Table of Contents
- Welcome
- Wellness at the WSU School of Medicine
- What's New in Student Wellness
- Connection and Wellness
- Treatment and Support
- Wellness During the COVID-19 Pandemic
WELCOME
On behalf of the Office of Assessment, Accreditation and Continuous Quality Improvement, welcome to the In The Loop (iTL) Newsletter. In the Loop is the new name for You Said, We Did, and represents our quality improvement feedback loop. As a continuous quality improvement organization, the Wayne State University School of Medicine has employed feedback from our key stakeholders, especially students, to initiate significant changes over the last several years. The newsletter’s purpose is to highlight changes made during your term as a student and to show our appreciation for your involvement.
This week's edition: Wellness at the Wayne State University School of Medicine
Objective
Our objective: to foster a culture of wellness with a learning environment that supports students, directly addresses student concerns and facilitates the personal and professional development of our future physicians.
The first step in improving wellness is listening directly to you – through your health and wellness representatives, the anonymous medical student check-in survey (coming again this spring), or town halls – hearing your ideas and making changes for the better at the Wayne State University School of Medicine.
The next step is a structure with leaders who foster positive change in well-being and the learning environment – this was initiated with three positions within the Office of Student Affairs:
What's New in Student Wellness
Under the direction of Associate Dean of Student Affairs Margit Chadwell, M.D., Senior Associate Dean of Undergraduate Medical Education Senthil Rajasekaran, M.D., and Associate Dean for Clinical Education Christopher Steffes, M.D., the Office of Student Affairs and the Office of Medical Education collaborated with medical students across all four years, faculty and staff to bring the following recent changes:
Autonomy and Wellness
New this academic year for all students in M1 through M3 years was an increase in autonomy, with one-week breaks after every trimester. This allowed additional time for self-care, connection with others, and reflection on how far students have traveled to become physicians. Along with these trimester breaks, wellness afternoons continue during M3 year (in its third year after a successful pilot program) as does time off for interviews during M4 year.
Learning Environment and Wellness
A wellness group initiated by Dr. Rajasekaran and led by Dr. Waineo in 2020 – with students and faculty directly providing ideas to improve the learning environment – developed recommendations that led to the implementation of these top five initiatives:
- A more consistent communication strategy that includes: • “Weekly Snapshot” class communication for M1 and M2 • Recorded Medtalks and Town Halls to hear and respond to student concerns, describe policies, and share resources • Academic Digest, which provides regular school-wide communication
- Programs that highlight student accomplishment: • The PEARLS program to acknowledge outstanding student professionalism • Difference Makers to acknowledge students, faculty and staff committed to facilitating success in others
- Student input formally incorporated into curriculum development: • Students are now members of the Pre-clerkship Education Committee and meet regularly with course directors to provide feedback
- More support for and consistency of exams: • Students are provided a chance to course-correct, with multiple exams in each pre-clerkship course, scheduling in a consistent order, and expansion of academic support for struggling student • Faculty have access to more question options to ensure representative material on regular weekly quizzes and enable students extra practice with the material
- Enhanced predictability and consistent schedule: • Mandatory dates are sent ahead of the beginning of the course • Reduction of contact hours in M1 and M2 years to open time for synthesis of material and self-care
Connection and Wellness
Part of keeping well is knowing how the School of Medicine supports you in your development as a person and a physician. This has continued with regular Zoom-based sessions from the Office of Student Affairs, led by Drs. Chadwell, Kouyoumjian, and Steffes, for:
- Career and specialty advising
- Scheduling your fourth-year rotations
- Preparing your Electronic Residency Application Service application
- Mock residency interviews
When we couldn’t connect in person, we did so over Zoom, including the continuation of the vast number of student organizations, Med2Med (group for peer support run by students on the Health and Wellness Taskforce), meditation sessions with Ms. Connors, and curricular sessions on wellness and burnout. Orientation now includes annual mental health first aid training for all M1 students.
As more in-person options become available, we look forward to seeing each other in person more often. The school has enhanced a space to facilitate this connection via the new student lounge on the first floor of Scott Hall.
Health and Wellness Taskforce student members include representatives from each class. They are at the heart of many of our new ideas, share input from peers and promote communication through the monthly newsletter and social media (@wsumedgetshealthy).
Treatment and Support
As you develop the knowledge and skills to help others, it’s important to have options for treatment and support available for yourself. We have a counselor dedicated to every class who provides continuity of academic support throughout all four years of medical school. Students can make an appointment here.
We continue our partnership with Circles of Support to provide Early Alert, a confidential weekly wellness check-in via text with real-time resources provided to students, and MyMDtoBe, regular information sent via email to students and their chosen supports about what it’s like to be in medical school and how best to support their future M.D., all coordinated with students’ schedules. New this year, the Well-being Index provides additional evidence-based resources available to all students.
We have further expanded communication about the treatment options available to students, including this informational graphic.
Wellness During the COVID-19 Pandemic
This academic year has been filled with a continuing pandemic, abrupt changes, and new challenges, but also resilience, creativity, and new ways to connect and care for each other. The priority of the Office of Student Affairs and the Office of Medical Education is to support you during these ever-changing times. During the last two years our efforts have also included:
- Continuing medical education safely with on-time graduation
- Assuring personal protective equipment is available for students
- Creating new ways to learn and connect
- Assuring housing options in the early stages of the pandemic
- Enabling border crossings for Canadian students
- Providing both virtual and in-person class counselor appointments
- Finding new ways to celebrate milestones together
We now look forward to the opportunity to celebrate Match Day in person with the Class of 2022. We are so proud of the medical student body. You have risen to meet the challenges, and inspire us every day. As you pause for your reflection, take a moment to consider all you have accomplished this year, throughout your medical training, and the meaningful ways you have kept well.
For those interested in new ideas for connection and wellness, please share them with Dr. Waineo or any of your health and wellness student representatives. We look forward to working together and keeping our wellness momentum moving forward. We would like to end with a note of gratitude. These initiatives would not be possible without collaboration with you. We thank all medical students who have led wellness initiatives with us and look forward to new ideas in 2022 and beyond.
For more information, please visit the School of Medicine Student Affairs Health and Wellness site.
We Want to Hear From You
If you have any topics you would like to know about or have suggestions to how we can improve as a medical school, connect via the Warrior Med Suggestion Program.
The purpose of the Warrior Med Suggestions Program is to ensure each stakeholder of the School of Medicine has the opportunity to provide suggestions and feedback that may improve the organization’s mission. This program will serve as the mechanism that will drive the culture of Continuous Quality Improvement within the School of Medicine. These opportunities for improvement will drive cultural change and allow leaders to make a positive impact on a pathway to organizational excellence.
If you have any additional questions or concerns, feel free to reach us at oaacqi@med.wayne.edu. Thank you.
Kanye L. Gardner - Director of Continuous Quality Improvement - Office of Assessment, Accreditation and Continuous Quality Improvement
Volume 2 catalog of issues available here: Volume 2 - #1 - October 4, 2021 | Volume 2 - #2 - October 15, 2021 | Volume 2 - #3 - April 22, 2021 | Volume 2 - #4 - November 12, 2021
Credits:
Medical Communications