(318) Prioritizing Well-Being for a More Resilient Workforce

Objective : Commitment to well-being is essential to achieving our strategic priorities for student, faculty and staff success. Our objective was to develop meaningful opportunities to create a school-wide culture of well-being and resiliency.

Methods: A Well-being and Resilience Committee was created in 2021 and charged with promoting a culture of, and fostering a commitment to well-being and resilience to help students, faculty, and staff thrive professionally and personally to advance our school’s mission, vision and core values. Faculty from Pharmacy Practice, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Experiential Education and students comprise the committee.

Results: The Committee targeted three areas: curriculum, co-curriculum, and faculty/staff development. Well-being and resiliency sessions on mindfulness, mindset, self-compassion, managing stress and emotional intelligence were incorporated into the Student Personal and Professional Development course series. As a requirement of the series, students participate in co-curricular activities of their choice on self-awareness and reflect upon the impact on their development. The Committee supported this by offering co-curricular sessions on yoga, defusing automatic negative thoughts, improving sleep, handling exam-related stress as well as four and eight week mindfulness classes. Faculty/staff members were encouraged to participate in these sessions for their own well-being and to foster connections between faculty and students. Faculty/staff members participated in wellness challenges, mindfulness classes and sessions on supporting student well-being. Committee members also facilitated mini-presentations/activities at faculty meetings.

Conclusions: Fostering faculty/staff and student well-being and resilience is a priority and imperative to the future of pharmacy. Several opportunities designed to enhance well-being and resilience have been developed at our institution. Feedback from focus groups and surveys will be used to determine the impact and direct future initiatives.