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Mindfulness, Self-reflection Key to Personal Well-being
Resident Champion Gains Skills to Promote Mental Health, Prevent Burnout
July 17, 2024, Cindy Borgmeyer — Last month, family medicine residents Kelsey Rice, D.O., and Francesco “Frank” Satriale, M.D., shared insights stemming from their participation in the AAFP Resident Well-being Champion Program, which trains residents to develop and present workshops that build fellow residents’ well-being knowledge and skills and enable them to create a culture of wellness within their own residencies. Program champions also design and implement a personal health improvement plan.
Now a third Resident Well-being Champion provides her perspective on the program and describes how she has benefited from participating in it.
As a reminder, Lauren Brown-Berchtold, M.D., FAAFP, program director of the San Joaquin General Hospital Family Medicine Residency, and Catherine Pipas, M.D., M.P.H., FAAFP, professor of community and family medicine at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice and the Geisel School of Medicine, lead the resident champions program. Pipas also chairs the Academy’s Physician Health First initiative and is a co-chair of its Leading Physician Well-being program.
During their training, resident champions engage with national well-being education leaders to create a curriculum of interactive sessions that address physician well-being and associated topics. That curriculum, which includes a facilitator guide along with slides and resources for each session, can be used to address the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education mandate to promote resident well-being. The full curriculum package will be released this summer, so sign up to be notified when it becomes available.
Sarah Abuali, M.D., M.P.H., M.S., is a third-year resident at Virginia Commonwealth University/Riverside Family Medicine Residency in Newport News. She says her chief post-residency goals are to “serve underserved communities locally and globally and to continue being a patient advocate.” In her spare time, she enjoys painting, reading, traveling, writing, spending time with family and friends, game nights, and kickboxing.
Here is a lightly edited version of what she shared with AAFP News:
What drove you to participate in the Resident Well-being Champion Program?
As physicians, it is important that we take care of ourselves in order to take care of patients. By preventing burnout and addressing physician mental health, we protect our patients, with the ultimate goal of improving health care outcomes at both an individual and a community level. Therefore, I was interested in participating to learn new skills that in the end will help me become a better physician. Participating as a Resident Well-being Champion also gives me a larger tool set for addressing burnout that I can share with my colleagues.
How did you fit the program’s requirements into your residency training?
On my days off, I would allocate 30 to 60 minutes to working on the program requirements. I also coordinated with my project partner to find days that worked for both us to work together in developing our curriculum.
Please describe various ways the program has helped shape your views on and approach to physician well-being. For example, has it changed how you define personal well-being? What strategies have you learned to help foster emotional well-being and avert burnout?
I learned that personal well-being requires self-awareness. Self-awareness can range from recognizing signs of burnout to practicing mindfulness or self-reflection. Instead of running from task to task, tools such as mindfulness and self-reflection allow me to process my emotions in my day-to-day experiences.
How would you characterize the essential elements of a positive residency culture? Have your views changed as you’ve progressed through the program?
The first step to a positive residency culture is a supportive environment that removes stigma around burnout and mental health, with the ultimate goal of having a healthy learning environment.
What obstacles are physicians likely to encounter when seeking help for mental health concerns? How can these barriers be avoided or overcome?
Education is critical. We need to educate residents, physicians, supervisors and attendings about burnout and mental health in order to reduce stigma and promote a positive residency culture.
Resident Well-being Champion Session Coming to FMX
This year’s FMX attendees can get a close-up look at how the Resident Well-being Champion program works when Lauren Brown-Berchtold, M.D., FAAFP, hosts a free train-the-trainer session highlighting the program on Sept. 25 from 8:15 to 11:45 a.m. Four program champions, including Sarah Abuali, M.D., M.P.H., M.S., will join her as co-presenters.
Would you like to share a short description of your personal health improvement plan and where you are in that process?
I am currently focusing on increasing my physical activity. My SMART goal is that I will exercise for at least 30 minutes twice a week for two months. One strategy I use is to put my gym bag in my car so I don’t have to go home. Instead I drive straight to the gym after work.
I have realized that once you get started with a personal health improvement plan, it is difficult to stop! The behavior becomes a healthy habit instead of a chore.
Lastly, what have been your key takeaways from the program? What are the biggest reasons you would recommend it to fellow residents?
Burnout is a real phenomenon. Yet it is in our hands to prevent and address burnout.