Background This project was aimed at addressing junior doctors’ wellbeing in a district general hospital. It was initiated and delivered as part of a leadership initiative supported by the Wessex Deanery (Wessex Chief Resident Programme 2019–2020).

Burn out rates among doctors range between 25% and 76%. The peer to peer support interventions are designed to improve coping and resilience among doctors and breaking the burnout cycle. The aim of this project was to evaluate the effect of peer to peer support groups in junior doctors’ morale and well-being. The peer-to-peer support provision as an intervention was introduced as an adjunct to routine trainee support measures already in place, i.e., educational programme and mentoring support.

Method The peer-to-peer support meetings were organised through an opt in approach. All participants and the facilitator agreed on terms of reference for the meetings including confidentiality. Participants completed a feedback survey investigating how the sessions affected their clinical practice and well-being. No ethical approval was sought for this project as it was not considered to the needed.

Results Twenty-three junior doctors participated in 20 sessions delivered over 6 months period. 25% completed a feedback survey. One third of the participants attended more than 70% of the sessions. Most participants scored 5 or more on the Likert scale for whether the sessions have changed their: sense of well-being at work, confidence levels, communication with patients and management of difficult situations.

Recommendation This project provides further evidence that peer-to-peer support is beneficial for junior doctors’ wellbeing and morale. Positive participant feedback has encouraged other staff members to express interest in participation in a similar exercise. Dissemination plans are underway. It also provides further evidence that encouraging junior doctors to undertake leadership initiatives is transformative.