Wellness

Committed to Wellness

Our residents and faculty have developed a wellness curriculum to face the unique challenges in emergency medicine training. We substantiate wellness by incorporating it into regular, dedicated conference time. Our wellness activities focus on service, resiliency, and career development and mature each yearwith feedback and creative ideas to support and empower our residents. Our wellness approach equips residents with the tools to thrive in training and sustain long-term careers in emergency medicine.

Health Lifestyles, Career Development, and Community Service

Meaningful wellness initiatives must be resident-driven—who better to identify and shape what wellness should look like than the residents themselves? In 2018, we formally launched our Departmental Wellness Committee, built from the ground up with input from both residents and faculty. This committee is now supported by a robust annual departmental budget.

Since then, the committee has grown and continues to play an active role in planning wellness activities and curriculum throughout the year. We recently added an elected chief resident position specifically focused on wellness—highlighting our ongoing commitment to supporting our team. Every 5th Thursday conference day is dedicated to our wellness curriculum. Our wellness pillars are: healthy lifestyles, career development, and service.

Our wellness efforts extend beyond our department and into our community. In August 2018, we held our first service day at Jewish Vocational Services, assembling furniture for newly arrived refugee families. In May 2019, we partnered with the Kansas City Assessment and Triage Center, a local mental health crisis center, for our second service day. These events allowed us to give back while deepening our understanding of the challenges our patients face—and the resources available to them. We've since volunteered at local shelters and animal rescues that serve vulnerable members of our community. Service continues to be an essential wellness pillar for our program.

Other wellness content includes an intern wellness retreat during orientation, an intern welcome week, community EM physicians and alumni panels regarding the local job market and EM practice opportunities, book clubs, career development sessions, and financial literacy education. The Wellness Committee also leads department-wide recognition efforts through shout-outs, “Saves of the Month,” awards, and thoughtful gifts—helping ensure individuals feel seen and appreciated.

At its core, our wellness initiative is about creating a culture of positivity, inclusion, and support—one where every resident can thrive, feel valued, and build a fulfilling career in emergency medicine. Be sure to visit our curriculum section to learn more about our Wellective!

Wellness Curriculum

• Intern Welcome Week
• Intern Orientation Wellness Retreat
• Service days (Spring and Summer)
• Career workshop
• Resiliency Day
• Post in-training exam festivity
• Book club
• Healthy habits
• Mindfulness and exercise
• Miscellaneous outings, consultant mixers, gift giving, awards