The issues of wellness, burnout, and resiliency have snowballed across nearly all health professions. Emergency Medicine (EM) specifically was singled out as one of the specialties with highest risk for burnout at >60%.1 There has been much discussion around the general “UN-wellness” of medicine, and we now feel that there is a dire need for action. Instead of tackling the entire spectrum of wellness throughout medicine, we wanted to focus on EM residents. As a response to this need, we are proud to announce the launch of the ALiEM Wellness Think Tank, which is a private virtual community comprised of EM residents across North America. What better stakeholder group to address the world of EM residency wellness than EM residents themselves?
What is unique about the Wellness Think Tank?
There are many organizations addressing wellness and resiliency issues in medicine. One missing voice is the voice of the resident. This Think Tank aims to contribute to the conversation about improving physician wellness and resiliency in EM from the “ground up.” We will be focusing on action-based plans in the forms of curricular design, discussion-generating blog posts, podcasts, toolkits, and peer-reviewed publications.
Who is eligible to join?
We are recruiting 1-2 EM resident representatives per residency program in the United States and Canada.
How much does it cost?
Membership for 2016-17 is free!
What are the goals of the Think Tank?
- To develop tangible action plans to help residents improve individual and institutional wellness and resiliency
- To collaborate with leaders and experts in various facets of wellness
- To change the mentality and reduce the stigma surrounding the discussion of wellness and mental health
- To serve as the “go to” group for residents and programs with wellness needs or questions
How do I apply?
Go to the Wellness Think Tank website to fill out the brief application form. You will need a short letter of support from your residency director attesting that you are your program’s representative.
Special thanks to soon-to-be Dr. Scott Kobner for our logo!
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