Abstract / Summary
Objective: Radiology residents are essential healthcare personnel resources in clinical settings. This study aimed to test the mediating role of psychological resilience and burnout in the association between physical exercise frequency and perceived competency among radiology residents in China. Methods: In this online cross-sectional survey, data were collected from December 1, 2020 to April 30, 2021. All the radiology residents from 31 provinces in China were targeted. Path analysis was performed to estimate the mediation effect of resilience and burnout on the association between physical exercise frequency and perceived competency. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 28.0 and Mplus 7.4 software. Results: The overall response rate of this survey was 30% (3666/12,208). Among the 3666 effectively responding radiology residents, the mean age was 27.3 years (SD = 2.6) and 42.0% were males. 78.9% of them engaged in physical exercise less than twice per month. The mean score of the perceived competency was 28.1 (SD = 13.1). The path analysis showed that radiology residents with a higher frequency of physical exercise reported more resilience and less burnout, which were in turn associated with a higher level of perceived competency ( p < 0.001). Conclusions: The large-scale study revealed that physical exercise was associated with higher perceived competency among radiology residents in China, and that this association may be mediated by greater resilience and lower levels of burnout. Interventions aimed at enhancing the perceived competency of resident physicians should focus on promoting their health lifestyles and psychological well-being.