The GI Professional Development and Wellness group is focused was created to develop effective strategies to enhance well-being and successful work-life integration among faculty and fellows.
Under the leadership of Dr. Fasiha Kanwal, we have developed a variety of activities throughout the year, including: Wellness Grand Rounds (quarterly during GI Grand Rounds), GI "Ladies Night" (focused mentoring for female fellows), and 1st-year fellowship retreat.
Gastroenterology Wellness Lecture Series
There have been a variety of wellness lecture topics presented throughout the years. Topics cover a wide range of topics such as disparities, bias in medicine, social media, relaxation techniques such as yoga, mindfulness, ergonomics in endoscopy, empathy, burnout prevention, nutrition, etc.
First-Year Fellows Retreat
The retreat focuses on reflecting and reconnecting with individual purpose and with one another. The retreat takes place on a Friday in January every year. It includes multiple activities such as inviting a patient to share how fellows impacted their care, re-reading personal statements, sharing positive attributes of one another, fellow/faculty speed dating to discuss work-life balance, board games to facilitate reflections on the ups/downs of the fellowship, and a Chai tea making lesson. Second- and third-year fellows cover clinical duties the night before, during the day of the retreat and the following weekend to allow for first-year fellows to rest and spend distraction-free time together.
