Accepted Type
Dedicated Poster
Code
LP2 - 05
Acceptance Declaration
Accept
Additional Information
I declare I have no actual or potential conflict of interest in relation to this program.
Was this work accepted for CCME 2020?
no
Category
General Call (Workshop, Oral Presentation, Poster Presentation)
Type
Poster
Sub Type
Education Innovation
Will the presenter be a:
Student
Affiliation
Title
Fostering medical student wellness and resilience in a virtual environment
Length of Presentation
Background/Purpose
Committed to promoting wellness within the University of Toronto's Medicine program, Student Health Initiatives and Education (SHINE) works in collaboration with students and faculty to facilitate events that address the unique challenges faced by medical trainees, and best supports their well-being. With the emergence of COVID-19, students faced new challenges such as: disruptions to regular routines, academic anxiety from curricular changes, and risk of loneliness due to social isolation. An increased need for programming necessitated reassessment of our strategies for promoting wellness and building resiliency, most of which were originally created for a non-virtual environment.
Summary of the Innovation
SHINE re-imagined the delivery of support and resources by hosting regular virtual events such as fitness workouts, virtual talent shows, physician-led seminars, and games nights. Feedback from students, collected both informally and formally through post-event evaluation forms, highlighted the positive impact of our events on social facilitation, interaction, and team-building opportunities, particularly through encouraging incoming medical students to meet each other.
Conclusion
Through redesigning our programming, we learned to capitalize on the advantages of an online environment, which include equitable access to all events, convenience for speakers, increased attendance online (lower commitment, no travel time), and increased engagement (i.e., reduced fear of engagement due to anonymized polling). However, there are aspects of wellness that cannot be nurtured in a virtual environment, such as organic in-person connectedness; therefore, future goals of programming include providing students the tools for resilience and self-care that can help them cultivate these aspects in their personal lives. In conclusion, our approach to SHINE initiatives demonstrate the value of redesigning wellness programming to better support student needs during uncertain times.
Keyword 1
wellness
Keyword 2
resilience
Keyword 3
virtual programming
Level of Training
Undergraduate
Abstract Themes
Physician & Medical Student Health and Well-being
Additional Theme (First choice)
Additional Theme (Second Choice)
Additional Theme (Third Choice)
Authors
Presenter
Setti Belhouari
Term 1
Yes
Term 2
Yes
Term 3
Yes
Term 4
Yes
Term 5
Yes
