Karen Valle, MD
University of Texas Southwestern
Project Concept:  To develop a longitudinal, comprehensive wellness curriculum for my residency. Talking about mental health and the struggles of residency, second victim syndrome, acknowledging that social activities and exercise are only a tiny fraction of what wellness truly is.
Mentors:  Adam Kellogg, MD, Alai Alvarez, MD 

Leah Manchester, MD
Yale New Haven Hospital
Project Concept:  My project consists of two parts: increasing resident self-identification of burnout/depression, and helping each resident create a personal toolkit to help them manage these symptoms if/when they occur. This would involve a small series of didactics during the beginning of the year to educate on the signs and symptoms of burnout, along with individualized peer mentoring and occasional online surveys to assess the wellbeing of the residents. The didactics would also include each resident helping to create their personal toolkit that they will turn to if needed, which would have various steps to take depending on the severity of their symptoms.
Mentors: Jackie McParlane, DO, Erin Dehon, PhD 

Ryan Reber, MD
Cleveland Clinic Akron General
Project Concept:  At my institution, we currently have academic adviser groups consisting of a faculty member and approximately 3 residents (usually one from each resident training year). These groups meet on a regular basis to ensure residents are: completing residency requirements, receiving guidance from faculty and senior residents, and also allowing residents to form personal relationships with faculty and co-residents outside of the emergency department. I propose the expansion of this program to include “resident families” where residents have the option to join groups based upon personal interests. This would boost camaraderie among residents, provide an enjoyable activity outside of the emergency department and demonstrate the residency’s support for resident wellness and work/personal life balance.
Mentors:  Laryssa Patti, MD, Andy Grock, MD

Kimberly Moulton, MD
Stanford University
Project Concept: One of my areas of interest is the association of shift work with pregnancy complications, and potential wellness policies to alleviate these effects. Since hearing anecdotal evidence of trends in complications amongst pregnant emergency physicians, I have searched the literature and determined that physician pregnancy complications remain woefully under-studied, so whether this phenomenon truly exists remains an open question. I would love to study this, perhaps through a survey. 

Another idea I have for a project is the design and implementation of a designated lactation space embedded within the ED. Since becoming a mother, I’m keenly attuned to the hours of daily devotion to the pumping of breast milk while working. In order to attain the high volume of breast milk output recommended by the AAP, physicians who return to work are obligated, by non-modifiable physiologic constraints, to pump during busy shifts. Currently, there is no designated lactation room in our ED. Productivity declines when physician-mothers leave the department for the nearest designated space; stress multiplies with significant geographic separation from sick patients under their care, and morale suffers during periods of forced isolation.
Mentor:  Nicole Battaglioli, MD 

Sneha Shah, MD
Maimonides Medical Center
Project Concept:  I am currently working on a study called Massage Out Burnout (MOBO) at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York. We hope to show that on-shift massage therapy will decrease burnout in EM residents. Massage therapy in the workplace is accessible and gives us a chance to be taken care of: a momentary break from the role of caretaker. Our research has recently received IRB approval, and we are hoping to launch in July 2019. My goal for this study is three-fold: I would like to demonstrate the effectiveness of massages as a wellness intervention. I’m hoping our research inspires more wellness research nationally, as well as more implementation of different types of wellness interventions at other residency programs throughout the country.
Mentor: Ryan Bodkin, MD 

Elizabeth Boctor, MD
Metropolitan Hospital Center
Project Concept:  During intern year, I basically killed my metabolism because I would only have one meal a day after shifts since we were not allowed to eat at our stations. I always thought this was a ridiculous rule since patients who are sitting one meter away from us are eating all the time. With the new ACEP video officially announcing that they stand behind all of us being allowed to eat on shift I really want to work towards making this official policy at the ER at my residency. I think it would make such an impact on the morale of the team if we're able to have our coffee/water/food next to us and not constantly being told off by admin people who would sometimes actively come around and throw people's food away. Our department chair has said that if we get hospital admin and infection control to agree he would be okay with implementing this.
Mentor:  Christine Stehman, MD 

Eryn Dichari, MD
University of Nebraska Omaha, NE
Project Concept:  I am considering coming up with a post-vention suicide plan for residency programs across the nation. There should be a formal action plan in place to aid the process of healing and serve as a prevention and resiliency method. With additional education and mentorship my goal would be to develop an evidence-based action plan for hospitals to implement for suicide prevention and postvention. Postvention in particular receives too little attention; when tragedy occurs. It has a rippling effect that initially reaches those closest to the victim, then spreads to impact a sizeable number of individuals, and it is critical to address those effects.
Mentor:  Steve Hochman, MD