What Is a Culture Of Wellness, and How Do We Develop One?

Seemingly, everyone is discussing “wellness” and burnout now. But what is “wellness,” really? The term has been used in so many different contexts that the word itself has become almost meaningless. If you wish to increase the sense of well-being and sustainability among your faculty and learners in your EM program or institution, what might this vision look like? Where should you begin, and what should you think about?

This conversation will offer newcomers to the well-being space information to help get started on a journey towards institutional well-being. You will hear speakers from several different institutions who are actively involved in creating a culture of sustainability and well-being among their faculty, their learners, and within their institutions at large. Speakers will introduce the concept of a “culture of well-being”, discuss how they use organizational strategies to improve the sense of well-being and sustainability at their institutions, and demonstrate some “first steps” that those new to this arena can consider when starting the conversation at their home institutions.

At the end of this discussion, the learner will be able to:

  • Envision a culture of well-being appropriate for their particular setting
  • Find and utilize resources that can serve to organize and prioritize goal-setting for creating a culture of well-being.
  • Choose a few pieces of “low-hanging fruit” to successfully jump-start the conversation and begin the journey

Presenters:

  • Emily Lynn Hirsh, MD
  • Pamela Dyne, MD
  • Christine R. Stehman, MD
  • Amanda J. Deutsch, MD
  • Suzanne (Suzi) Bentley, MD, MPH



Authors

  • Emily Lynn Hirsh, MD

    University of South Carolina SOM Greenville/Prisma Health

    Dr. Hirsh is an Associate Professor in Emergency Medicine for the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville. She also works clinically for Prisma Health in Greenville, South Carolina, where she serves as the Director for Well-Being and Resiliency for the Department of Emergency Medicine. She holds a Clinical Associate Professor title to the Clemson University School of Health Research at Clemson University. Dr. Hirsh is passionate about creating a culture of sustainable practice for emergency physicians. She has particular interests in sleep and fatigue, scheduling, human factors, and how these can be considered to create sustainable and enjoyable work environments for physicians and other health care team members over many years. 

  • Pamela Dyne, MDc

    Olive View-UCLA Medical Center

    Dr. Pamela Dyne is Professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, a former president of CORD, former Program Director at UCLA, and former DIO at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center. As a senior faculty member, she wanted to enhance her mentoring skills and sought certification to become a life and health coach. During the pandemic she identified a need at her institution for leadership in physician wellbeing, and subsequently became a certified chief wellness officer. With over 25 years of experience in GME, faculty development, and organized medicine leadership, her current position as Chief Physician Wellness Officer of Olive View-UCLA Medical Center allows her to integrate her leadership experience and knowledge of organizational and individual wellbeing with the human aspect of middle management that is required to create change at the organizational level, and support individuals through the process.

  • Christine R. Stehman, MD

    Director of Wellness Education

    University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria

    Christine Stehman, MD is a visiting Clinical Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at University of Illinois College of Medicine, Peoria where she serves as the Director of Wellness Education and Director of Faculty Development. She arrived in Peoria after following a circuitous route including two stops in Chicago separated by service in the US Navy including two combat deployments with the USMC, and fellowship training in Boston. Within the world of Emergency Medicine, outside of her clinical duties, she serves as a guest mentor for the ALiEM Faculty Incubator, a mentor for the CORD Mini-Fellowship in Wellness Leadership, as a member on a number of CORD and SAEM committees, and as a reviewer for a number of journals. In her non-emergency medicine life, she serves as a role model for what she teaches: taking time to travel, spend time with her friends, family and dogs, working out, and reading.

  • Amanda J. Deutsch, MD

    Thomas Jefferson University

    Dr. Amanda J. Deutsch, MD is a Clinical Assistant Professor and Director of Well-Being for the Department of Emergency Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University. Dr. Deutsch earned her undergraduate degree at Harvard University. She subsequently completed her post-baccalaureate and did quality improvement research at Boston Children’s Hospital before starting her career as a medical student at the University of Iowa, where she is from. She completed an Emergency Medicine residency at the University of Pennsylvania, where she completed a track in Healthcare Leadership and Quality Improvement. She most recently completed a fellowship in Physician Wellness at Stanford Emergency Medicine. In her inaugural role as Director of Well-Being at the Department of Emergency Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University she combines her interests in clinical operations, process improvements and well-being.

    Dr. Deutsch chairs the #StopTheStigmaEM subcommittee and hopes to normalize conversations around mental health for emergency medicine physicians, address barriers, and foster better mental health care for emergency medicine. Her interests include focusing on gratitude and appreciation to develop a sense of community and a team that can excel for their patients without the cost of their interests, self, and career. Dr. Deutsch loves to tweak process improvements to help foster well-being.

  • Suzanne (Suzi) Bentley, MD, MPH

    NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst

    Suzanne (Suzi) Bentley, MD, MPH, is the Chief Wellness Officer, Director of Simulation Innovation & Research, and an Emergency Medicine physician at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst. She is a Professor of Emergency Medicine and Medical Education at the Icahn SOM at Mount Sinai. Dr. Bentley completed the Mount Sinai Emergency Medicine residency, Masters of Public Health at Mount Sinai, and a fellowship in Simulation Education at the Institute for Medical Simulation and Advanced Learning of Health + Hospitals. Dr. Bentley stayed on as faculty at Elmhurst after training and served as residency Site Director before transitioning to Medical Director of Simulation and collaborating on opening the hospital-wide Simulation Center. She credits her passion for and expertise in debriefing as the unifier in her professional roles. She led the initiation of Helping Healers Heal at Elmhurst and became the first Health + Hospitals site Chief Wellness Officer in 2021. Dr. Bentley is a clinician, educator, and researcher with focused interests in debriefing, psychological safety, Insitu simulation, simulation for systems testing, teamwork maximization, patient and workforce safety, Safety II principles, and overall workforce well-being and advocacy. She advocates for workforce well-being improvements through focus on the integral connection between quality, patient safety, and workforce well-being.

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