In 2016, Emergency Medicine led the national charge to promote physical, mental, and emotional health of physicians. The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) promoted the first EM Wellness Week, with the goal of reminding EPs and colleagues to take time to care for themselves. This initiative continues to expand and impact EPs across the country. Last year, The ALiEM Wellness Think Tank joined forces with CanadiEM, ACEP, and Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians (CAEP). This year, we hope to raise the bar. The ALiEM Wellness Think Tank is inviting residents from ALL programs to participate in daily challenges related to wellness, and discuss it with colleagues in and outside EM.

5 Ways to Get Involved in Wellness Week 2018

1. Sign up for ACEP’s daily wellness emails.
2. Register for the ALiEM Wellness Think Tank Resilience Training for Residents program at Essentials of EM.
3. Follow ALiEM Wellness Think Tank on Twitter and participate in our daily challenges centered around the 7 spokes of the ACEP Wellness Wheel: Emotional, Physical, Occupational, Financial, Spiritual, Social, and Intellectual.
4. Check out the initiatives database for some inspiration!
5. Friday, March 16th is Match Day! Welcome the new inductees into the fold by sending them advice and words of encouragement on Twitter using the hashtag #WelcometoEM.

When?

Wellness Week runs from Sunday, March 11 through Saturday, March 17. During this week, we hope that you may be able to begin implementing lasting cultural and programmatic changes at your program or hospital. Start today!

Where?

Everywhere! Join the conversation on Twitter, using the hashtags #EMwellnessweek and #iEMwell18. Share the joy you find in your work. Spread the word about how you’re making an effort to change the culture of medicine.

Why?

As EPs, we are on the front lines of healthcare. We are called to take care of patients on what is often the worst day of their lives. We run toward crashing patients, complicated social situations, and often unbearably tragedies when most would run away. Our “office” is open 24/7/365, and no one is turned away. We are natural leaders and problem solvers. Working in EM brings the opportunity to change and save lives, but the nature of our profession puts us at high risk for burnout. As someone wise once said, “you can’t serve from an empty vessel.” We must not forget to care for ourselves.

Our jobs are hard, our lives are complicated, our stress and fatigue are real. But what we do for our patients cannot be replaced. We deserve this time to re-center, re-ground, and restore ourselves; if not for us, then for those we serve.

Bonus: Get Featured in our Wrap-Up Post

Follow the ALiEM Wellness Think Tank on Twitter for daily challenges and suggestions for improving your personal or program wellness. And a bonus! Tag some pictures with the hashtag #iEMWell. We will feature some of these on our Wellness Week wrap-up post. This could be your 15 minutes of fame!

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