhort of MEdical residenTs to Assess Professional, Personal and Psychological Trajectories of Residents in General Internal Medicine

Recruiting now

Conditions studied: Burnout Syndrome, Depression Disorder, Insomnia, Perceived Stress, Fatigue Symptom, Empathy

In brief

Introduction. Switzerland, like most Western countries, faces a paradox: an ageing, multimorbid population needs general internal medicine (GIM) physicians more than ever, yet fewer young doctors choose - and stay in - the specialty. Career decisions during residency are intertwined with well-being, mental and physical health, and work-life balance, and distress in training has been associated with depression, burnout, attrition and poorer patient care. Longitudinal data following GIM residents across these domains, and linking them to actual career trajectories, are lacking. The COMET study establishes a multicentre prospective cohort of GIM residents to fill this gap. Methods and analysis. COMET is a prospective, open, multicentre cohort conducted in the departments of (general) internal medicine of Fribourg Hospital (HFR, four sites), Bern University Hospital (Inselspital) and Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV). All GIM residents providing direct patient care are eligible (≈334 residents; expected enrolment ≥267, assuming 80% participation). Participants complete an annual online survey (REDCap; French or German) at baseline and for at least four years, covering sociodemographics; job characteristics; career intentions and 24 factors for or against a GIM career; well-being (Physician Well-Being Index, Professional Fulfillment Index, quality of life, work-life balance); mental health (CES-D, Perceived Stress Scale, Maslach Burnout Inventory, Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy); and physical health (step counts, physical activity, fatigue, sleep, healthcare utilisation). Primary endpoints are the longitudinal course of well-being and distress (PWBI, PFI, CES-D) and residents' career trajectory. Analyses combine descriptive statistics, mixed-effects and regression models, and comparisons with the population-based CoLaus\|PsyCoLaus cohort.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT07707453

Run by

University of Fribourg

People needed

800

Starts

2025-08-01

Expected to finish

2031-12-31

Last updated by the study team

2026-07-16

Who can join

Age: any. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Resident physician in general internal medicine employed at a participating study site or annex centre during the recruitment period Written informed consent

You may not qualify if…

• Not providing direct patient care Severe mental or physical condition precluding informed consent or compliance with the protocol

Where it is running

• Inselspital - University Hospital — Bern, Switzerland (enrolling)
• HFR - Hôpital Cantonal — Fribourg, Switzerland (enrolling)
• CHUV - University Hospital — Lausanne, Switzerland (enrolling)

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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