Vision Statement: We recognize the importance of supporting our physicians in caring as deeply for themselves as they care for their patients. Our goal is to cultivate a culture where wellness is a fundamental aspect of our program, particularly during the workday, by offering multiple levels of support. It is essential that our Core Values—Sacred Trust, Personal Reverence, Thoughtful Anticipation, Team Accountability, and Creative Vitality—are deeply embedded in our program.
Wellness Committee: The wellness committee will meet twice annually and will include faculty and staff. Each year, an intern will be nominated to join the wellness committee and be the well-being champion for the duration of residency.
Orientation and Education: As part of the SJRMC Internal Medicine Residency Program orientation, residents will participate in an educational series designed to promote wellness and mental health. Topics include, but are not limited to the following:
- Recognizing signs of fatigue and burnout.
- Identifying symptoms of depression, suicidal ideation, and substance misuse.
- Emphasizing the importance of seeking help when needed.
- Routine completion of self-screening questionnaire.
- How to report concerns about a co-resident or other member of the staff.
- Accessing the Employee Wellness Resources on the network.
- Understanding the resources available, including:
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
- Tips for building resilience and coping with stress.
- Direct access to the 24/7 Lifeline for emotional, mental, and substance misuse support.
Coaching: Residents will be required to meet with a coach quarterly throughout residency. The first meeting will occur during the first month of residency to establish rapport and explore the resident’s perspectives and goals. The coach will assist the resident in synthesizing feedback through residency to optimize their sense of purpose, confidence, autonomy and competence. The coach will be a professional neutral individual (not faculty).
Continuous Support: Ongoing support and reminders about wellness resources will be provided throughout the residency to ensure residents are empowered to seek help and manage their fatigue and mental health. Additionally, inclusive resident cohorts and groups are built into the program structure giving residents a platform to create their own support network within the program. These groups will foster open discussions on challenges, successes, and provide a space for residents to offer mutual support and share experiences.
Workday Culture: While our rotations and curriculum have been thoughtfully designed to optimize learning, resident hours are often long and of high intensity. However, we recognize the critical importance of creating a consistent space of inclusivity, support, and positivity allowing residents to learn and thrive. Our workday culture approach is adapted from Reframing Well-Being: Optimizing the Work and Learning Environment (HCA Healthcare GME Program).
- Curriculum Design: Our curriculum has been designed to allow dedicated time for all required activities.
- Administrative Time: Approximately every three (3) weeks on resident’s continuity clinic day, the resident will have a ½ day available as protected time to address any admin work (i.e. completing forms, finishing notes, calling patients or placing referrals).
- Amplifying Meaning: Intentional daily and weekly activities are integrated into the curriculum to foster a sense of purpose highlighting resident’s human impact.
- Identifying and Reducing Hindrance Job Demands: We will consistently work to identify both small and large issues that are impairing your work and positive learning environments and make an effort to remedy them.
- Supporting Autonomy: Autonomy is a basic psychological need and supporting it results in flourishing while ignoring or thwarting it results in distress. Autonomy is NOT the lack of supervision; it is when one feels they have true decision latitude. We will work to consistently support resident autonomy.
- Supporting Belonging: Belonging is a basic psychological need. It includes warm and close relationships with people you care about; feeling understood and accepted; feeling part of a community, team or group; and giving and receiving support. We will work to identify threats to belonging through the wellness committee and actively support belonging through a number of activities.
Wellness Didactics: Various didactic sessions will be based on different topics related to the above components of work-place wellness, burnout, fatigue mitigation, staying connected, mindfulness, and/or resilience among more topics.
Monthly Self-Screening: Residents will receive an email link with a reminder to complete the 7-question self-screening questionnaire at: https://app.mywellbeingindex.org/assess the first day of every month to complete a Wellbeing Assessment as an intentional reminder for residents to tune into their mental well-being.
Anonymous Reporting: Posted signage in the residency building with a QR code will link an anonymous reporting tool. All residents and faculty will be encouraged to report concerns with the intent of offering non-punitive support to those in need.
Quarterly Guided Debriefs: Residents will have designated time to meet with the Chaplain quarterly for guided debriefs for discussion of difficult patients, experiences and challenges during residency.
Intern Night: One night provided for all interns to have the night off and network with each other outside of the hospital at least twice yearly.
Rest and Refresh Spaces: In addition to the on-call rooms in the Residency Program building and San Juan Regional Medical Center Hospital, residents will be introduced to “sacred spaces” at and near the hospital where they find a quiet oasis to rest, meditate and recharge during their training.
Service Animals: Scheduled bimonthly visits from the Volunteer Service Animal group at the residency building.
Annual Retreat: Our Residents and Faculty will gather at an off-campus location to enjoy an team-building activities, games and opportunities to learn more about each other.
Benefits Presentation: Provided during the first day of orientation, an expert of residents’ benefits will be available to provide an overview and answer questions. Residents will be provided with a list of in-network primary care, dental and mental health providers.
Semi-Annual Afternoons off for Appointments: Select dedicated dates for residents to schedule self-care appointments for their own physical and mental health. This time can be used to see their doctors, visit the dentist, or allow a mental health day.
Counseling: Residents will have access to confidential mental health support with a licensed mental health counselor through Jasper and Associates and Health Advocate/UNUM.
Gym Access: Discounted gym memberships are available with the following businesses: Anytime Fitness, Defined Fitness, San Juan College Health and Human Performance Center, City of Bloomfield Recreation and 24/7 Fitness Center
Farmington Events Calendar: Farmington Civic Center has a range of free or low-cost concerts, shows and events that happen each month.
