Small Steps for Big Change: An Innovative Approach to Enhance Subjective Well-Being of Residents

Course Overview

Residency training is unarguably one of the most difficult and challenging experiences of life. While many programs have specific, individual wellness activities and some have longitudinal approaches, many programs do not have a formalized curriculum dealing with resiliency and wellness. Quality improvement projects done by residents demonstrated concerning signs of burnout in the residency program. In last five years, the presenters have been able to turn around the culture of program through implementation of individual and peer network-based activities in a longitudinal format utilizing the existing resources and structure of the residency. This innovative approach does not additional time commitment for the residents and there are no scheduling challenges as all initiatives 'piggyback' onto the normal workday. This ongoing program aimed at engaging residents, individually and in their trainee community, has led to an improved sense of well-being and increased sense of community at the institution. The success of the interventions and resident feedback has also led to initiation of one-to-one opt out wellness sessions for all incoming interns at the institution. In this webinar, the presenters will discuss the wellness journey and the challenges aced during this process; presenters will describe each intervention implemented as well as its rationale, successes, and failures. The webinar will include handouts of the tools and specific takeaways that other programs can easily implement at their institution.

Speakers

• Vandana Nagpal, MD
• Ami Patel, MD
• Sean Bowden, MD