Wellness

Our leadership intimately understands the inherent hardships that come with residency and, as such, intentionally prioritizes resident wellness in designing our Med-Peds program. Our wellness is rooted in our strong sense of community, with residents, alumni, and faculty showing a mutual dedication to each other’s success both within and outside of the academic setting. We believe that protecting “wellness” should take a holistic approach – one that provides residents the space to celebrate moments of joy, companionship in navigating life’s difficulties, time to care for oneself and loved ones, and opportunities for rest, recovery, and reflection whenever possible. In addition to the initiatives led by the categorical programs, here are a few of the ways we support each other throughout our training:

Wellness Committee: This committee, led by one of our chief residents, carries out the above “wellness” mission statement with an emphasis on important topics including resident mental health, provider burnout, and imposter syndrome. They inform curricular changes such as incorporating reflective writing sessions or even afternoon program hikes during Academic Half Day didactics. They are tasked with organizing the annual Med-Peds retreat – a protected time for community-building and personal recovery – as well as smaller monthly/quarterly social events throughout the year. This committee is often the first to recognize when residents are in times of need and, after doing so, collaborates with leadership on certain initiatives to offer support (ex. meal trains, fundraisers, schedule swaps to accommodate family emergencies, etc.).

Protected Time: Our leadership understands that protected times for personal wellness are necessary in raising well-rounded, healthy residents. They reevaluate our clinical schedules annually and attempt to organize rotations to allow for moments of reprieve after difficult months; this also includes prioritizing scheduling requests to allow residents to attend important life events. Interns are scheduled opt-out mental health and primary care physician appointments and are given mornings/afternoons off to attend them, should they desire. Our clinic months also have some protected half-days that could be used for personal or academic interests. 

Med-Peds Family System: We group residents into four “families” with a resident from each class to create microcosms of support within our already tight-knit community. These families serve as sources of camaraderie and mentorship within which residents early in training can look to their experienced peers for advice on clinical, academic, or personal success. Each family also shares a panel of patients in our resident clinic and will help each other triage our clinic inboxes throughout residency.

Transition Dinner: An annual tradition where residents will meet for dinner before the interns’ first switch between Peds and Internal Medicine. This is a great opportunity for them to learn about the unique intricacies of each categorical program as well as gain tips for success on specific rotations (and is our favorite excuse to eat good food with good people!).   

Threshold Rounds: An initiative developed by our residents that serves to debrief times during which we have been challenged and pushed to our personal “thresholds”. These are moments of social gathering centered on intentional listening activities and reflective responses from our peers, intended to guide each other through patient losses, challenging work dynamics, or times of perceived “failures”. This year, we hope to incorporate Threshold Rounds into our Academic Half Days as part of our wellness curriculum.  

Med-Peds Parent Shared Resources & Events: Our residency program has wonderfully supported several resident-parents throughout our years who have developed a dynamic online guide with specific resources such as available childcare providers and local family-centered activities. We also avidly welcome significant others and children to all of our Med-Peds social gatherings and eagerly incorporate them into our community.

Other resources

• Wellness in the Department of Medicine
• Resident Wellness