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Kristina Sullivan, MD |
Over the past several years the topics of physician burnout, depression and suicide have gained national attention. Medical schools and residencies are now required by their governing bodies to incorporate wellness initiatives into their programs. The theme of the Society for Education in Anesthesia 2018 Fall Meeting was “Well-Being: Translating Concepts into Action.” The Speakers and workshop presenters focused on practices, concepts, and curricular activities that educators can use in their teaching and training programs.
The meeting opened with the McLeskey Lecturer, Dr. Daniel Lowenstein. Dr. Daniel Lowenstein is the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) as well as the Robert B. and Ellinor Aird Professor and Vice-Chairman of Neurology. His talk, “Finding Fulfillment Contentment and Peace in the Busy World of Professional Life.” Was both inspirational and entertaining, as he presented several key rules for successful practice as a clinician and educator.
The following panel described the landscape of wellness from the undergraduate medical education (UME), graduate medical education (GME) and American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) perspectives. Dr. Amy Vinson, an assistant professor at Boston Children’s Hospital, is currently the ASA Vice Chair of the Advisory Group on Physician Health and Well-being. She provided background information on physician burnout, suicide and substance use as well as information on ASA committees and initiatives regarding physician well-being. Dr. Katherine Julian, the Director of Outcomes and Optimization in the UCSF GME office, reviewed the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) common program requirements that focus on wellness. Dr. Howard Rubin, the chair of the Medical Student Well-being Program at UCSF presented the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) standards that specify wellness. Both GME and UME talks incorporated specific examples of work that is being done at the residency and medical student levels.
Six outstanding workshops offered participants a variety of ways to learn about incorporating wellness into their curriculum. The options included designing a wellness curriculum, learning about effective communication through the use of a specific communication bundle, examining implicit bias and well-being in healthcare, applying the design thinking process to wellness initiatives, and developing scripted role play with an emphasis on teaching mindful communication skills for the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) and resident well-being.
The lunchtime business meeting with reports by the various committee chairs was followed by a talk given by this year’s Duke Award Recipient, Dr. Gary Loyd. Dr. Loyd has committed much of his career to education. He served as president of the SEA from 2008-2010 and is currently the director of the peri-operative surgical home at the Henry Ford Health System. His talk described his experiences with building community and promoting wellness through story telling.
Later in the afternoon Dr. Eve Ekman, a psychologist at the Greater Good Science Center in Berkeley discussed cultivating emotional balance through a deeper understanding of our own emotions. Next, several panelists from different institutions described how their respective centers approached wellness. This included the following initiatives:
- A communication bundle presented by Dr. Jed Wolpaw from Johns Hopkins
- A peer support program at Stanford presented by Dr. Jody Leng
- A longitudinal wellness curriculum aimed at building community and encompassing internal-, interpersonal- and systems-related wellness topics. This was presented by Dr. Kevin Thornton from UCSF
- A mindfulness-based stress reduction program presented by Dr. Barbara Orlando from Mount Sinai West.
The day concluded with an interactive mindfulness meditation session tailored for healthcare providers by Dr. Balachundhar Subramaniam, the Program Director for the Center for Anesthesia Research Excellence at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
We thank the presenters and participants for a lively and intellectually stimulating meeting!
