IM Well: Wellness Programming for Residents

IM-Well: Putting resident well-being first

Residency is an inherently stressful time, and the transition from medical student to intern can be an especially stressful event. While you are working hard to ensure that you develop the necessary knowledge and technical skills for excellence, the IM-Well program is working hard to support your professional, emotional, physical and social well-being. We believe it is important to advocate for changes in the healthcare system and our healthcare culture to maximize physician wellbeing.

IM-Well program resources are designed to specifically help residents:

• Maintain compassion for others and self
• Maintain a sense of purpose, meaning, and joy of practice
• Develop resiliency skills and professional fulfillment
• Develop habits of healthy living and self-care

Activities in the curriculum specifically focused on this mission include dedicated conferences, workshops, retreats, communication training in a skills lab, as well as the Leadership Management Training Program.

IM-Well Program: Drivers of Wellbeing in Medicine

• Culture:
• System:
• Professional wellbeing
• Personal wellbeing

A sampling of our wellness initiatives

The list below highlights a few of the initiatives that have been offered with a focus on building community, mitigating stress and supporting the wellness of our residents.

• IM Residency Wellness Champions Committee: Supported by the wellness chiefs, faculty lead, and IM program coordinators but functions as a resident-run social committee! A rising chief runs this committee with a group of residents from every year volunteering to organize at least one event each month, creating a wealth of diverse events across the calendar year
• Peer Coaching: an opportunity for residents at all levels to receive coaching by a peer resident tailored to their unique needs. This provides opportunity for residents to learn these coaching skills under the direction of chief resident and faculty leads.
• Half day professional well-being workshops for interns during the first quarter, focusing on professional fulfillment, meaning and purpose.
• Full day well-being retreats for each resident class emphasizing community building and touching on a variety of wellness topics, from financial wellness to understanding communication styles and skills needed for conflict management to the connection between nutrition, physical health and cognitive well-being.
• Educational conferences focusing on financial well-being, sleep hygiene, mental health resources, and analysis of medical errors
• Social events organized by interns, residents, and faculty including skiing, curling, and other outdoor activities!
• Opportunities for volunteerism and community work, including Walk with a Doc, free clinic volunteering, and Pelotonia to name a few!
• Wellness check-ins during PGY1 with an assigned program director and a counselor through the employee assistance program.