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

NCT07707453 · Status: RECRUITING · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 800

Last updated 2026-07-16

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

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.

Conditions

  • Burnout Syndrome
  • Depression Disorder
  • Insomnia
  • Perceived Stress
  • Fatigue Symptom
  • Empathy

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Insel Gruppe AG, University Hospital Bern

    collaborator OTHER

  • Hôpital Fribourgeois

    collaborator OTHER

  • University of Lausanne Hospitals

    collaborator OTHER

  • University of Fribourg

    lead OTHER

Eligibility

Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2025-08-01
Primary Completion
2026-12-31
Completion
2031-12-31

Countries

  • Switzerland

Study Locations

More Related Trials

Entities

Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT07707453 on ClinicalTrials.gov