by Jessica Singh, MD

Imagine there was a formal, structured opportunity to develop expertise in the art and science of physician wellness.

To learn how to improve healthcare organizational settings to enhance efficiency of practice and promote a culture of wellness.

To actually work towards helping yourself and your colleagues enhance professional fulfillment and be well while caring for others.

I had no idea such an opportunity existed until discovering the Emergency Medicine Physician Wellness Fellowship at Stanford University School of Medicine. This opportunity was created by initial co-directors Dr. Rebecca Smith-Coggins and Dr. Cori Poffenberger with the support of additional faculty leadership, and was first implemented in the 2019-2020 academic year.

The Road to Fellowship

An esteemed physician faculty mentor once gave me this crucial advice: When deciding whether or not to pursue fellowship, think about the type of jobs you can get afterwards. What doors will it open for you?

The decision of whether or not to pursue fellowship, further specialization after physician training in residency, is multifold. The choice largely depends on your medical field and desired practice, your passion, and the additional expertise you hope to gain. Traditionally, fellowships enable physicians to make a unique contribution to the art and science of medicine and develop a niche, enhancing professional fulfillment.

After completing four years of medical school and then four years of residency, I found myself exhilarated yet burnt out, feeling like I had nothing left to give. I felt there was a large gap between the healthcare that I was trying to provide patients as a physician, and the wellness that I wanted to experience as a human being. From that point forward, I made the decision to only pursue training that fully aligned with my sense of purpose. I had spent my youth becoming a physician, and it was time for me to prioritize my passions and well-being.

This led me to accept my first job as an attending physician in a highly esteemed community hospital. It was a privilege to work with such compassionate, gifted healthcare providers in a remarkably patient-centered emergency medicine setting. However, I quickly learned that even in the best of environments, the healthcare system as a whole is in dire need of improvement with respect to provider wellness. I thought, “If I were going to do a fellowship in anything, it would be in physician wellness.” And, lo and behold, Google led me to Stanford.

The Physician Wellness Fellowship Changed My Life

The physician wellness fellowship changed my life.

The Emergency Medicine Physician Wellness Fellowship at Stanford University School of Medicine provided me with a structured opportunity to develop expertise in the art and science of physician wellness. I cultivated knowledge in this field in multiple environments: clinical, research, educational, and administrative. I also collaborated with faculty, residents, and medical students to promote wellness through creativity and innovation.

As a result of these experiences, I learned to focus on the wellness of healthcare provider staff as well as patients, as the two are inextricably intertwined; physician wellness is a matter of patient quality and safety. I gained an understanding of the “business” of the healthcare system and the ethical, practical case for investing in wellness. Ultimately, my time in this fellowship led me to develop a systems-level, multidisciplinary process improvement approach to wellness, which I am now able to bring to organizations.

I entered fellowship wanting to improve the healthcare system, to make it more sustainable and human. As a young physician, I envisioned a healthcare environment more conducive to the well-being of both patients and providers, but had no idea how to make this vision a reality. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect to emerge, just one year later, with absolute clarity on what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Even less did I expect to gain the courage, skills, and mentorship to start my own wellness practice — Sukhayu Wellness.

By helping both physicians and patients empower themselves to be well, I am now contributing to the world in the way I hoped to when I began my medical training. My current practice would not have been possible without the medical and clinical experience on which it’s founded. 

In summary, I formed my own wellness practice in order to help transform the current healthcare system from a business-centric to a human-centric model, one physician at a time.

Interested in Learning More About the Physician Wellness Fellowship?

While burnout is prevalent amongst health care providers and broadly described in research, solutions are difficult to find. In the current COVID-19 pandemic, physician wellness leaders are essential. The Emergency Medicine Physician Wellness Fellowship at Stanford University School of Medicine provides structured opportunity for physicians to develop expertise in the science of physician wellness.  

The initial fellowship co-directors and I co-authored the publication “Creating Leaders Through Scholarship: The Development of a Physician Wellness Fellowship in Emergency Medicine” with the aim to inspire other institutions and specialties to create similar programs focused on enhancing leadership in physician wellness. This is the peer reviewed, un-copyedited version, shared with permission for your reference.

Reference: Singh, J, Poffenberger, C, Smith‐Coggins, R. Creating Leaders Through Scholarship: The Development of a Physician Wellness Fellowship in Emergency Medicine. AEM Education and Training 2021. https://doi.org/10.1002/aet2.10627