The Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences is dedicated to educating the next generation of researchers, scientists, and health professionals. We are known for our research and pioneering education. Pursuit of a career can be rewarding but also challenging. As we prepare you to become a leader in your chosen field, we are here to help you grow personally and professionally. The Office of Well-being and Resilience provides resources for graduate students to depend on for guidance and support.
Graduate Student Workplace Culture
Through our Trainee Health and Wellness Committee (THAW), PhD and master’s students and postdoctoral fellows work to improve training environments by advocating for change and implementing well-being programs and resources.
THAW is an important piece of ISMMS’s trainee support network. Its programming includes an extensive peer-mentoring program available to students in the master’s and PhD programs and to postdoctoral fellows. THAW hosts workshops that target the tough points of graduate and postdoctoral training to help students navigate those areas. Monthly social gatherings are held for students and postdocs to spend time together as a community in a relaxed, supportive environment. A quarterly informational newsletter is also available.
THAW’s postdoctoral fellows group—PostDoc Peers—has an extensive portfolio of offerings that help support the many facets of postdoctoral well-being. The PostDoc Peers have also taken on an exemplary role of mentoring PhD students to help ease their path through graduate school.
Questions about PostDoc Peers can be directed to Elena Moreno Del Olmo or Mariana Quirox-Munoz.
Graduate Students Mental Health Support
We support the mental health of our graduate students through various programs and initiatives within ISMMS. Our programs include:
- The Student Trainee Mental Health Program is dedicated to maintaining the wellbeing of all medical and graduate students, resident physicians, and clinical and postdoctoral fellows through the following services: consultation, psychotherapy and counseling, medication management, and referrals for adjustment difficulties, burnout, depression, anxiety, and attentional symptoms. STMH has extended hours multiple days a week to accommodate students’ schedules. Schedule an appointment at 212-659-8805 or via email.
For urgent or crisis situations, call 212-241-2400 (or 1-866-339-7725). This is a dedicated 24/7 crisis hotline provided via Vibrant Emotional Health. Callers will be connected to a licensed counselor who can provide crisis intervention and counseling, urgent mental health support, referral to mental health resources, or assistance in accessing emergency services (911 or Mobile Crisis Teams) when appropriate.
- The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provides Mount Sinai Health System employees and dependents free, confidential short-term counseling services with licensed social workers. All visits are confidential. For information or to make an appointment, call 212-241-8937. Led by Daniel Hughes, PhD, Director of EAP.
- The Psychiatry Faculty Practice offers top-tier psychiatric providers to treat Mount Sinai Health System employees and their families at the Mount Sinai Doctors Faculty Practice. For a referral, please call 212-659-8752. You may also find a psychiatry provider through the Mount Sinai Health System.
- NYC Well connects you with suicide prevention and crisis counseling, peer support, and short-term counseling services. Call 1-888-NYC-WELL (1-888-692-9355) to schedule appointments or find other mental health services.
Graduate Student Personal Health and Resilience Resources
The Office of Well-being and Resilience is working to provide graduate students with resources to ease the stresses of their educational programs. Two initiatives that meet these needs are Mindful Meetups and the PEERS Curriculum.
Mindful Meetups are a series of monthly meetings for postdoctoral fellows and graduate students to congregate with peers and a social worker to discuss anything that is hampering the path to well-being. The sessions include just you, your peers, and the social worker. Our intent is to create a safe place for your thoughts and ideas and to provide you with the tools to help you to de-stress. Postdoc Meetups are held on the last Thursday of every month at 4 pm in Annenberg 11-46 (a classroom inside Levy Library). Light refreshments are served. Graduate student meetups are currently being planned and will be implemented shortly.
The PEERS (Practice Enhancement, Engagement, Resilience, and Support) Curriculum helps doctoral students develop, refine, and regularly engage resilience skills as they navigate their training and research tenures. Through a series of facilitated small-group sessions, this curriculum combines empirical data with hands-on exercises to improve the mental, physical, and academic health of our students.
PEERS for first-year PhD in Biomedical Sciences and Neuroscience students was launched in the fall of 2019 with a rollout for post-doctoral fellows planned for the summer of 2020. The curricula for MS students and other PhD programs will also begin development during the summer of 2020.
The Paws & Play for Clinical Teams in partnership with the Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy Department pairs a licensed and board-certified creative arts therapist, Jaclyn Craig, and a trained facility dog, Moby, to provide well-being and resilience opportunities for staff, faculty, and trainees. Please email Mrs. Craig jaclyn.craig@mountsinai.org or see website for more information or to schedule an opportunity to interact with Moby.
Lactation Facilities. If you are a nursing parent, please visit the lactation services website to find a pod or room near you.