Well-being

Well-being

Creating a supportive educational environment is an important component of our program. This includes the area of well-being. Fellows are encouraged to reach out to faculty, the program director or coordinator with any issues or concerns.

The Medical School is committed to promoting the health and wellbeing of its fellows. A comprehensive list of resources and support is available on their Support Resources website.

Carolyn Hildebrandt, the Organizational Development Manager in the GME Office, offers coaching services for fellows. Example of topics include: Interpersonal relationships with care teams, attendings, other trainees, handling critical feedback, time management and prioritizing, conflict, career decision making, leadership, etc. Carolyn is a licensed psychologist with 20 years of experience in healthcare systems with coaching and developing people. Fellows can self-refer for a confidential session. Information would only be disclosed to programs if desired by the fellow and with their permission. To schedule a 50-minutes session, fellows can choose a designated coaching time slot.

If a fellow needs to leave on a clinic day to attend a sick child, medical, mental health or dental care appointment, the fellow is responsible for communicating this to the site and to ascertain that patient care is not compromised. Any excused partial day is not counted towards the total paid time off that fellows are allowed. For more information, see Paid Time Off (PTO).

The program encourages fellows to recognize their own levels of stress also, and to seek the advice of their program directors, fellowship coordinator, or attending physician if stress becomes too great. While we try to foster a culture of professionalism, warmth and support within the program, there are times when a fellow or their family may wish to have additional counseling. The Physician Wellness Collaborative is a peer-to-peer program that offers support. Fellows and their immediate family members qualify for eight free, confidential counseling sessions. Help is available by phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by licensed mental health professionals knowledgeable and skilled to help providers address issues. Further information is available on The Physician Wellness Collaborative website.