Upcoming Events:

Wellness Week - November 28, 2022, to December 02, 2022

• Holiday Door Decorating Competition
  Date: Tuesday, November 29, 2022

Does your team have what it takes to be the winners of our holiday door decorating competition? Register your team at [email protected] before Wednesday, November 23, 2022. A maximum of five (5) individuals per team. All doors will need to be decorated by 9:00 on Tuesday, November 29, 2022.

• Wheel of Wellness
  Date: Wednesday, November 30, 2022
  Time: 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.
  Location: Atrium

Join your friends from the Faculty of Medicine’s Wellness Program for some lunchtime fun & games – with special guests - Swag and Prizes!

• Massage Therapy
  Date: Thursday, December 01, 2022
  Time: 1:00 - 4:00
  Location: Atrium

Come join us as we welcome students from the International Academy of Massage who will provide Faculty, Learners and support staff with massages.

Please note that spots are limited, and it is on a first comes first serve basis.

• Yoga at RGN
  Date: Friday, December 02, 2022
  Time: 12:00 - 1:00
  Location: Atrium

A Yoga session will be held in the Atrium between 12:00 – 1:00. Participants will be required to bring a mat and water bottle. This event is for all learners, Faculty and staff. Register at [email protected]

2. Movement for Medicine:

Join your friends at the Faculty of Medicine and high-performance trainers from UOttawa’s School of Human Kinetics for 8 sessions to help get you progressively stronger, more flexible and energized. Sessions will be held outdoors on the terrace behind RGN campus.  Participants will be required to bring a Yoga mat or towel. Please note that participants will be required to sign a waiver.

Classes will be from 12:10 -12:50 on the terrace behind RGN campus.

Dates:
November 03, 2022
November 10, 2022
November 17, 2022

For more information, please contact the Faculty Wellness Program at [email protected]

3. Faculty of Medicine Lunchtime Walking Group:

Join us every Thursday at the front entrance of RGN at 12:10 for a walk around the Roger Guindon Campus. Come to meet new people or bring a friend.

If you would like to volunteer to lead a session, please contact the Faculty Wellness Program at [email protected]

Dates:
November 03, 2022

Seminar Series:

1. Getting Off the Path to Burnout
Dr. Marcia Kostenuik
February 22, 2023
12:00-1:00

Description:
Physician burnout, first described in the 1970s, is recognized by the key features of emotional and physical exhaustion; cynicism and loss of enjoyment; and reduced work efficacy. Dr. Kostenuik explains how physicians can be empowered to recognize the precursors, individual and system risk factors, and early signs of burnout to prevent unnecessary suffering, illness, and adverse outcomes.

 Addressable causes of burnout are grouped into three key areas: stress response, myths about resilience; and system issues. Acute and chronic stress lead to differing individual physiological and emotional responses. While some individuals will benefit from rest, others require activation or social connection. It is important to tailor effective, evidence-informed approaches to individual needs. High resilience and traits such as perfectionism, a strong sense of social justice, and difficulty saying 'no', actually contribute to burnout if physicians do not recognize their physical and emotional limits and boundaries. Solutions and approaches are presented to help physicians address their stress reactions, set healthier limits to function optimally in the “comfort zone”, and address medical system and culture issues.

Objectives:
How to recognize early signs of physician burnout
How to recognize personal risk factors and system issues that increase the risk of burnout
How to use strategies to monitor and reduce stress, set healthier work limits, develop true resilience, and create better work-life balance to reduce the risk of burnout

Click here to register for this event!

Moral Injury and Moral Residue in Health Professionals Post-Pandemic: Shifting the Focus From Wellness and Burnout Towards Dealing with Moral Distress

Dr. Ed Spilg, provided a talk in which participants explored the latest evidence on moral distress and the impacts of health professionals during COVID-19 and what interventions can address these.

Click here to view the recording.

Finding Joy at Work. From Languishing to Burnout to Flourishing and Everything in Between

Mankind's search for happiness is as old as recorded human history. From Aristotle to Freud all philosophers have an opinion regarding it. Blaise Pascal once said that even people who are trying to commit suicide are trying to be happier. Joy is similarly elusive and fleeting when experienced. Even before the pandemic, the WHO declared that depression was the leading cause of disability as of 2012 and an epidemic of the developed world. This was despite the fact that external stresses were diminishing; extreme poverty was on the decline, life expectancy was on the rise and other indicators of health were improving. Why, when external stressors were decreasing, were people experiencing increased internal stress? As we come out of this pandemic, the world has experienced a global threat unseen for over a century. What will the effects on our mental health be? What is the connection to work place mental health, productivity and job satisfaction? What is the connection between workplace engagement and joy at work? Is there such a thing as work life balance or does the concept of harmonics make more sense? What is the connection between mental health and mental wellness? Are they just two extremes of the same continuum or are they different things? Join Dr Lau as he will discuss possible answers to these and many other questions.

Click here to view the recording!