Being well in emergency medicine has evolved from a purely individual focus to one where the system or organization must also commit to wellness in order for individual clinicians to thrive. At the ACEP17 Wellness Center, the seven spokes of the wellness wheel were represented by many new offerings, demonstrating how ACEP is emphasizing that wellness has more to do with improving the joy of our work than the avoidance of burnout.

Occupational: Wellness champions of the College gave inspiring 10-minute TED-like talks describing how they have developed and sustained their well-being during their emergency medicine careers. Here, Greg Henry, MD, FACEP, ACEP Past President, espouses his unorthodox approach to wellness, which includes a bit of wisdom for everyone!

Emotional: The “Get EM Well” story booth, fashioned after National Public Radio’s StoryCorps, was available for emergency physicians to share their funny, heartbreaking, or inspiring stories. Some of these stories will be aired during Wellness Week 2018, and we hope to have the story booth open at the Leadership & Advocacy Conference in May 2018.

Physical: Emergency physicians learned how to stand up straight during posture evaluations. During the morning break, energizing stretch sessions that started with breathing awareness and meditation while perched on chair-sized exercise balls were available to all. Group Zumba also revved up members.

Spiritual: Many physicians took a moment for themselves by tuning out with wireless headsets and listening to a variety of guided meditations or chill reset vibes. Here is ACEP President Paul Kivela, MD, MBA, FACEP, finding his Zen.

Financial: Several of our members with MBAs and financial savvy gave short presentations about financial well-being. Here, Douglas Segan, MD, JD, talks about creating a nest egg, saving for the future, and investing wisely.

Social: Comfy chairs and big blue and red workout balls provided a place to meet with friends, take photos, and sign up for the March 11–18 Wellness Week Challenge, during which departments or individuals commit to improving joy at work during Wellness Week and throughout the year. Each day, one Fitbit was raffled off to emergency medicine residents who visited the Wellness Center.

Intellectual: For those needing scholarly well-being, researchers from Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School surveyed emergency physicians about the impact of physician workload on perceptions of patient outcomes. Many ACEP members participated in this study while visiting the Wellness Center.

Make plans for ACEP’s 2018 Wellness Week, March 11–18. Get your department and colleagues involved and sign up for the Commitment to Wellness Challenge.

Image Credits: ACEP

Dr. Manfredi is chair of the ACEP Well-Being Committee.