A Comparison of the Existing Wellness Programs in Neurosurgery and Institution Champion's Perspectives

Abstract

Once the accepted norm during Harvey Cushing's time, the mantra of work to the exclusion of family and lifestyle is now recognized as deleterious to overall well-being. A number of neurosurgical residency training programs have implemented wellness programs to enhance the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of trainees and faculty. This manuscript highlights existing organized wellness education within neurosurgery residency programs in order to describe the motivations behind development, structure, and potential implementation strategies, cost of implementation, and identify successes and barriers in the integration process. This manuscript is designed to serve as a “how-to” guide for other programs who may identify a need in their own trainees and begins the discussion of how to develop wellness, leadership, grit, and resiliency within our future generation of neurosurgeons.

Letter to the Editor “Changes to Neurosurgery Resident Education Since Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic”

“…Trainees report stress regarding the physical risks posed by having to care for COVID-positive patients 24,25 as well as the potential impact that COVID restrictions may have on future career prospects. 26 Neurosurgical residency is demanding, 27,28 and although overall attrition rates are below average (11% between 2005 and 2010 vs. 18% for general surgery residents), 29,30 it has been noted that low operative volume and outside social stressors are associated with higher rates of burnout. 31 This situation raises concern for increased resident burnout rates during the COVID crisis.…”

“…27,28,32,33 In the setting of this COVID pandemic, it seems that these wellness initiatives are increasingly important. Previous initiatives outside the COVID pandemic have included implementation of gym 28 and Ares et al 32 memberships, group exercise sessions, and regular lectures on wellness 28 (Table 4). Quintero-Wolfe et al 28 recently summarized wellness initiatives at 7 residency programs.…”

“…Previous initiatives outside the COVID pandemic have included implementation of gym 28 and Ares et al 32 memberships, group exercise sessions, and regular lectures on wellness 28 (Table 4). Quintero-Wolfe et al 28 recently summarized wellness initiatives at 7 residency programs. These investigators found that the most popular items included scheduled workout sessions, regular wellness lectures, and participation in scheduled group events, including the annual neurosurgery softball tournament.…”

“…33 In response to this experience, Louisiana State University implemented a similar exercise program for residents at their New Orleans campus; two thirds of the residents reported the intervention to significantly improve their job satisfaction. 28 Implementation of a mindfulness-based initiative at the University of Florida was similarly reported to improve resident motivation and conflict-handling abilities. 28 Along these same lines, since the pandemic began, our institution has offered all students and trainees free mental telehealth counseling to deal with some of the new challenges and stressors.…”

“…28 Implementation of a mindfulness-based initiative at the University of Florida was similarly reported to improve resident motivation and conflict-handling abilities. 28 Along these same lines, since the pandemic began, our institution has offered all students and trainees free mental telehealth counseling to deal with some of the new challenges and stressors.…”