Resident wellness is a priority at Highland. We believe that the best way to deliver high quality and equitable care to patients is to take care of our residents and to promote self care. Our APDs, core faculty members, and chief residents are available with open doors for support and mentorship through the stresses of residency. Here are several ways we nurture resident wellness:

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Access to an on-site psychologist: All residents and faculty have free access to an on-site psychologist who is also a trained professional coach.

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Weekend hikes and activities: Hikes and activities are led on Saturday mornings several times every year to provide a bonding experience outside of work. 

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Monthly "Wellness Check In" with all residents: Each month at our Internal Medicine Program Meeting (IMPM) all residents are asked to participate in a brief, anonymous wellness survey so the program can monitor wellness and residents can self-assess their degree of burnout and identify need for further support.

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Fun noon conference and parties: The chief residents hold occasional lunches outside (weather permitting) for a mid-week breather. There are also other times to socialize during the week day with holiday parties, hallway parties, and after-hour gatherings. Chief residents also walk through the hospital on 'candy rounds' in the afternoons several times a week to check in with residents.

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Mindfulness skills workshop: Mindfulness and burnout education is an important part of the first intern week orientation. A discussion panel with attendings to discuss burnout is also held every year to normalize the feelings and stress that can lead to burnout. We also host regular debriefing sessions, using the Red Cross Incident Debriefing format, for peer support around challenging scenarios in medicine, such as medical errors or unexpected patient outcomes.

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Work hour monitoring: The program strongly supports adherence to ACGME work hour requirements and aims for full compliance with work hour logging. In an effort to support residents in their work hour goals, chief residents, PD, and APDs regularly check in with residents to identify barriers and seek to implement structural changes in an effort to meet ACGME-defined work hour goals.