Structure

Curriculum content for this initiative was created through the process of an Appreciative Inquiry with the resident body:
 

  • DISCOVER: Appreciate and value the best of what is.
  • DREAM: Envision what might be.
  • DESIGN: Dialogue about what should be.
  • DELIVER: Innovate and create what will be.


The process informed the initiative’s annual and ongoing activities, which can be partitioned into six categories:
 

 

CAREER

 

 

EMOTIONAL

 

 

FINANCIAL

 

 

PHYSICAL

 

 

SOCIAL

 

 

SPIRITUAL

 

Annual Well-Being Activities


Well-Being Week

The Resident Well-Being Initiative holds an annual Well-Being Week in February that includes interactive sessions each day and an Appreciative Inquiry biennially.


UPMC Graduate Medical Education Chief Conference

Residents also have the opportunity to participate in well-being events through UPMC Graduate Medical Education (GME) well-being activities through the WELL Committee, which is co-chaired by Dr. Sansea Jacobson.


Weekly Well-Being Activities


To target individual well-being and resilience, discussions and events targeting each domain of well-being are held weekly during the lunch hour on Tuesdays and are led by resident Well-Being Spoke leaders. These sessions help residents grow a support network, learn skills specific to wellness during residency, and build a community working to enhance well-being. Examples of noon-time activities include: Introduction to Investing, Gratitude Practice for Housekeeping Staff, Overcoming Imposter Syndrome, and a Zoom Baking Class during the Pandemic.

 

Continued Institutional Improvement


In addition to interventions aimed at individual resilience, the Resident Well-Being Initiative also seeks to identify opportunities for enhancing resident well-being through system-level changes. This is accomplished through biennial Appreciative Inquiries, and the yearly appointment of a Chief Resident of Well-Being. Some examples of WPH Well-Being Innovation include:
 

  • Renovated resident offices with common spaces

  • Full-spectrum light box in resident call room

  • Automated process for patient logging 

  • Designated Well-Being Afternoons for personal appointments 

  • Physician extender hired to assist with overnight physicals 

  • Formation of a resident nutrition committee

  • Creation of the General Psychiatry Program Reading List

  • Weekly residency activities email to decrease email burden