ACHE CENTER FOR EXCELLENCE IN WELLNESS
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OCTOBER 2020
ACHE CENTER FOR
EXCELLENCE IN
WELLNESS
Wellness Domain: Physical (Mind, Body, Spirit Balance)
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be free from internal and external harm.
May you experience love, joy, and wonder just as it is.
May you have ease of the day.
This month’s Wellness focus is on finding balance during this unusual time. We will focus on the Holistic
approach to keeping ourselves and others in our care well. This integrates both our physical, mental, and
spiritual wellbeing. These wellness domains are at the center of remaining focused and engaged in our
learning process. When we are in balance, we are able to function both physically and mentally at our
optimum level. This is a time to learn and grow from our current experiences. Some call this a very difficult
time but it is also a time to find the opportunities to learn from what is happening in our world. COVID- 19 and
the current situation in the United States is a time for growth and change. It is a time to learn from our
situation and find resilience to overcome and thrive. The first step to change is finding meaning in the current
situation. Meaning is different for each individual and should be valued as we are all unique. ACHE/ARCOM
is growing as a community of inclusion and compassion and continues to grow and develop our Wellness
commitment to our students, faculty and the River Valley Community.IF YOU NEED SUPPORT PLEASE EMAIL THE WELLNESS CENTER AT
CARMELITA.ROBERTSON@ACHEEDU.ORG OR CALL 479-308-2300 EXT. 2304.
Duri n g t h i s very bus y time I want to enc o u r a g e y o u t o f o c u s o n s e l f - c o m p a s s i o n a n d s e l f - c a r e . Thi s
i s a t i m e o f intense stress and concerns o v e r t h e u n k n o w n . T h i s i s t h e p e r f e c t o p p o r t u n i t y t o b e g i n
to p r a c t i c e mindfuln ess and self-compass i o n . The p e r f e ct time to begin to focus on the h e r e a n d
now a n d o n balancing mind, body, and sp i r i t u a l w e l l n e s s . T o k e e p o u r b a l a n c e , i t i s i m p o r t a n t t o
prac t i c e a healthy self-care routine. We n e e d t o take the time to check in with o u r p h y s i c a l a n d
ment a l w e llbeing and address any issues t h a t a r i s e . We n e e d t o take the time to practice
mind f u l n e ss and engage in healthy posit i v e t h i n k i n g s t r a t e g i e s . When w e h ave done our very best
and e n g a g ed in our tasks to the fullest e x t e n t i t i s t i m e t o a l l o w o u r s e l v e s a m om e n t t o a p p r e c i a t e
what w e h ave done well instead of only f o c u s i n g o n w h a t w e p e r c e i v e a s u n d o n e . We m u s t b e
care f u l n ot to compare ourselves to other s a s w e o n l y s e e t h e t i p o f t h e i c e b e r g t h a t o t h e r s p r e s e n t .
When w e a re in balance in our mind, bod y , a n d s p i r i t w e c a n c a r e f o r o u r s e l v e s a n d o t h e r s f u l l y .
Nutr i t i o n
Wel l t i m e d, well balanced, meals and sn a c k s c a n k e e p y o u a l e r t a n d e n e r g i z e d t h r o u g h o u t t h e d a y ,
whi l e a l s o helping to maintain an optimal w e i g h t . Prep m e a l s ahead of time or order from a m e a l
prep c o m p any. Ther e a r e many options for meal replace m e n t s h a k e s a n d b a r s a s w e l l a s p r e -
prep p e d m eals. Organize your snacks for t h e w e e k o n t h e w e e k e n d s o t h a t y o u c a n g r a b a n d g o .
Make s u r e you stay hydrated throughout t h e d a y a n d l i m i t c a f f e i n e a n d s t i m u l a n t s a t t h e e n d o f t h e
day. L i s t e n to your b ody. Love a n d respect it and it will be good t o y o u , a s w e l l . Lear n i n g to say
"no" t o t h e outside w orld and listening to y o u r s e l f i s o f t e n c h a l l e n g i n g b u t c a n he l p y o u b a l a n c e
l i f e' s d e m a nds.
Ment a l H e alth
If yo u a r e struggling to maintain your men t a l h e a l t h r e a c h o u t f o r h e l p a s e v e r y on e n e e d s s u p p o r t .
Take t i m e to laugh, meditate, take a wa l k , a n d b u i l d b r e a k t i m e s i n t o y o u r s t u d y s c h e d u l e . Take 1 0 -
30 m i n u t e s several times a day to relax a n d c e n t e r y o u r m i n d a n d t h e n r e t u r n t o s t u d y . Your
rete n t i o n l evel will in crease as your stre s s l e v e l d e c r e a s e s . Stre s s c a n lead to frustration, anger,
and f e e l i ngs of being overwhelmed. This i s n o t a h e l p f u l s t a t e o f m i n d a n d r e d u c e s o u r a b i l i t y t o
focu s o n our tasks at hand. Sche d u l e an appointment with The Wellne s s C e n t e r o r y o u r m e n t a l
heal t h p r ovider. Joi n i n a s upport gro up at https://acheedu . o r g / s u p p o r t - w o r k s h o p s / . You a r e n ot
alon e .
Slee p
Slee p i s essential for retention and well - b e i n g . Slee p i n g a minimum of 6 hours a night c a n h e l p y o u
mai nt a i n focus and aid in increasing rete n t i o n l e v e l . The d a y s of pulling all night cramming ar e o v e r
as t h e y d o not work for medical school. Thi s i s t h e time to m aintain your retentio n l e v e l a t i t s
opti m u m l evel. Stimulants and alcohol int e r f e r e w i t h g e t t i n g g o o d s l e e p . i f yo u c h o o se to drin k
alco h o l , s e t limits fo r yourself and stick t o t h e m . If yo u a r e struggling with staying within y o u r l i m i t s
abst a i n f r o m drinkin g or reach out for hel p . Keep y o u r sleep routine consistent and r e a c h o u t f o r
supp o r t i f you are st ruggling to sleep.
Conn e c t i o n
Stay i n g c onnected during a pandemic has l e d t o s o m e i n t e r e s t i n g a n d c r e a t i v e w a y s t o c o m m u n i c a t e
with o t h e rs. It is i m p e r ative that we have connection e v e n d u r i n g t h i s t i m e . I am g r a t eful for social
medi a d u r ing this time but this not the o n l y w a y t o c o n n e c t w i t h o t h e r s . We c a n t a ke the time to
reac h o u t to others that may be isolated b y v o l u n t e e r i n g i n o u r c o m m u n i t y i n a he a l t h y a n d s a f e
way. Reac h o u t to your favorite charity and as k h o w y o u c a n s u p p o r t t h e m . Prac t i c e Your Spiritual
Wel l ne s s by taking the time to connect wi t h s o m e t h i n g o u t s i d e o f o u r s e l v e s . F or s o m e p e o p l e ,
spi ri t u a l i t y has to do with faith or religio n , f o r o t h e r s i t i s m o r e a b o u t f i n d i n g p u r p o s e a n d m e a n i n g
i n l i f e . O n e way to d o this is by having g r a t i t u d e . Star t a g r a titude jou rnal. One study by
Lyub o m i r s ky and her colleagues found th a t p e o p l e w h o w r o t e i n t h e i r g r a t i t u d e j o u r n a l s o n c e a w e e k
for s i x w e e ks report ed boosts in happine s s a f t e r w a r d ; “ W e a d a p t t o p o s i t i v e e v e n t s q u i c k l y ,
espe c i a l l y if we constantly focus on them , ” s a y s E m m o n s . “ I t s e e m s c o u n t e r i n t ui t i v e , b u t i t i s h o w
the m i n d works.” Reme m b e r to give y ourself credit for the t h i n g s y o u d o w e l l e a c h d a y .
Carm e l i t a Robertson MS, LPCACHE CENTER FOR EXCELLENCE IN WELLNESS
WELLNESS SUPPORT WORKSHOPS
WELLNESS CENTER GROUP COUNSELING AND WORKSHOPS SIGN UP LINK
M I N DFULNESS M E D I T A T I O N
M O N DAY’S 12: 0 0 - 1 2 : 3 0 T E A MS O N L Y
C E R TIFIED TO P R O V I D E K O R U M I N D F U L N E S S . O P E N TO STUD E N T S
A N D FACULTY/ S T A F F
A N X IETY AND D E P R E S S I O N MA N A G E M E N T S U P P O R T
T U E SDAY'S 12:0 0 - 1 2 : 3 0 R O O M 2 5 7
Y O U ARE NOT A L O N E . IF Y OU NEED SU P P O R T O R J U S T W A N T T O
L E A RN HOW TO S U P P O R T O TH E R ’ S P L E A S E J O I N U S .
C O P E WORKSHO P
WE D NESDAY 12 : 0 0 - 1 2 : 3 0 R OO M 2 5 7 O R O N T E A M S
T H I S WORKSHO P W I L L F O C US O N M A N A G I N G T H E C H A L LENGES OF
M E D ICAL SCHO O L A N D H E A LT H S C I E N C E S C A R E E R T R A I N ING.
E M P HASIS WIL L B E O N M A NA G I N G S T R E S S , S T U D Y S K I L LS AND SELF-
R E G ULATION.
A V O IDING BUR N O U T W O R K SH O P
T H U RSDAY 12: 0 0 - 1 2 : 3 0 R O O M 2 5 7 O R O N T E A M S
T H U RSDAY 6:0 0 - 7 : 0 0 P M ( T E AM S O N L Y )
T H I S GROUP F O C U S E S O N S EL F - C A R E A N D S T R A T E G I E S TO COMBAT
B U R NOUT AND C O M P A S S I O N F A T I G U E .
A R T FOR RELA X A T I O N
F R I D AY 4:00-4: 3 0 R O O M 2 5 7
A R T SUPPLIES A V A I L A B L E F O R T H O S E T H A T W A N T T O E NGAGE IN
A L L FORMS OF E X P R E S S I O N T H R O U G H C R E A T I V E T A L E N T S. T H I S IS A
C O M E AND GO F O R M A T .
YOGA
M O R E INFORMA T I O N T O F O LL O W .
Q P R SUICIDE AW A R E N E S S G A T E K E E P E R T R A I N I N G
C E N TER FOR E X C E L L E N C E I N W E L L N E S S H A S B E E N C E R T IFIED TO
P R O VIDE TRAI N I N G F O R S U IC I D E A W A R E N E S S .
P L E ASE E-MAIL T H E W E L L N E S S C E N T E R F O R A T I M E S L O T .Octo b e r C OSGP- Overcoming Imposte r S y n d r o m e i n M e d i c a l S c h o o l “How d i d I even get into medical scho o l , t h e r e m u s t h a v e b e e n s o m e m i s t ak e . E v e r y o n e a r o u n d me i s s o smart, I can barely keep up.” The p u r p o se of this initiative is to spar k c o n v e r s a t i o n amon g m edical stu dents throughout t h e c o u n t r y a n d r a i s e a w a r e n e s s f o r f e e l i n g s o f i m p o s t e r synd r o m e that may be present in our e v e r y d a y l i v e s . B y b e c o m i n g m o r e v ul n e r a b l e a n d s h a r i n g our e x p e r iences, we will build a comm u n i t y i n w h i c h w e c a n e x p r e s s o u r o wn c o n c e r n s a n d ackn o w l e d ge that we are not alone. Suza n n e I mes and Pauline Rose Clanc e f i r s t d e s c r i b e d t h i s “syn d r o me” in 1978 as occurring in hi g h a c h i e v i n g w o m e n , b u t s h o r t l y a f t er c l a r i f i e d t h a t Impo s t e r Syndrome was not specific to w o m e n . W h i l e t h e r e s t i l l s e e m s t o be a p r e p o n d e r a n c e o f wome n w ho identif y with these feeling s , s t u d i e s s h o w t h a t u n d e r p r e s s u r e , m e n m a y b e m o r e affe c t e d by imposter syndrome than wo m e n . Feel i n g l ike an imposter can be detrime n t a l t o g o o d ment a l a n d physical health. Medical s c h o o l , w h i l e n e v e r e a s y , h a s b e c o m e p a r t i c u l a r l y s t r e s s f u l in t h e p a st decade. The exhausting pa c e o f m e d i c a l s c h o o l , t h e i n h e r e n t c om p e t i t i o n f o r r e s e a r c h and l e a d e rship experiences, and the e v e r l o o m i n g s p e c t e r o f t h e l i c e n s i n g e x a m s ( U S M L E ) s a p s the e n t h u siasm and empathy with whi c h s t u d e n t s a r r i v e a t s c h o o l . F e e l i n g l i k e t h e y a r e “ n o t g o o d enou g h ” o n top of these stressors mak e s s t u d e n t s q u e s t i o n t h e i r a b i l i t i e s a n d , i n m a n y c a s e s , can l e a d to social isolation, academic d i f f i c u l t i e s , a n d m i s a l i g n e d c a r e e r p a t h s . E v e n i f c a r e e r choi c e s a re not directly affected, feel i n g l i k e a n i m p o s t e r c a u s e s i n d i v i d u a l s t o h a v e d i f f i c u l t y enjo y i n g or taking credit for their suc c e s s e s . A 2 0 1 6 a r t i c l e , Impo s t e r syndrome and burnout amon g A merican m edical students: a p i l o t s t u d y , con c l u d e d that a quarter of male med i c a l stud e n t s and nearly half of female stud e n t s e x p e r i e n c e i m p o s t e r s y n d r o m e a n d r e p o r t b u r n o u t comp o n e nts of exh austion, cynicism, e m o t i o n a l e x h a u s t i o n , a n d d e p e r s o n a l i z a t i o n . Ther e i s also some e v i d ence that society’s engageme n t a n d r e l i a n c e o n s o c i a l m e d i a i n th e m o d e r n e r a cont r i b u t es to our feeling of being imp o s t e r s . P r e m e d a n d m e d i c a l s c h o o l b l o g s a n d s o c i a l m e d i a site s t e n d to portray the need to be ‘p e r f e c t ’ o r t o h i d e o n e ’ s f l a w s . T h i s i s e x a c t l y t h e o p p o s i t e of a g r o w th mindset that is key to lear n i n g a n d s u c c e s s i n m e d i c i n e . Can t h e s e feeling be miti g a t e d ? Yes they can! As s t u d e n ts and physicians, we need t o a c k n o w l e d g e t h a t w e a r e m e r e mort a l s , subject to the same faults and h u m a n f a i l i n g s a s t h e r e s t o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n . Y e s , w e must t r y hard to be the “ideal” student a n d p h y s i c i a n , b u t t r y i n g o u r b e s t d o e s n o t m e a n w e w i l l alwa y s b e perfect. The weight of living u p t o a n i d e a l c a n b e e x h a u s t i n g . W e n e e d t o b r e a k t h e sile n c e a nd isolation that surrounds im p o s t e r s y n d r o m e b y s h a r i n g o u r s t o r i e s . H e a r i n g t h a t ment o r s a nd advisors struggled with a n d s u r v i v e d t h e s e f e e l i n g s p r o v i d e s g u i d a n c e t o r e c o g n i z e and a d d r e ss the symptoms of imposte r s y n d r o m e a n d b u r n o u t a n d s e e k h e l p e a r l y . An a r t i c l e in the J o u r n al of Physician Assistant Ed u c a t i o n i n 2 0 0 7 r e c o m m e n d s a t h r e e -p o i n t e x e r c i s e t o reco g n i z e imposter traits: Ackn o w l edge both positive feedback y o u h a v e r e c e i v e d a n d y o u r doub t s a b out its authenticity. This wil l d e m o n s t r a t e h o w y o u d i s c o u n t t h e o p i n i o n o f o t h e r peop l e . Exam i n e t he messages you receive ab o u t y o u r s e l f f r o m o t h e r s . U n d e r s t a n d i n g t h e sour c e o f your negative self-image ca n e m p o w e r y o u t o b r e a k f r e e . V i s u a l i ze t e l l i n g y o u r m e n t o r s and p e e r s how you have “fooled” them. T h i s w i l l h e l p y o u r e a l i z e h o w a b s ur d y o u r w o r d s m i g h t soun d t o them. Once y o u recognize that you might hav e i m p o s t e r s y n d r o m e , s e e k o u t a n ad v i s o r or m e n t o r . It is important to gain pers p e c t i v e a s y o u w i l l r e a l i z e t h a t y o u a r e n o t a l o n e . A l m o s t ever y o n e at some point in their lives o r i n c e r t a i n s i t u a t i o n s f e e l l i k e i m p o s t e r s . A n o t h e r t i p i s t o reco g n i z e that a student is NOT expec t e d t o k n o w a s m u c h a s a n e x p e r i e n ce d p h y s i c i a n . E m b r a c e bein g a n ovice and focus on developin g a g r o w t h m i n d s e t . E a c h s t u d e n t e nt e r s m e d i c a l s c h o o l with d i f f erent strengths. Comparing y o u r s e l f t o y o u r p e e r s i s u n h e l p f u l , b ut s h a r i n g e x p e r t i s e amon g c olleagues lifts everyone’s per f o r m a n c e . Your s c h o ol did not make a mistake. Y o u d o n o t need t o b e someone perfect. You are e n o u g h . Rosh i n i P into-Powell, MD, FACP; http s : / / s t u dents-re sidents.aamc.org/at t e n d i n g - m e d i c a l - scho o l / a r ticle/imposter-syndrome/ Retr i e v e d 10/8/2020 9:34 AM
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