Individual resiliency in the face of stress is key to preventing resident burnout during training and is generally felt to be the ability to adapt and recover from periods of stress. There are many factors involved in increasing resiliency, including physical well-being, education and planning among others. The American Medical Association has developed an online curriculum to improve physician resiliency.

    MBM Staff Course

The Mind-Body-Medicine program at NMCSD has created a provider course to develop skills to improve resiliency in times of high stress and promote health and wellness. The course is 8 weeks long, but participants are not obligated to take all of the classes. This is an 8-week course, but there is no obligation to attend all classes. Please contact the Social Work office at 619.532.7150 to register. Space is limited and spots have previously filled quickly. This is the only course at this time, but there may be more available in the future.

Emergency Medicine is a unique specialty in that coverage is generally 24 hours a day and 7 days a week with rotating shift schedules, which means that it can be difficult for residents and staff to get a recommended amount of sleep and restful sleep because of constant changes to sleep cycles and high levels of stress. Furthermore, this is compounded in residents and medical students secondary to stringent training in the medical field. Studies have shown that trainees have similar levels of fatigue to patients with untreated sleep apnea and peaks while still in training. Decreased length and quality of sleep increases risk for motor vehicle crashes, hypertension, diabetes and other chronic health problems as well as substance abuse; it can also decrease attention and the retention of new information. The National Sleep Foundation has compiled tips and resources for improving sleep hygiene and quality of sleep to help prevent fatigue and improve overall well-being.