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plenty of compassion for patients ,” he said , “ and a logical extension of that is compassion for colleagues .”
Making changes Wellness Committee Co-chair Joedrecka Brown Speights says she ’ s always been mindful of her own wellness . “ Not in the sense that ‘ I am intentionally going to be well .’ But it ’ s just my makeup ,” she said . “ How I was raised . The environment I was in . What was important to our family .” She got her M . D . at Emory . “ People dealt with their stress in different ways . And a lot of it was around alcohol , to be honest ,” she said . “ The environment did not cultivate wellness . You were rewarded for ‘ I stayed up 18 hours !’ I mean , you bragged on it . You were reinforced to work harder and to work longer . You were patted on the back to not complain about it . It created this silence .”
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In many ways , silence persists . She mentioned the forms physicians fill out to get hospital privileges , for example : “ They always have these questions like , ‘ Have you ever been diagnosed with a mental illness ?’ ‘ Have you ever taken medication for this ?’ It would make me think , ‘ I ’ m not telling them that !’ It perpetuates the whole stigma … like something ’ s wrong with you if you say ‘ Yes .’” Alexander thinks today ’ s generation seems ready to break the silence . “ It ’ s not just people in medicine . I ’ m seeing it in general : ‘ Let ’ s talk about anxiety . Let ’ s talk about depression .’ This culture needs to change across the board .” She and Brown Speights are among the faculty members showing students what wellness can look like for them . Even in terms of which specialty or residency program they pursue . “ I was attracted to practices that were more willing to cultivate wellness ,” Brown Speights said . “ Even maybe my specialty of family |
medicine . It ’ s geared toward what happens over your entire life , not just what happens during 15 minutes in the doctor ’ s office . It ’ s about your nutrition and ‘ Are you resting ? Are you exercising ? Are you connecting with people ?’” In the year that Wellness Committee members have been connecting , they ’ ve made progress . For example , every incoming student is now required to meet with someone from Painter ’ s psychology team for at least 15 minutes . “ That ’ s to begin the process of destigmatizing asking for help ,” Painter said . “ Nobody goes it alone , hopefully , in medicine . I don ’ t want to go to a doctor who never consults anyone . Smart people ask for help .” That ’ s the general idea behind these other curriculum changes the committee has launched :
∑ Introduction to Wellness , small group ( first-year students ).
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