NPSA Day 2024 Wellness Gallery

This is a photo of my children enjoying the beach during a lovely sunset on Laguna Beach, CA. I believe in the stress of life and the difficulties of working in a specialty in which we witness so much sadness, pain, and death, we can remember the moments that make it worth it, and that there is so much more to life than suffering. I have so much to be grateful for, and this picture helps me remember that.

- David Hart, MD

This photo is a part of a series I did during medical school titled "memoirs of an uncontrolled adhd..." I create art to relieve the tension and emotions I experience when I feel inadequate because of my ADHD. Photography provides me with the space to create something that I can then map my emotions on, to better understand and process them.

-Omar Taweh, MD

This is a photo taken during a rare vacation in New Mexico when I was exploring White Sands National park. Photography is about the journey, the experience, the new sounds (and sometimes lack of) and textures, the wind blowing against your neck. To me, it all becomes a physical representation of tranquility and calm. A place where I can be alone in my thoughts gazing out into a far more vast world than what meets me at the hospital. It helps provide the opportunity to develop calmness of mind and reflect on my most recent experiences.

-Jonathan Warren, MD

-Marc Borenstein, MD

-Marc Borenstein, MD

At the University of Puerto Rico Internal Medicine Program, physician wellbeing and wellness is a priority. We are aware of physician’s suicide statistics and support the #National Physician Suicide Awareness Day initiative. Stop the stigma! … Start the conversation! Your life is important, YOU ARE IMPORTANT!

-Arelis Febles, MD

The Internal Medicine Residency Program at the University of Puerto Rico is aware of the impact and the importance of mental health. This picture with discordant socks, is a call to stopping the stigma and raising awareness of mental health disease and the impact on physicians!

-UPR Internal Medicine

"Hi, I'm Doctor" is a short poem that embodies the struggles of being a doctor and how we suppress those struggles in front of our patients and colleagues. This poem serves as a reminder that doctors are humans too, but we often try to hide our humanistic qualities and feelings to protect others. Being human isn't a weakness, so let's turn it into a strength.

-Autumn Breutzmann, DO

As I reflect on my healing journey, it has been nothing like I expected—it has been longer and more difficult. I can’t just “try harder” and think my way through it. However, it has also been more freeing and transformative—I am learning to live authentically from my humanity with joy and hope. Writing, regardless of form, helps me find myself and my voice, and I share these writings with gratitude.

-Kendra Parekh, MD

Exercise and movement are truly essential for me for a variety of reasons, and when the covid pandemic happened and Orange Theory closed down, I pivoted to using the Peloton platform and have never looked back! With the convenience of exercising at home along with being in the "empty-nest" phase of life, physical fitness has become my primary hobby and mechanism of helping me to stay calm in all aspects of my life. Weight lifting and riding the bike are my release from the physical and emotional stressors of being an academic emergency physician and chief wellness officer, as well as my various other identities, such as wife, mother, and member of my community.

- Pam Dyne, MD

Pictures of beautiful desert flowers I took during my walks in the El Paso desert with my daughter, a favorite wellness activity of mine.

-Radosveta Wells, MD