Wellness Resources for Medical Staff, Residents and Fellows

Staff support for mental health and well-being

At Akron Children’s, we offer a number of resources to support the mental health and well-being of our medical providers. This includes:

Critical incident stress management

Our critical incident stress management team offers several services in the aftermath of an overwhelming event, such as the death of a patient or a significant traumatic event involving children.

Help is available 24/7 by pager at 330-914-1038.

Schwartz Center Rounds

These sessions provide a forum for our clinical staff to explore the emotional and psychosocial dimensions of care. Staff members present on a variety of topics focused on supporting caregivers and strengthening the relationships between patients and their care providers.

Chaplaincy services

Along with providing spiritual care to patients and their families, our chaplain is also available to support the spiritual needs of our staff.

A chaplain can be reached at any time by calling the operator who will page the chaplain on call. During regular office hours, Monday-Friday, you may call 330-543-8254 for non-urgent requests.

Employee Assistance Program

Akron Children’s has partnered with the Carebridge Corporation to provide counseling services for personal and family issues, such as marital and relationship issues, alcohol and drug abuse, stress management, family/parenting problems, depression or anxiety, or grief and loss. These confidential services are available to employees and eligible dependents cost-free.

Call 800-437-0911 or e-mail clientservice@carebridge.com.

Akron Physician Wellness Initiative

Akron Physician Wellness Initiative (APWI) is a new private entity offering free and confidential wellness support services for Akron Children’s residents, fellows, physicians and advanced practice providers in partnership with Summa. Services to residents include private, individual, in-person or telehealth counseling with a licensed psychologist for a variety of personal and professional concerns, psychiatric consultation and medication management and referral coordination and resource provision. Additional resources can be found here.

Opt-Out Counseling:

We offer free, unlimited confidential counseling to every trainee and medical staff provider -- no cost, no insurance, no electronic medical record, no referral. During a trainees intern year they will be scheduled for a 45-60 minute confidential appointment with a Summa psychologist at the Simulation Center (less than a mile from the Akron campus). Children's keeps no documentation of this visit and both travel time and appointment time are protected from clinical duties. If you feel you are well-supported, you may choose to opt out and cancel your appointment, confidentially. If you've never used counseling services, you're encouraged to attend one session to explore resources available to you.

Women Physician Association

Our medical staff female physicians are encouraged to join the Women Physician Association, a group that was formed at Akron Children’s to advocate for the professional development, advancement and well-being of women physicians who are credentialed here.

Find information on myKidsnet or contact Dr. Janice McDaniel at 330-543-8309 or jmcdaniel@akronchildrens.org.

Fitness center memberships

Exercise is a great way to promote both physical and mental well-being. To make it easier for our residents and fellows to participate in regular exercise, we provide free memberships to Cleveland Clinic Akron General Health & Wellness Centers in Bath, Green and Stow.

Lactation support
We are committed to supporting our breastfeeding trainees by providing several dedicated lactation rooms and a conveniently-located breast milk storage space in the resident work area. Read more about how we support our GME Trainees.

Wellness Wednesdays

Residents don’t work Wednesday afternoons after 1:30 p.m. except when rotating on the in-patient floor teams and in the NICU and PICU. We encourage residents to use this time for routine medical, dental, vision or pet vet or vehicle appointments, or to take time with family and friends or time to sleep, rest or rejuvenate.

Tending the Flame Course

We offer a course in resiliency and work satisfaction for clinicians and graduate program learners. The Longitudinal Resiliency Program: Tending the Flame Curriculum emphasizes finding meaning in daily work interactions rather than only focusing on “wellness” outside of working ours. It’s part of our PL1 Fall and Spring retreats, as well as Finding Meaning in Medicine groups during noon conferences offered by RISHI at Pure HealthCare

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Mental health self-screening tools

Below are anonymous, online self-screening tools that may help determine if you need extra support. These evaluations are free, take just 2-5 minutes to complete and will provide immediate feedback about mental health conditions that may be impacting your well-being.

Take one of these self-evaluations to determine your current experience regarding:

Please note these tools are educational only to help you evaluate your mental health status. If you feel you need support, please share your results with someone, review the resources offered on this site or reach out to a healthcare professional. A mental health provider can perform a full assessment and offer recommendations that can help you improve your health and well-being.

Well-being Index (WBI)

The well-being index is a 100% anonymous, web-based tool used to evaluate multiple dimensions of emotional health in just 7-9 questions. It’s designed to measure burnout, provide resources and allow users to compare their scores to their peers, as well as track progress over time to promote self-awareness.

Related Resources

Well Being Index FAQs

Books

To support our residents and fellows, and the efforts of our GMEC Well-Being Subcommittee, Akron Children’s Medical Staff has purchased the following books, which are available in the Mary A. Hower Medical Library:

The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen Covey
The Sleep Revolution by Arianna Huffington
Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics: A 10% Happier How to Book by Dan Harris and Jeff Warren with Carlye Adler

Articles

Dr. Adam Hill’s article on physician mental health and stigma

Web-based and mobile applications

Several web-based resources and mobile applications are available to help you manage stress and enhance wellness.

Online resources

Evidence-based, free Online Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program (Palouse Mindfulness)

Dr. Stacia Dearmin’s blog on thriving despite adverse patient outcomes and medical practice litigation

TED Talk: How To Make Stress Your Friend - Psychologist Kelly McGonigal

Addressing Wellness in Residency: Ready, Set, Go! (NEJM Resident 360)

Well-being and burnout (American Psychiatric Association)

Physician Well-being Resource Center (Free resources from the Ohio State Medical Association)

Apps

Sleep, relaxation and meditation

Depression

MoodGym: Web-based cognitive behavioral therapy (available for a nominal fee)

Suicide prevention

ACGME New Suite of Well-Being Resources

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) has launched the AWARE suite of well-being resources. This collection of resources is available in multiple media formats, including an AWARE app and podcasts. These resources are designed to promote wellness among residents, fellows, faculty members and others in the graduate medical education community.

To access, visit the ACGME website.

Free wellness apps in response to COVID-19

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the following wellness resources are available for free for a limited time to healthcare providers:

Coronavirus Sanity Guide

Ten Percent Happiness App

Down Dog Yoga App

Headspace App – Weathering the Storm