At the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS), our residents and fellows are trained in a rigorous and rewarding education program. Through our residency and fellowship programs, we cultivate the next generation of physicians and scientists. As a resident or fellow, you will have access to support in the form of mentorship, mental and physical health resources throughout your training experience. The Office of Well-being and Resilience is here to offer a supportive environment by providing expertise and resources to our residents and fellows and raising awareness about the network of support services available to all trainees.
Graduate Medical Education Workplace Efficiency
A number of efforts are underway to address workplace well-being at the institutional level. At Mount Sinai, we believe it is important that physicians and care teams are supported to experience as much joy as possible in caring for others.
To address this need, we are committed to investing in redesign efforts that will improve practice operations to create a practice environment where patients and care teams can thrive. Our efforts focus on helping practice care teams develop productive relationships with patients and build community, especially with the most vulnerable patients. Gradually, each practice will be able to create a network of peers focused on nurturing our valuable care teams.
GME Clinical Work Intensity Matching Grants
This is an opportunity to support innovative initiatives that have the potential to facilitate the reduction of non-clinical or clerical burden and/or the clinical intensity experienced in the learning environments in which residents and fellows train. The GME Clinical Intensity Matching Grants Program awarded matching grants of up to $50,000 to residency programs for implementation of initiatives to reduce stressors in the learning environments where house staff train.
We look forward to examining the outcomes of each of the initiatives below in the hope that they will produce measurable effects on trainee well-being and will be replicable across programs and departments.
- Addressing Resident Burnout by Mitigating Inpatient Medicine Clerical Burden
- Finding Balance on the Wards: Introduction of a Discharge Liaison to Reduce Work Compression and Improve Education in Inpatient Internal Medicine
- Implementation of a Novel Medical Dictation Platform using Artificial Intelligence for Improved Error Recognition
- Improving Hospital Wellness by Expanding the Mount Sinai Morningside/Mount Sinai West Emergency Department Scribe Program
- Reducing Sleepiness and Burnout in Subspecialty Fellows Due to Non-Urgent Overnight Calls
- Removing Clerical Burdens: Resident Assistant to Boost Engagement in Pediatrics
- MSHS Outpatient Psychiatry Resident Workflow Support: Referral, Outreach and Connection Coordinators
Learn more about the departments and people involved in each of these grants.
Graduate Medical Education Workplace Culture
The Office of Graduate Medical Education works closely with leaders in the Office of Well-being and Resilience in their efforts to remove barriers to well-being and allow residents and fellows to reconnect with the meaning in their work.
GME Well-being Subcommittee
Through our Resident and Fellow Well-being Subcommittee, residents and fellows, faculty members, and administrators come together to develop programs and policies aimed at promoting trainee well-being and preventing or mitigating job burnout. We also advocate for trainees experiencing mental health concerns. Led by subcommittee co-chairs Saadia Akhtar, MD, and Paul Rosenfield, MD. To contact the subcommittee, or to get involved, email Muhammed Khalid.
GME Well-being Champions Program
The Office of Graduate Medical Education (GME), in collaboration with ISMMS GME Training Programs, has created the GME Well-being Champions Program. In this program, faculty members are appointed to work towards promoting a culture of well-being within a given residency or fellowship program. To ensure that wellness is not forgotten among the many competing priorities in academic medicine, the Well-being Champions work to incorporate wellness into the daily operations of the program in both the curricular and extracurricular domains. The program is directed by Sakshi Dua, MD. View the list of current GME Well-being Champions.
GME Wellness Days
Residents and fellows are provided with four wellness days per academic year in addition to other leave time (including sick and vacation leave) to attend to their personal health and wellness. This is provided and structured with the goal of minimizing disruptions to both patient care and training, while allowing residents and fellows sufficient protected time for appropriate personal health maintenance and wellness. For further information, please review the Expectations for the Promotion of Trainee Well-being and contact your program leadership.
GME Expectations for the Promotion of Trainee Well-being
The Graduate Medical Education Committee (GMEC) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is committed to restoring and maintaining “meaning in work and professional fulfillment” for physician trainees system-wide. By prioritizing this objective and, in accordance with Section VI.C of the revised 2017 ACGME Common Program Requirements and the Well-being Pathways of the ACGME Clinical Learning Environment Review (CLER) Pathways to Excellence Version 1.1, the GMEC aims to promote a culture supportive of the psychological, emotional, and physical well-being of all trainees within our Health System through the provision of a balanced, safe, and enjoyable training experience. It is well recognized that efforts to improve trainee well-being cannot be undertaken without addressing faculty well-being and should be done so in conjunction with existing faculty-level wellness interventions. In regards to resident well-being, departments are expected to focus on resident and fellow well-being by supporting the following areas laid out in the document Expectations for the Promotion of Trainee Well-being on the GME Well-being and Resilience website:
- Education-to-Service Balance
- Work Hours, Leave, and Coverage
- Trainee Health Needs
- Faculty Mentorship Programs
- Development of a Wellness Curriculum
- Mandate Enforcement, Evaluation, and Monitoring
Graduate Medical Education Mental Health Support
The Office of Well-being and Resilience at ISMMS is dedicated to supporting the mental health and wellness of our residents and fellows. Our programs and initiatives provide our trainees with the support needed to successfully transition from school to the workplace.
Our mental health initiatives include:
- Student Trainee Mental Health (STMH)
The STMH provides confidential mental health services to all medical and graduate students, resident physicians, and clinical and postdoctoral fellows through the following services: consultation, psychotherapy and counseling, medication management, referral for management of 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. - Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
Licensed social workers provide Mount Sinai Health System employees and dependents free short-term counseling services. All visits are confidential. For information or to make an appointment, call 212-241-8937. Led by Daniel Hughes, PhD, Director of EAP. - Psychiatry Faculty Practice
Top-tier psychiatric providers treat Mount Sinai Health System employees and their families at the Mount Sinai Doctors Faculty Practice. For a referral, call 212-659-8752. Led by Kimberly Klipstein, MD, Director of PFP. Visit Mount Sinai’s homepage for an alternative psychiatry provider. - NYC Well
NYC Well connects you with suicide prevention and crisis counseling, peer support, and short-term counseling. Call us for help scheduling appointments or finding other mental health services. Dial 1-888-NYC-WELL (1-888-692-9355). - Psychology Today
Psychology Today provides listings of mental health providers by specialty and geographic area.
Graduate Medical Education Personal Health and Resilience Resources
While system-level change will have the greatest impact on promoting trainee well-being, a recognized additional benefit can be gained through trainee development of individual resilience skills. As part of our continued efforts to support the well-being of our trainees, the following evidence-based well-being resources are available for programs with the express purpose of integrating such activities into their curricula.
- Facilitated Discussion Reflection is a critical component of training to become a physician. Young physicians are exposed to an enormous number of stressors, including difficult patients, death and dying, and the prospect of medical errors. The normal reaction to such exposures is an emotional response, and yet there is no dedicated place in traditional training programs to reflect upon these experiences. A space to have such a discussion, guided by an expert facilitator and inspired by a brief reading, can provide a great outlet for trainees to process these challenging events. Furthermore, routine meetings (monthly or bimonthly) with a group of peers has been shown to be effective in reducing job burnout.
- Mindfulness Training This offering aims to teach simple mindfulness practices to resident physicians with the intent of increasing their capacity to handle the stresses of their training environment and increase their overall sense of well-being. Mindfulness practices may include formal practices of mindful attention, body scan, mindful movement, and walking meditation, as well as informal practices of mindful moments and awareness of daily activities.
- Narrative Medicine is a storytelling enterprise. Research increasingly shows that attention to literature and the arts helps to develop and nurture skills of observation, analysis, empathy, adaptability, and self-reflection. To submit an application to arrange a workshop on any of these skills for you and your peers, please contact us.
- ICARE Peer Support
Our team offers peer support to health care workers who have experienced a particularly stressful work-related clinical incident. Call us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 212-241-8989. We will return your call. Led by Bonnie Portnoy, MJ, BSN, CPHRM, CPSO, Vice President of Risk Management. - Mount Sinai Wellness
Mount Sinai Wellness offers physical health wellness programs, such Mount Sinai Fit and Mount Sinai Calm (see below). These are personalized, supportive, and streamlined offerings. For information about nutrition, exercise, diabetes, diabetes prevention services, and primary care wellness visits, please email us. For information about stress reduction, resilience, and overall well-being programs, such as yoga and mindfulness, email. Led by Jane Maksoud, Chief Human Resources Officer. - Mount Sinai Calm
Stress management and work life balance; free and confidential consultations are available in person or via phone. Clinical social workers assist faculty and staff members with the design and implementation of personalized self-care action plans that combine on-campus and community resources. For a personalized consultation, please email. - Spiritual Care and Education
Spiritual Care and Education offers interfaith spiritual care that respects various individual beliefs. Whatever your faith, this program offers healing, hope, and comfort. Professional chaplains help you emotionally and spiritually. The center also offers a Chi Cart with tea and aromatherapy, and a quiet, safe space for self-care. For information, call 212-241-7262. Led by Deborah Marin, MD, Director of Spiritual Care and Education. - Paws & Play for Clinical Teams
In partnership with the Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy Department partners 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 and faculty members, and trainees in adult clinical areas. Our mission is to reduce stress in the workplace, and to improve patient care by positively affecting clinical care providers and support staff. Email Jaclyn Craig for more information, or to arrange a time for you and your peers to interact with Moby. - Mount Sinai Recreation Office
The Recreation Office offers discounts to many New York City cultural events, such as Broadway and off-Broadway shows, movies, sporting events, amusement parks, restaurants, health clubs and spas, hotels, cell phone services, car rentals, and more. For access, use your Mount Sinai Health System ID. For information and assistance, call 212-241-6660.60. - The Ombuds Office
We are an independent resource for medical students, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences; residents and fellows in Graduate Medical Education programs; and faculty at the Mount Sinai Health System. Our office provides a confidential, impartial, and relaxed atmosphere as we ensure fair and equitable conflict resolutions in workplace and educational settings. For information, call 212-659-8848. Led by Deborah Marin, MD, Director of Ombuds. - Mount Sinai Employee Benefits Office
We help you enroll in or update your health insurance and other employee benefits, such as medical, prescription, dental, vision, TRIP (Transit/Parking), and Flexible Spending Accounts (Health Care/Dependent Care). Call us at 866-700-6762. - Office of Diversity and Inclusion
The Office of Diversity and Inclusion supports the Mount Sinai Health System in living up to our principles of diversity and inclusion for excellence and innovation. Our mission is to champion a diverse workforce, strive to create a multicultural environment, and foster an inclusive setting as we care for a diverse patient population in New York City. Led by Gary Butts, MD, Dean for Diversity Programs, Policy, and Community Affairs. - Office of Academic Development and Enrichment
This office provides career development for faculty members, trainees and fellows. We offer a broad range of workshops, specialized one-on-one meetings, collaboration initiatives, and direct access to the many resources of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. We also provide guidance and resources for faculty to enhance mentoring, become leaders, and collaborate. Led by Lakshmi Devi, PhD, Dean for Academic Development and Enrichment. -
Lactation Facilities. If you are a nursing parent, please visit the lactation services website to find a pod or room near you.