Curriculum

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Objectives:

Through this curriculum, residents should be able to...

  • Identify health and wellness strategies for coping with the stresses of life as a physician
  • Describe the concepts of burnout, resiliency, and mindfulness
  • Engage in active surveillance of personal wellbeing and resiliency in order to recognize and correct burnout
  • Participate in wellness activities with the goal of self care
  • Apply the skills learned through didactics to patient care, with the goal of improving patient wellbeing
  • Practice common mindfulness and meditation techniques

Methods:

  • Discussions of wellness start at orientation.  Interns will begin with an introduction to understanding oneself during orientation through the following:
  1. Personality testing (Myers-Briggs and 5 Factor Model)
  2. Family Circles
  3. Learning styles (Kolb Learning Style Inventory and VAK Learning Style Inventory)
  4. Emotional Intelligence Assessment
  5. Character strengths assessment
  6. Mayo Clinic Wellbeing Index
  7. All interns read The Happiness Advantage prior to starting residency, a great introduction to the concept of positive psychology
  • Quarterly Thursday resident sessions during didactics devoted to wellness such as, but not limited to, interactive Pilates/Yoga sessions, nutrition discussion/activity, mindfulness/meditation sessions, and interactive didactics reviewing some of the main tenants of wellness. 
  • Wellness Committee- Resident committee (roughly 1/3 of residents on this committee) to help improve resident wellness. Their activities include ensuring the inpatient room is stocked with snacks, planning fun seasonal activities (see below), and acting as advocates for resident wellness. 
  • Wellness activities:
  1. Flying Pig Relay Teams (May), *Heart Mini Marathon/5K/10K (March)
  2. Graduation celebration/Graduation picnic with achievements/awards
  3. Resident Retreat (March)
  4. Pumpkin carving and/or bonfire in the fall (Resident Wellness Committee)
  5. Gift wrapping and cookie baking during the holidays (Resident Wellness Committee)
  • Residents will meet with a financial advisor during their intern year in order to help ease the financial stresses many residents often face
  • Balint Groups- Regular, informal meetings with faculty member during conference time to discuss difficult patients, situations, and interactions.
  • An online discussion of wellness, nutrition, and recipe sharing.  Visit us on Facebook!

     Measures and Action Steps:

    • Residents will complete a wellness self assessment (the Mayo Clinic Wellbeing Index) in the Fall and Spring to monitor burn out.
    • Residents may choose to discuss the index results with their faculty advisors at their semi-annual meetings. 
    • If overall burnout noted through results of the well being index or through feedback from the resident retreat, Faculty will work with residents to help implement a plan for addressing burnout.