Resident Wellness
Wellness Initiatives
Wellness Committee
The department recognizes the importance of physical health and emotional well-being among our trainees, particularly in light of recent global health challenges and broader socio-political crises. Healthcare workers experience high levels of stress, necessitating a comprehensive approach to employee wellness. This makes it crucial that we provide some balance to our trainees in the form of activities that foster teamwork, comradery, enjoyment, relaxation and promotion of physical health. Under the guidance of Dr. Scott Zimmer, Director of Wellness, our wellness events are conducted both in person and virtually and include exercise classes, yoga sessions, happy hours, hobby and book clubs, sporting events, shared outdoors activities and more. We also have peer support programs to offer personal guidance and compassionate listening to trainees experiencing stress and distress from difficult clinical outcomes. We are dedicated to the physical and emotional wellbeing of our trainees, as well as all of our clinical and administrative staff. One current that runs through many comments from our trainees is how much they enjoy each other’s company and enjoy the sense of teamwork, support and collaboration we strive to foster in our program. We are proud of the positive culture that we promote for both our trainees and all our employees.
Our department makes wellness a priority; it has committed a tremendous number of resources and energy towards developing a robust wellness program that is dedicated to the health and well-being of all members of the anesthesia department. This extends to peer support, adverse event counseling, fitness initiatives, healthy snacks, and fun after work events.
There is both a department-wide division of Wellness as well as a resident-specific Wellness Committee. The Director of Anesthesia Wellness leads these efforts, with the assistance of resident-selected Wellness Chairs. The goals of these groups are to not only foster a sense of community by organizing social events, but also to provide an infrastructure of support for the challenges that we may face.
Our community building events have included an Anesthesia Family Day, which brought family and friends of department members to the hospital to see an experience the work lives of their loved ones and monthly happy hours that include complimentary appetizers and drinks at our favorite local watering hole. The Resident Wellness Committee, with department financial support, organizes numerous events throughout the year. The Wellness division has a mission to strengthen our ties as an anesthesia family inside and outside of the hospital through healthy initiatives, inclusiveness, community events, and a culture of support. We continue to expand the breadth of these services and incorporate all members of the department.
We support our colleagues following difficult days and traumatic events as an important step in combating clinician burnout. We have increased the number of trained peer supporters and have developed a system to promptly reach out to colleagues in need and provide longitudinal support. This has created a culture of empathy and mutual respect to help cope with the daily stress and tribulations of work in a healthcare environment. A career in anesthesia inherently involves stressful moments and adverse outcomes and we pride ourselves in immediate outreach and unconditional support after these difficult moments. We think of our department as a family and pride ourselves in a culture of kindness and openness.
The Wellness division has a mission to strengthen our ties as an anesthesia family inside and outside of the hospital through healthy initiatives, inclusiveness, community events, and a culture of support. We continue to expand the breadth of these services and incorporate all members of the department.