Your SVS: Wellness Program Launches

Nov 13, 2019 Re-posted from the November 2019 issue of Vascular Specialist

The Society for Vascular Surgery has officially launched a member support component of its wellness program, designed to help vascular surgeons enhance their personal resilience and continue development of a compassionate and accountable peer community.

Members are encouraged to access the first monthly topic, “Creating Wellness Through a Peer Support Community,” and accompanying self-study exercises. SVS Wellness Task Force members and professional coaches, will be actively engaging member feedback and comments through the online SVSConnect community. (Visit vsweb.org/SVSConnect.)

The member support portion of SVS’ wellness initiative is offered in partnership with SurgeonMasters SM, medical professionals dedicated to improving physicians’ well-being, practice performance, and patient outcomes. The SurgeonMasters community “empowers surgeons to cultivate a thriving, lifestyle-friendly practice contributing to personal and professional excellence.”

“This is a community-led support system, run by us for us, working with SurgeonMasters,” said Dawn Coleman, MD, chair of the SVS Wellness Task Force. “We will have a new topic every month, chosen specifically because it is relevant to our members and the concerns they’ve brought forward.” The December topic will help members recognize the signs of burnout.

Members will also share their own stories of burnout and coping mechanisms. “Who knows the challenges of our lives better than other vascular surgeons?” she asked. “This program is unprecedented at this level. There are evolving data indicating this kind of system-level support with individual targeted interventions can optimize wellness for physicians.”

The wellness initiative began more than two years ago, with a series of articles on burnout by Dr. Coleman and Mal Sheahan, MD, task force vice chair. “We are pleased to see the work done by so many people come to fruition like this,” said Dr. Coleman. This is an exciting moment and an important initiative. We hope everyone takes advantage of this program.”

Visit vsweb.org/WellnessSupport for information on accessing the first article.

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