The GI Professional Development and Wellness group is focused created in order to develop effective strategies to enhance well-being and successful work-life integration among faculty and fellows. As burnout has risen among healthcare providers nationally, the GI Wellness group has sought to create an atmosphere of collegiality, support, and professional growth for all members of the department.
Under the leadership of Dr. Fasiha Kanwal, we have developed a variety of activities throughout the year, including: Wellness Grand Rounds (quarterly during GI Grand Rounds), GI "Ladies Night" (focused mentoring for female fellows), and 1st-year fellowship retreat.
Gastroenterology Wellness Lecture Series
There have been a variety of wellness lecture topics presented throughout the years. Topics cover a wide range of topics such as disparities, bias in medicine, social media, relaxation techniques such as yoga, mindfulness, ergonomics in endoscopy, empathy, burnout prevention, nutrition, etc.
First-Year Fellows Retreat
The retreat focuses on reflecting and reconnecting with individual purpose and with one another. The retreat takes place on a Friday in January every year. It includes multiple activities such as inviting a patient to share how fellows impacted their care, re-reading personal statements, sharing positive attributes of one another, fellow/faculty speed dating to discuss work-life balance, board games to facilitate reflections on the ups/downs of the fellowship, and a Chai tea making lesson. Second- and third-year fellows cover clinical duties the night before, during the day of the retreat and the following weekend to allow for first-year fellows rest and spend distraction-free time together.
