A Curriculum to Promote a Culture of Wellness Among Medical Students and Faculty

Abstract

<jats:p>Introduction: Self-care has not been traditionally taught in medical education, but the epidemic of burnout among health professionals necessitates a change in culture, and consequently a change in curriculum. Burnout begins early in training and negatively impacts health professionals, patients, and institutions. Interventions that prevent and avert burnout are necessary at all stages of a doctor’s career to assure well-being over a lifetime. Evidence-based strategies supporting both personal and system wellness have begun to emerge, but more research is needed. Methods: We present a collaborative and comprehensive wellness program: “A Culture of Wellness.” We offered this pilot jointly for first-year medical students and faculty volunteers at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. We gave participants the following: (1) time—60 minutes per week for 8 weeks; (2) tools—weekly cases highlighting evidence-based wellness strategies; and (3) permission—opportunities to discuss and apply the strategies personally and within their community. Results: Pre- and postsurvey results show that dedicated time combined with student-faculty collaboration and application of strategies was associated with significantly lower levels of burnout and perceived stress and higher levels of mindfulness and quality of life in participants. Components of the curriculum were reported by all to add value to personal well-being. Conclusions: This pilot presents a feasible and promising model that can be reproduced at other medical schools and disseminated to enhance personal health and promote a culture of well-being among medical students and faculty.</jats:p>

REACH: A Required Curriculum to Foster the Well-Being of Medical Students

“…Our initial outcomes show that a mandatory, integrated, and longitudinal well-being curriculum is feasible and both acceptable and relevant to medical students. Similar to the experience of Pipas et al, 9 our students appeared to perceive the REACH small-group sessions as a safe space to talk with peers, faculty, and staff about topics not discussed elsewhere in the curriculum. They also appeared to appreciate the honesty and vulnerability with which the instructors and facilitators shared personal stories about what it feels like to be a doctor and how they work with the difficult emotions that arise from caring for others.…”

Physical activity, burnout and quality of life in medical students: A systematic review

“…Medical curricula are subject to repeated pressure to increase content on several fronts including sub‐specialisation of medical disciplines, medical advances, external stakeholder pressures and high‐profile patient safety events. 68 , 69 While there is increasing interest in well‐being curricula within medical schools, engagement from students is variable. 70 As a course with high cognitive load, focus is maintained on credit‐bearing modules which are likely to be assessed in formal examinations.…”

Yoga as an adjunct activity for medical students learning anatomy

“…Even before the COVID-19 pandemic though, many institutions have been creating wellness curricula to offer resources that improve students’ mental health. One survey found about 93% of medical school had a formal wellness program in 2019 [ 7 ], and suggestions for an effective wellness curriculum have been published [ 8 , 9 ]. Interventions such as yoga and meditation for medical students have been previously found to improve feelings of peace, focus, and patience, while simultaneously reducing stress levels and fatigue [ 10 , 11 ].…”