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Commensality Groups: A Professional Fulfillment Intervention for Medical Students in Their Clinical Years
NCT06656650 · View on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
Study Summary
Medical students are at high risk for burnout, depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation and substance use disorder with burnout seen as a mitigating factor for suicidal ideation. Help-seeking among medical students suffering from burnout is only 30%. The highest rates of burnout among medical students is at the end of their clinical rotations, with estimates of up to 60%. "Commensality groups" have been found to significantly reduce burnout and improve meaning in work by creating opportunity for connection and collegiality among physicians. These groups consist of providing a reimbursed monthly meal with structured questions that generate conversation for the first 15 minutes with 6-8 participants meeting monthly, for six months. Physician participants in Commensality groups maintain these gains one year later. The investigators propose to apply the model of Commensality groups to medical students who are launching into their experience clinical practice, and have been on clinical rotations for at least 4 months. The investigators will form randomly assigned groups of 6-8 medical students with 1 resident leader. The resident leader role has been added to encourage compliance with the standardized discussion questions and to avoid the potential negative impact of a "venting" session. The overall intention of this study is to explore whether Commensality groups can increase well-being for medical students in their clerkship years, as it has previously been shown to do for residents and physicians.
Conditions Studied
Interventions
- BEHAVIORAL Commensality groups
Study Locations (1)
California
- Keck School of Medicine — Los Angeles
Trial Details
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Enrollment Target | 80 participants |
| Start Date | 2025-01-15 |
| Est. Completion | 2026-02-15 |
| Phase | NA |
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Full Details on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗What the Registry Record Tells You About NCT06656650
The ClinicalTrials.gov registry entry for NCT06656650 describes a study currently listed as active not recruiting. It is categorized as NA, which is the standard way researchers label where a study sits along the investigational pathway from early safety work through later efficacy and post-marketing evaluation. The registered enrollment target is 80 participants, a figure that helps gauge the scale of data the investigators plan to collect. The listed sponsor is University of Southern California, which has 412 total studies on file at ClinicalTrials.gov, and sponsors are the parties responsible for study design, oversight, and regulatory filings.
The record links to 3 conditions, with Burnout appearing as the primary indexed condition, and to 1 intervention — of which Commensality groups is the first listed. Interventions can include drugs, devices, procedures, behavioral programs, or observational arms, and each is tracked as a separate registry field so that downstream queries can filter accurately. When a trial lists multiple interventions, it usually reflects a multi-arm design or a comparison protocol rather than a single treatment being tested in isolation. The brief summary published in the registry is the clearest source of protocol intent and should be read before drawing conclusions from any sidebar tags.
Geographic footprint matters for practical reasons: NCT06656650 reports 1 study location spanning 1 distinct geographic area — top geographies include California. A larger site network tends to correlate with broader recruitment capacity, but it does not imply anything about study quality, and site-level enrollment status can diverge from the overall registry status shown above. Every data point on this page comes from the public ClinicalTrials.gov dataset and is reproduced here for reference only; it is not a medical recommendation, an endorsement of the sponsor, or an invitation to enroll. Verify current status, eligibility criteria, and contact details directly at ClinicalTrials.gov, and discuss any participation decision with your own healthcare provider.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is clinical trial NCT06656650 about?
NCT06656650 is a clinical study titled "Commensality Groups: A Professional Fulfillment Intervention for Medical Students in Their Clinical Years". Medical students are at high risk for burnout, depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation and substance use disorder with burnout seen as a mitigating factor for suicidal ideation. Help-seeking among medical students suffering from burnout is only 30%. The highest rates of burnout among medical students...
What is the current status of trial NCT06656650?
This trial is currently active not recruiting. It is a NA study. The enrollment target is 80 participants. The study started on 2025-01-15. Estimated completion is 2026-02-15.
What conditions does trial NCT06656650 study?
This clinical trial studies the following conditions: Burnout, Social Isolation or Loneliness, Professional Fulfillment. These conditions were identified from the trial registry and reflect the primary focus areas of the research.
What interventions are being tested in trial NCT06656650?
The interventions under investigation include: Commensality groups (BEHAVIORAL). Each intervention is being evaluated for safety and efficacy as part of this clinical study.
Who is sponsoring clinical trial NCT06656650?
This trial is sponsored by University of Southern California, which has 412 total clinical trials registered on ClinicalTrials.gov. The sponsor is responsible for the study's design, funding, and regulatory compliance.
Where is trial NCT06656650 being conducted?
This trial has 1 study location across California. Contact the study sites directly through ClinicalTrials.gov for enrollment availability.
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