Resident Spotlight – 2021 – Volume 5

Highlights from Virginia’s Family Medicine Residency Programs
Kiersten Pikarsky, DO

Kiersten Pikarsky, DO
2021 Graduate
Lynchburg Family Medicine Residency Program
Wellness

Lynchburg Family Medicine Residency is fortunate to have had one of our residents create a wellness elective. The goal of this elective was to educate others and ourselves about burnout and other mental health issues we experience as physicians. The elective can be a 2-4-week rotation pending the needs of the residents.  It helps to educate the residents as well as help them avoid burnout while doing the majority of their work at home or wherever they needed to be. 
 
We have a newsletter that the wellness committee works on and distributes four times a year. The content included in that newsletter consist of topics ranging from personal tips as a resident to avoid burnout, hot topics in medicine today, and upcoming events at the residency.  Especially during COVID, this newsletter has been helpful as we have not been together as a group.  It keeps us in touch.
 
Prior to COVID, we were trying to do a wellness event every month/couple of months so we could enjoy each other’s company outside of the residency. Thankfully, while getting used to a new normal, we have been able to modify and restart our wellness events. We appreciate our program’s flexibility and support as we all try to navigate wellness together.