Emergency Medicine

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Wellness Committee

The UMMC Department of Emergency Medicine has established a wellness committee to promote the wellness of its residents through a multifaceted approach that includes education, social programming, mentorship, and organization-directed interventions.

Objectives

  • Designing customized interventions that meet the needs of UMMC Emergency Medicine residents;
  • Providing psychological, physical, social, and professional wellness education;
  • Developing a peer support network for the residents;
  • Identifying factors that contribute to resident stress and burnout; and 
  • Developing strategies to help residents find increased meaning in their daily work.

Residents and faculty learn abou the city - and each other - during a group during a downtown Jackson scavenger hunt

Strategies

  • Conducting brainstorming sessions and administer anonymous surveys to collect data from residents about ways to improve resident wellness and the learning environment;
  • Developing a wellness curriculum that includes traditional lectures (depression, substance use), faculty panels (sleep, work-life balance), guest speakers (financial health), and experiential exercises (yoga, mindfulness); 
  • Providing residents with access to mental health self-assessment tools;
  • Monitoring residents; mental health through a yearly anonymous survey; 
  • Utilizing a mentor program for incoming residents to be paired with upper-level residents; 
  • Scheduling and encouraging participation in wellness events and social activities; 
  • Implementing projects designed to improve the meaning residents find in their daily work, and; 
  • Advocating for changes in the learning environment that will improve resident well-being without compromising patient care or education.