Creating a culture of wellness was the central topic of a panel discussion held today at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. The event also served as a celebration and book signing for the new memoir by Jessi Gold, MD.
Dr. Gold, the inaugural chief wellness officer for the UT System and an associate professor of psychiatry at UT Health Science Center, sat at the center of the panel, which consisted of faculty members, physicians, administrators, staff, and a student from across the university’s colleges and units. The UT Health Science Center community was invited to the Mooney Library to hear the panel members discuss their experiences and insights into personal well-being within the academic and health care fields. Dr. Gold said sparking conversations like this was the main purpose for writing her book.
“I think one of the reasons that I put it out there was to have people feel, one, less alone, because we don’t talk about this stuff enough, but also to feel that they have something they can do to fix their workplaces,” she said. “I think a lot about health care culture. A lot of us feel like we can’t fix stuff because we’re in this system that was set up a long time before us and requires huge changes to make better, but I think that where we actually can make a change is in the culture. We have ownership of how we talk each other, how we help students, and how we treat ourselves.”
A nationally recognized expert on student and health care worker mental health and wellness, Dr. Gold is focusing on a systemwide coordinated approach to wellness based on prevention instead of intervention. In her first eight months at UT and UT Health Science Center, she has visited campuses and talked with students, faculty, and staff to get a baseline and determine what is needed across the system.
Today’s discussion allowed the panelists, such as Chasity Shelton, PharmD, associate dean for Student Affairs in the College of Pharmacy, to share how they look out for each other in addition to taking care of themselves.
“It’s important for us to pay attention and notice each other in the workplace. If you notice someone isn’t doing the things that we normally would expect them to do, feel empowered to check in on them,” Dr. Shelton said. “For students, it’s a lot of work and you kind of focus on just doing your thing, and so it’s easy to miss those signs in people. So, try to be more observant.”
Ashley Hendrix, MD, assistant professor of surgical oncology, moderated the panel discussion. The other panelists were nursing student Daija Cunningham; internal medicine-pediatrics resident Christina Miller, MD; CHIPS administrator Jean Perdicaris; College of Dentistry Dean Ken Tilashalski, DMD; Daniel Wells, MD, internal medicine-pediatrics residency program director; Mona Newsome Wicks, PhD, chair of the College of Nursing’s Department of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention; and Anne Zachry, PhD, chair of the Department of Occupational Therapy.
After the discussion, Dr. Gold signed copies of her book, “How Do You Feel?: One Doctor’s Search for Humanity in Medicine.” The book was released October 8 through Simon Element, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, and it is now a national bestseller after appearing on USA TODAY’s most recent Best-Selling Booklist in the nonfiction category. Ten copies of the book were given away at today’s event, and the book was also available for purchase.
“It follows me and four of my health care worker patients forward as we struggle with the challenges of caring for yourself when your job is caring for others,” Dr. Gold said. “While it focuses on health care, and we all know someone who is in health care, it is a lens for all of us to look at what prevents us from prioritizing our own well-being. It looks at issues of burnout, perfectionism, and stigma, among others, through narrative, including my own.”