LSU Health New Orleans’ and School of Medicine Focus on Student, Faculty and Staff Whole Health
New Office of Student Success and Wellness Coming Fall, 2025
The office will work closely with the Campus Assistance Program to provide wrap-around support services
LSU School of Medicine students and employees have a wealth of resources available to them to support their overall wellness, often just a few keystrokes or phone call away.
“We can better achieve our mission to improve the health of Louisiana when we prioritize the overall well-being of all our members,” said Scott Embley, Director of the LSUHSC Campus Assistance Program.
As a direct outcome from the recent Quality Enhancement Plan, the newly created Office of Student Success and Wellness, which Embley will also direct, is set to open later this year. The office will support students and foster their well-being through academic support, peer to peer tutoring, financial advising, and nutrition advising, among other services.
“Being a healthcare provider or healthcare trainee is stressful,” Embley said. “We are here to help identify healthy coping strategies. Student success directly impacts their own personal and professional outcomes, and also the quality of patient care they provide.”
Although a three-year phased rollout of services is planned, all students will have access to any services once the office opens.
“The rollout is designed so that we can really analyze what is working and what we might need to add or tweak before we heavily promote the services,” Embley said.
These services align with the broader focus of the Campus Assistance Program (CAP), which supports the mental, emotional, and physical well-being of students as well as faculty, staff, and their immediate family members to promote the overall health and effectiveness of the LSUHSC-NO community. All CAP services are free and confidential.
“CAP offers assistance with solving life, school, and work problems. Any problems, regardless of severity, that interfere with your peace of mind or personal effectiveness are appropriate to bring to CAP,” Embley said. The vast majority of those utilizing CAP services are self-referrals, he added.
CAP services include:
- A Confidential Online Stress & Depression Screening – this questionnaire takes less than 10 minutes to complete and users can remain completely anonymous. Once complete, the user can choose between making an appointment with a counselor or receiving (still completely anonymously), a list of curated community resources tailored to their issues. CAP staff aim to respond within 24 hours to those who submit a survey, although it may take longer on weekends or holidays;
- A counselor is on call 24 hours a day to assist in time of crisis. Anyone facing an emergency or who needs immediate assistance can call (504) 568-8888. Embley said that the most frequent sets of issues they see revolve around crisis management, relationships, adjustments as a healthcare trainee, resolving workplace conflicts, grief, and career and financial stressors.
- An eight-week hybrid mindfulness class offered each Fall and Spring. A recording of each class can also be found here.
- Wellness Challenge – Now in its fourth year, this annual three-week challenge helps participants improve their overall wellbeing through five key health dimensions. Teams representing combination of students, staff, faculty, and residents track daily progress across five wellness dimensions: hydration, sleep, physical activity, self-care, and nutrition. Individual and team points are awarded.
Embley said that he has seen increased stress levels since COVID, especially how to handle conversations involving conflict.
“The top three reason people usually seek us out is depression, anxiety and burnout, although stage of life often impacts why they come to us,” Embley said. “For example, faculty often have concerns at home and with children while residents often do not even know how to find the time to seek a counselor.”
Embley stressed that CAP offers remote visits and flexible scheduling as much as possible to accommodate work schedules.
For more information about CAP or the Office of Student Success and Wellness, please see their websites.