There are no two ways about it - residency is hard. Long hours. Steep learning curves. Difficult situations. Sleep deprivation. Huge responsibilities. And the list goes on. For these reasons (and many more), residency is notorious for contributing to issues such as depression, anxiety, and burnout. At Cook County, while we know that residency is hard, we also know that “wellness” is a moving target and that which makes a person “well” is highly individualized. Here, we have assembled resources about our various wellness initiatives and important information about where to get help if you need it. Our hope is that every resident will find something on here to improve their own personal wellbeing and that we can continue to foster a supportive, inclusive community.
County EM Wellness Initiatives
Annual Wellness Retreat:
Every year in September all EM residents are excused from their clinical duties for 32 hours to take part in the annual wellness retreat. It’s a chance to catch up, let loose, and have fun together.
The Great County Bake Off:
Sponsored and judged by Dr. Joe Palter and Dr. Robert Needleman, 7 resident bakers competed in a series of challenges to determine who would be crowned the Cook County Baking Champion.
Competitors: Dr. Katherine Aulis, Dr. Maria Gomez, Dr. Allen Stone Hollingsworth, Dr. Sanche Mabins, Dr. Meredith Scott, Dr. Ameer Sharifzadeh, Dr. Pankti Thakkar/Dr. Vladamir Berstein,
Overall Winners
1st Place: Dr. Sanche Mabins
2nd Place: Dr. Maria Gomez
3rd Place: Dr. Ameer Sharifzadeh
Challenge 1 - Muffins
Winner: Drs. Vladamir Bernstein & Pankti Thakkar
Challenge 2 - Technical Bake
Winner: Dr. Allen Hollingsworth
Challenge 3 - Show Stopper
Winner: Dr. Sanche Mabins
County Activity Challenge:
All Residents, Attendings, and PAs were invited to take part in an activity challenge where they recorded all of their exercise for a chance to win prizes.
Women’s Winner 2023: Dr. Kathryn McGregor
Men’s Winner 2023: Dr. Niyi Soetan
Raffle Winners:
Dr. Chris Chang
Dr. John Elue
Dr. Kelly Landry
Dr. Niyi Soetan
County athletics:
Our residents love to stay active. We have residents that run marathons, 5Ks, and triathlons. We are always recruiting for our soccer and volleyball teams! We also do a fantasy football league each year.
Shout Outs:
Every Tuesday during didactic conference, we publicly recognize the outstanding work our residents do with “shout outs.”
Cook County Hospital-Wide Welcome Picnic:
Residents from all programs within our hospital met up for some good food, games, and music at our hospital-wide welcome picnic.
PRIDE PICNIC:
Held in June, the Pride Picnic is open to residents of all programs across the hospital to promote inclusivity and bond over good food, games, and music (DJ’d by our own EM residents!)
WOMEN’s RETREAT:
Held at the end of June, the annual women’s retreat builds camaraderie and hosts powerful and nationally recognized speakers discussing relevant topics to women in medicine.
Women’s Socials:
In addition to the women’s retreat our female residents and attendings regularly meet up to have women socials. They come together in their own space to discuss various topics like what it means to be a woman in EM, professional/career development, wellness, financial wellness, and more!
Annual Class Days:
Annually, in addition to the annual retreat each residency class gets one 36-hour period per year covered where none of them will staff the department and they are excused to spend the day with their class. Residents that day are excused from all clinical responsibilities. This is a fantastic opportunity to foster more bonding between classes outside of the workplace!
Where To Get Help:
Magellan Employee Assistance 800-327-5048 – access to licensed counselors 24/7
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255
National Crisis Text Line – Text “HELP” to 741741
Contact your Program Director – Dr. Michael Schindlbeck
Contact your Wellness Chief
Non-Cook-County Specific Counseling Options (Free/Confidential)
Physician Support Line (888-409-0141): Free and confidential psychiatric support for doctors and medical students
US National Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741741
Samaritans Helpline (877-273-8255): Free and confidential support for anyone concerned about their own or another’s safety.
Project Parachute: Free teletherapy for frontline health workers http://project-parachute.org
NAMI Chicago offers free, confidential peer support groups. http://www.namichicago.org
Free resilience coaching: https://www.covidcompassion.org
For More Helpful Resources, Check Out:
https://www.aaemrsa.org/get-involved/committees/wellness/resources