Kyra Reed, Geoff Hays, Heather Keller, and Kyle Yoder, School of Medicine
Principal Investigator: Kyra Reed, assistant professor of clinical emergency medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine
Co-Principal Investigator(s): Geoff Hays, assistant program director; Heather Kelker, assistant professor of clinical emergency medicine and pediatrics; and Kyle Yoder, chief, Division of Global Emergency Medicine, Assistant Professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine
Project Title: A Novel Wellness and Mental Health Curriculum for Emergency Medicine Residents
DEI Focus
Funding Level: $5,000
Abstract: Residency training is a formative period, ultimately laying the foundation for habits that impact careers long-term. Training is rigorous, with burnout rates as high as 65%. The Accreditation Council for Medical Education (ACGME) mandated that residency training programs address resident well-being, but no agreed upon standards exist to follow, likely due to lack of known effective intervention strategies. Currently, residents must seek resources on their own, which is challenging due to barriers including stigma, work hours, and time constraints. Furthermore, when residents do not feel part of an inclusive and representative environment, yet another layer of complexity for engaging in resources is added, creating inequity. This novel wellness and mental health curriculum for emergency medicine residents fills a need by implementing a standardized approach to the multi-factorial and often nebulous concept that is wellness by removing barriers to mental health resources, normalizing the challenging emotional experiences of residency training, and addressing inequities in the current wellness paradigm at the graduate medical education (GME) level. The year-round, longitudinal curriculum will consist of integrated opt-out counseling sessions, peer support groups, and standardized didactics. Periodic, formative evaluations and summative year-end data will be gathered. A work group will review data regularly and implement a “Wellness and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” checklist to intentionally ensure strategies are inclusive and representative, as this is crucial to wellness of the individual, program, and patients served. Furthermore, adding to the body of wellness literature will be vital for programs to reference when creating effective wellness curriculums.
