Wellness Initiatives within the PM&R Residency Program

Resident burnout is a significant concern in the medical field and addressing burnout requires a multi-faceted approach. In the PM&R department, we have a dedicated team of residents who help promote wellness utilizing an interdisciplinary approach with support from the GME Wellness Initiative Grant. Using these funds, we implemented a guided wellness curriculum into our program, both in and out of workplace settings. We recruited experts for guided wellness-based group discussions and fostered team-based restorative activities. Outside of work, we have hosted fellowship-building events and community-based volunteering opportunities. Through our efforts, we found that the guided wellness curriculum, fellowship and community-based volunteering, and team-based and restorative activities all promote comradery, improve work-life balance, and provide a space for mental health support within our residency program.

Wellness Initiatives within the PM&R Residency Program 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 Arianna Lanpher, DO , Dalton Brady, MD , Jason Mascoe, MD, Pamela Hansen, MD, Rob Davies PhD , Katie Stiel LCSW , Amy Armstrong 1Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Utah Health, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; 2 Department of Graduate Medical Education ,University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA Action: Purpose: • Resident burnout is a significant concern in the medical field, affecting up to an estimated 82% of trainees. • Burnout is shown to have profound negative effects on job & life satisfaction, workplace morale, patient satisfaction, and patient safety measures. Initiative: • Recruited experts for guided wellness-based group discussions and restorative activities. • Hosted non-workplace fellowship building events, cultural experiences, seasonal cook-offs, and community based volunteering opportunities. Future: • We plan to continue to use a multidisciplinary approach to expand upon past activities and perpetually foster wellness and combat burnout within our residency program. Outcome: • Organize a committee of residents within the PM&R residency program who are dedicated to promoting trainee wellness. • Utilize this committee to promote wellness using an interdisciplinary approach with aid from the GME Wellness Initiative Grant. • Implement a guided wellness curriculum in both workplace and non-workplace settings. • We found that guided wellness sessions with experts were reported to be mentally and emotionally restorative for residents. • Fellowship building events, culturual experiences, and volunteering opportunities were all reported to help improve the comradery, mental health, and quality of work-life balance for residents within our program. Above are images from different activities from our wellness initiative including a seasonal chili cook-off (top left), a work sponsored team-building ski retreat (right), and a "rage room" activity cosponsored with our EDI committee in solidarity with Juneteenth (bottom left). Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation