Wellness Committee

Residents enjoying the Spring Cardinal’s Game

This resident led committee aims to facilitate resident wellness through campus socialization, resident mentorship and appreciation, self-care, and community service in collaboration with the advocacy committee.
Current efforts:

  • Healthy options for cold breakfast, hot lunch, and snacks in resident lounge every day
  • Peer-mentorship program between incoming interns and current residents to ease transition into residency
  • One Wellness Day each academic year for residents to be excused from clinical duties.
  • Annual department-wide holiday party for all residents and their families (all trainees are excused from their clinical duties to attend)
  • Annual department-wide Cardinals baseball game for all residents and COPE preceptors (all trainees are excused from their clinical duties to attend).
  • Other activities: pet therapy, game nights, advocacy-driven projects such as adopt-a-family, and more!

Resiliency and Wellness Curriculum

Once monthly Wellness noon conferences throughout residency. Conferences range from talks by visiting faculty know in the field of physician wellness to pet therapy sessions for resident. Below are examples of conferences from our wellness curriculum.

  • Regular debriefs on patient deaths with the Palliative Care team and normalization of secondary trauma
  • Prevention of burnout
  • Building resiliency during residency
  • Parent panel discussion on medical care and interactions with the medical team
  • Mindfulness and meditation
  • Pet therapy for residents

Retreats

Intern Retreat

Yearly 2-day retreat each fall for all interns to bond and relax at a resort near St. Louis. Led by a professional facilitator, the retreat aims to better peer-to-peer collaboration and improve stress management.

Senior Retreat

Yearly 2-day retreat in the spring for all second and third year residents to participate, also at a resort near St. Louis. Focuses on development of leadership and resiliency skills, as well as camaraderie and relaxation.

WU and BJC Wellness Resources

Washington University’s Graduate Medical Education (GME) Counseling Services

The WashU GME offers free and confidential counseling to all residents, as well as referral to a psychiatry team as needed. This includes individual counseling, group debriefs, support groups, education workshops, and consultations. The counselors are easily accessible in Northwest Tower located in the administrative building on the medical campus.

GME Wellness Committee

A few residents represent Pediatrics each year the GME-wide wellness committee that is directed by our own PICU attending, Dr. Jennifer Duncan. The focus is to facilitate collaboration amongst programs and make resources widely available across all Wash U residency programs.

THRIVE by BJC

BJC wants all of their team members to THRIVE: physically, emotionally, socially and financially. THRIVE offers a comprehensive array of resources and opportunities designed to support your total well-being, including free self-care resources for health care workers, community resources, virtual exercise classes, resiliency activities and resources, discounts, financial education and BJC Connections Groups.