You’ve likely heard UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D., elevate campus conversations about well-being and resiliency.
Now, those words — and UNMC’s efforts — have been recognized by the American Medical Association in both an online editorial and in its AMA Moving Medicine magazine.
In the AMA’s summer 2019 issue, the physician association highlights how UNMC is making wellness a larger part of its culture at all levels, even noting that Dr. Gold included it as a final message to recent graduates.
“We cannot give full dedication to healing as we have sworn an oath to do if we ourselves are not truly resilient, if we are hurting, if we no longer have the very best of ourselves to give to others,” he told graduates during this past spring’s commencement ceremony. “We have recognized this here at UNMC. This is why we have made mental health wellness and stress management one of our greatest emphases, a set of foundational principles.”
Dr. Gold has spoken widely on burnout among health care professionals and worked to make well-being and resiliency part of the conversation at every level. In recent years, he has:
- appointed Steven Wengel, M.D., assistant vice chancellor for campus wellness for both UNMC and the University of Nebraska at Omaha;
- incorporated wellness goals into the strategic plan;
- made mental health resources available via a mobile app;
- supported an annual wellness conference titled “Elevating the Conversation,” which has drawn national experts to campus to discuss burnout and resiliency;
- promoted the launch of the Nebraska Medical Orchestra for faculty and staff; and
- made it a focus during his annual Breakthrough Thinking retreat for campus leaders.