Resident Wellness Program

Residency is the most important time in the development of young physicians. It is a time of fast-paced learning and incredible growth both personally and professionally, where young physicians dedicate themselves to learning the skills and knowledge they will need in order to be independent, practicing physicians. Working conditions in residency are notoriously difficult as young physicians face long hours, emotionally-demanding, stressful working environments, and significant personal sacrifices. It is well documented that physicians have very high burnout compared to other professions in the United States.

Recent research has begun focusing less on averting burnout and more on physician wellness. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) has included resident wellness in the common program requirements in recognition of the importance this has in the training of newly minted doctors.

Yale Urology provides a resident wellness curriculum that has both top-down administrative, financial, and organizational support as well as bottom-up resident-organized and directed activities. Our aim as a department is to create a happier, more fulfilled resident cohort that will develop healthy mental and physical practices that will help residents cope with the challenges of residency, future practice and beyond.

Yale Urology has developed resources and launched initiatives to focus on holistic resident wellbeing, implementing the eight dimensions of wellbeing as depicted in the "Wellness Wheel."

View Wellness Wheel in full>>

1. Intellectual Wellness
   Desire to learn new concepts, improve skills, and seek challenges in pursuit of lifelong learning.
   
   
2. Emotional Wellness
   Our ability to acknowledge and share feelings of anger, fear, sadness, or stress; hope, love, joy, and happiness in a productive manner.
   
   
3. Occupational Wellness
   Our desire to contribute in our careers to make a positive impact on the organizations we work in and to society as a whole.
   
   
4. Environmental Wellness
   The ability to make a positive impact on our environment, be it in our workplace, our communities, or our planet.
   
   
5. Financial Wellness
   Our ability to understand our financial situation and taking care of it in such a way that you are prepared for financial changes.
   
   
6. Spiritual Wellness
   The ability to develop congruency between values and actions and realize a common purpose that binds creation together.
   
   
7. Physical Wellness
   The ability to recognize that our behaviors have a significant impact on our wellness and adopting healthy habits (routine check-ups, balanced diets, exercise) while avoiding destructive ones.
   
   
8. Social Wellness
   Our ability to establish and maintain positive relationships with family, friends, and co-workers.