This post was contributed by Claire Bender, MD, FACR, chair of the ACR Commission on Human Resources and Lori Deitte, MD, FACR, chair of the ACR Commission on Publications and Lifelong Learning.
Stress, depression, anxiety and fatigue. As radiologists, we face these all-too-familiar symptoms at a distressingly high frequency. What does it amount to? A growing and dangerous challenge faced by physicians everywhere—burnout. According to the 2019 Medscape Radiology Lifestyle Report, almost half of radiologists surveyed admitted to burnout. Many facing this challenge feel uncomfortable broaching the topic with their supervisors or other colleagues. It has become abundantly clear we must work together to combat this issue.
We’re proud to announce the launch of the American College of Radiology (ACR) Radiologist Well-Being Program. We’ve also created a toolkit to help you take action to manage your own stress or empower a struggling colleague.
The program offers a variety of resources to assess your level of wellness and identify ways to improve your well-being over time. Participants have free access to the following:
- The proven and trusted Well-Being Index (WBI) survey tool, created by the Mayo Clinic to help physicians anonymously self-evaluate their level of well-being
- A toolkit of radiologist-specific, high-impact articles and resources on critical well-being topics such as work-life balance, health behavior, emotional concerns, relationships and more, all accessible within the WBI
- A well-being curriculum, offering educational wellness resources appropriate for residents, medical students and career physicians
This program is available to all ACR members, including residents, fellows and medical students. We encourage you to take advantage of the full toolkit. Complete the WBI survey, explore the articles and resources on critical wellness topics and embrace the comprehensive curriculum. It’s time to stop suffering in silence. The American College of Radiology cares about your well-being and is here to help.
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