Elevating Residency Retreats: Incorporating Core Skill-Building and Inclusivity during Professional Identity Transitions

Looking for an easy-to-implement way to bolster community, build skills, and have fun at the same time? This workshop is an opportunity for program leaders to build a framework to develop dedicated leadership retreats in their residency educational curriculum targeted at core skill-building and creating an equitable and inclusive work environment during trainee professional transitions. Presenters will use the example of a large academic internal medicine residency program to demonstrate the vision, structure, logistics, and learning goals for retreats focused on various stages of transition within the residency program, using examples of retreats already embedded into the curriculum, including the R1 Leadership Retreat, the R2 Retreat, the Chief Resident Retreat, the Women in Leadership Development Retreat, and the Anti-Racism Retreat. After a brief description of program retreats, participants will break into groups to envision individual retreats by focusing on brainstorming core skills relevant to each transition, mapped to specific learning objectives and interactive activities. Presenters will identify how retreats can incorporate a lens of equity and inclusion to equip learners with the tools they need not only to thrive in their new role but also to create an inclusive teaching environment. The group will brainstorm solutions to barriers identified and have ample opportunity for questions. Workshop participants will walk away with tools to design or enhance their own mini-retreats for specific residency groups within their programs.