Quoteworthy
Self-compassion is not kicking yourself when you’re down, which prolongs stress reactions, creates more suffering, and delays your ability to get back up. Instead, self-compassion is about treating yourself as you would treat a good friend in distress. It is about responding with caring support.
Jean Whitlock, Trinh Mai, Megan Call, and Jake Van Epps

Most Recent
The Act of Eating Together: Commensality Groups and Provider Well-being

Commensality Groups bring together a group of people for a meal to have discussions, learn from one another, and foster a sense of connection amongst peers. Internist and Pediatrician Margaret Solomon shares how she started a Commensality Group for providers at University of Utah Health and the benefits it gave her and her peers.

Prescribing Mindfulness in Clinical Settings

With so much going on around the world and in our daily lives, our brains are constantly in overdrive. Mindfulness educator and social worker Trinh Mai explores what practitioners across U of U Health and the VA are doing to help their patients and teammates take a mental break and respond courageously in these times.

No Really, How Are You?

Emergency Medicine physician Megan Fix shares her personal story of how the simple act of a colleague asking, “No really, how are you?” changed her life.

Setting the Stage for Psychological Safety: 6 Steps for Leaders

Creating psychological safety for your team is a process that takes time, vulnerability from you as a leader, and collaboration from others. Psychiatrists Jen O’Donohoe and Kristi Kleinschmit share 6 practical next steps for when psychological safety might be a little off on your team.

Say Goodbye to Physical Stress with These Three Tips

Stress manifests itself physically in the body. Throughout the past year, we’ve all been exhibiting stress physically to varying degrees. Tasha shares exercises and tips to reduce the physical manifestation of stress.

Using Check-In Questions to Promote Well-Being

Wellness Champions use prompts to check-in during meetings, team huddles, hand-offs, etc. Learn this simple way to help your team reconnect to purpose, be more engaged, focused, and cohesive.

4 Ways Clinical Teams Can Set Healthy Work/Life Boundaries

Establishing work/life boundaries as a clinician is easier said than done. Family medicine physician Stacey Bank and social worker Christina Cackler of the Intensive Outpatient Clinic share how to establish healthy boundaries based on individual team member needs.

“I’m Really Worried About You” — How to Have a Conversation with a Colleague About Suicide

Coworkers are often the first to recognize when a peer is struggling under extreme stress. Psychiatrist Kristin Francis and psychologist Rob Davies share how to break through the discomfort and talk to your struggling colleague.

Peer Support Toolkit

The Resiliency Center uses a peer support model to provide increased institutional support for UUH employees during, or after, adverse clinical events and other stressful situations. Jake Van Epps and Megan Call share resources for joining the Peer Support Program and helping others process and cope with trauma.

Why It Shouldn't Be So Hard To Talk About Suicide

The number one goal of the Zero Suicide initiative is to create a culture where we feel comfortable talking openly about suicide. Program manager Rachael Jasperson turns to U of U business school’s Eric VanEpps to learn the evidence-based case for overcoming our discomfort when discussing sensitive subjects.

How to Improve Your Patient Communication Skills

Communication is a skill; it takes practice. Clinicians Caryn Peters and Patricia Liu share their method for making meaningful connections with patients and teams.

From Culture Shock to Culture Shift: Learning To Improve Resident Well-being

The shift in medical culture to focus on well-being is a long time coming. Physicians Katie Gradick and David Sandweiss detail the development of the Resident Wellness Elective, and GME Wellness’ Rob Davies and Amy Armstrong share the greater system evolution within graduate medical education.