Physician Wellbeing
Healthcare professionals are exposed to high levels of distress in the course of their profession and are therefore susceptible to experiencing burnout. LSUHSC recognizes that prioritizing self-care has ripple effects. A focus on physician wellness may improve communication, facilitate better decision-making, decrease errors, and motivate care teams. Taking care of oneself will in turn improve patient care, personal relationships, and the LSUHSC community as a whole.
As an institution, the Campus Assistance Program is a free service that exists to support the mental, emotional and physical wellbeing of residents, students, faculty, staff and immediate family members in order to promote the overall health and effectiveness of the LSUHSC community.
In 2019, the School of Medicine formulated the LSUHSC Wellness Krewe: Self-Care for Health Care. The goal of the Wellness Krewe is to promote a healthy learning and working environment, building resiliency, and personal well-being among faculty, staff, residents, and students in LSUHSC’s School of Medicine and the Health Sciences Center.
In addition, the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) has an abundant amount of resources available through the AWARE platform designed to promote well-being among students, residents, fellows, faculty members and others in the GME community.
Within the Department of Neurology, we combine fun, team-building activities, such as ice cream sundae making and Pictionary, with interactive discussions designed to improve the peer or clinical environment, such as recognizing depression in colleagues, how to manage difficult patients, and improving communication skills and managing conflict. Our residents have also been exposed to wellness activities such as mindfulness to provide them with stress-reducing skills to employ on a regular basis during duty hours. Our Wellness activities are part resident-driven so that we are responding to the current needs of our team, as well as making sure some resources are known and available every year.