Wellness Program

The Internal Medicine Residency Program is committed to creating a supportive learning environment and culture of wellness for residents that equips them with the skills needed to support their own physical, mental and behavioral health. Residency is challenging, but it should not be demeaning or disheartening, or result in physical or mental illness, behavioral disturbances or the development of maladaptive coping skills. Through our efforts, we will promote our future physicians into their practice as Internal Medicine physicians.

Our wellness initiatives include:

Social interactions

It’s important to keep a social life with fellow residents and families. That’s why we plan events celebrating residents' birthdays, specific holidays and resident promotions from one PGY level to the next PGY level. We also plan events that get you out of the hospital, such as a baseball game, bowling or just a gathering at a local restaurant. These events are carried throughout the academic year, and the program is open to any suggestions that residents may have.

Living healthy

We value everyone’s work/life balance, and we encourage taking time away from work to be with family and friends. We understand that residency may bring upon some burnout, but we provide advanced education to our residents, staff and faculty to assist with looking for the signs and symptoms of burnout. Manatee Health provides residents with an Employee Assistance Program that is here to assist 24/7/365. We have a third-party organization that also provides you the proper care and direction you need to be on your road to a better pathway. We provide residents with healthy food choices. We also create a schedule for you to help minimize stress and allow you to spend the weekends at the beach, or to take long walks along the river or just do nothing.

Resilience

We strive to create a culture of continuous improvement, where obstacles and constructive feedback are received as opportunities to learn and grow. When faced with challenging circumstances, residents are reminded to focus on their personal character strengths to reaffirm their competency and support the growth of a positive mindset, hope and optimism. The creation of a supportive network among peers, faculty and program staff further promotes the development of resiliency.

Faculty mentorship

All residents are assigned a faculty mentor at the beginning of residency. Faculty mentors are designed to be supportive “coaches” to their resident mentees. Some of their responsibilities include helping residents through challenging circumstances, providing educational guidance and supporting residents on scholarly activities. Through the faculty mentorship program, residents are guided through their residency and are able to learn and adopt skills from their mentor’s years of experience, equipping them for success in the future.