Retreats: Escape Rooms, Kickboxing and Climbing

40-74% of pediatric trainees experience burnout as a progressive emotional exhaustion and reduced sense of personal accomplishment1. There have been many studies showing that social groups can help mediate the negative effects of burnout 2,3. The University of Utah Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship Program has created a program for three annual wellness retreats for our eight fellows. The goal of these retreats is to spend dedicated time together outside of clinical work. Our retreats have included group activities -- such as climbing, kickboxing and attending an escape room -- after sharing a meal together. We have also found this to be an opportunity to incorporate formal debriefing for fellows with the University of Utah Resiliency Center as well as wellness teaching on topics including sleep. Feedback from the fellows this academic year have included supportive comments such as "I found it helpful to have a psychologically safe space to engage in discussion about some really difficult and emotional experiences my co-fellows are having that I was not aware of. I also was reminded what a strong and supportive community of female fellows I work with." This opportunity for community-building promotes an environment that decreases burnout, highlights the importance of accessing wellness resources during medical training, and increases the feeling of camaraderie and psychologically safe support within the fellowship program. It is our goal to continue these retreats in the coming years for all of our Pediatric Emergency Medicine fellows.