Healing the healer: A tool to encourage student reflection towards health

Abstract

Background: Research has demonstrated that students’ health falters while in medical school with healthy behaviors continuing to deteriorate during residency. Medical education can be focused toward helping students find health for themselves. Physicians who are most likely to practice healthy lifestyles are more likely to encourage their patients to do so.

Aims: Create a tool that encourages self-reflection, education and self-care for physicians-in-training.

Method: Users completed a web-based tool that helped them create a personal health plan focusing on the themes of nutrition, lifestyle choices, family history, mind-body influences and spiritual connection. A six-question survey was completed by 500 users.

Results: The results support the main objectives of the tool, which were to encourage self-reflection, positive lifestyle habits and education towards key aspects of health and well-being.

Conclusion: Having medical students and residents develop their own health plans can be an efficient method towards encouraging self-care, understanding foundational health concepts and instilling skills to teach health promotion to their patients.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

David P. Rakel

DAVID RAKEL, MD, is the Director of the University of Wisconsin Integrative Medicine program and Asst. Professor in the Dept. of Family Medicine. He has a particular interest in student self-care and mind-body influences on health.

Joan Hedgecock

JOAN HEDGECOCK, MSPH, is the Associate Director of the American Medical Student Association Foundation (AMSA) where she serves as Director/Principal Investigator on several medical education programs.