Well-Being Menu Collection

Quick Bites (Daily Gestures — 2–3 Min)

Free, fast, repeatable touchpoints that build culture

 

Huddle Shout-Out

• 2-min recognition in daily huddle
• Name specific contributions, not generic praise
• Rotate among residents, faculty, and staff
• Best for: morning huddles & sign-out

Cost: free | Highest signal-to-effort ratio

 

Feel-Good Friday

• Weekly round table at end of clinic week
• 10–15 min, open agenda
• One “win” and one “stuck point” per person
• Coffee or pastries optional but appreciated

Cost: – to $ | Builds team trust quickly

 

Email Appreciation

• Pair with weekly curriculum schedule
• Name 1–2 residents by specific action
• Reply-all when public credit fits
• Best for: end of rotation, after tough call

Cost: free | Specific > effusive

Starters (Weekly Rituals — 15–30 Min)

Low-effort routines that compound across the year

 

Wellness Rounds

• Walk the units with candy or snacks
• 10 min max, every team gets a stop
• Brief check-in beats lengthy meetings
• Best for: long-call days, end of block

Cost: $ | Small treat, big morale lift

 

Mindfulness Hour

• Weekly 30-min guided meditation block
• In-person or virtual; protected on schedule
• Calm or Headspace prompts work well
• Co-lead with chaplaincy or wellness office

Cost: – | No-cost institutional resources

 

Walking Club

• Lunch-hour walking group, summer & fall
• Loop around campus or hospital grounds
• Walk-and-talks count as 1:1 mentoring
• No equipment; weather-permitting

Cost: free | Pairs movement with mentorship

Main Courses (Monthly / Quarterly)

Organized events and program-level investments

 

Appreciation Lunches

• Program-wide lunch monthly or quarterly
• Nursing–Resident unit lunches build rapport
• Rotate venues or cater on-site
• Best for: post-rotation, mid-year reset

Cost: $$ | ACGME fund or program budget

 

Activity Night

• Trivia, karaoke, bowling, or Top Golf
• Open invite to families when fitting
• Coffee gift cards as door prizes
• Best for: end-of-block or holiday celebration

Cost: $$–$$$ | Sponsorship can offset venue

 

Newsletter + Lectures

• Monthly Gratefulness Corner in newsletter
• Quarterly wellness lecture or workshop
• Topics: burnout, sleep, financial wellness
• Invite RWJBH EAP or external speakers

Cost: – | Free for in-house facilitators

Desserts — Resident Appreciation Week

Annual high-touch celebration of your residents

 

Hosted Events

• Welcome Luncheon or Breakfast — kickoff
• Ice Cream Social mid-week
• On-site, drop-in friendly format
• Best for: cross-program mingling

Cost: $$–$$$ | GME office co-sponsors

 

Personal Touches

• Small gifts: ID holders, branded pens, mugs
• Hand-written thank-you cards from colleagues
• Cards from faculty carry the most weight
• Best for: individualized, sincere recognition

Cost: $ | Disproportionate emotional return

 

Visibility

• Well-Being Symposium with resident voices
• Signage around the organization — photos & names
• Social media spotlight series
• Best for: showing institutional commitment

Cost: – to $ | Comms team partnership

Quick Wins (30–60 Seconds)

Micro-techniques between patients, pages, and notes

 

Two-Minute Rule

• If a task takes under 2 minutes — do it now
• Sign the order, reply to the page, file the note
• Best between patient encounters

Eliminates the queue before it forms

 

One-Touch Charting

• Open a chart once — finish the note before closing it
• Use templates and dot phrases aggressively
• Best for ambulatory & consult notes

Switching costs are the silent time-thief

 

Pre-Round Triage

• 60-second list scan before walking in
• Identify the sickest 1–2 patients first
• Best for morning rounds & post-call sign-out

Plan the round before the round plans you

Build Your Day (5–10 Min Daily Habits)

Routines that compound across the year

 

End-of-Day Closeout

• 5 min before leaving — list tomorrow’s top 3
• Capture loose ends so your brain can stop chewing
• Improves sleep onset and morning focus

Closure beats carryover

 

Daily Time-Blocking

• Protect 30–60 min for notes, study, or deep work
• Put it on the calendar — treat it like a meeting
• Batch like with like: all calls, all consults

If it isn’t scheduled, it doesn’t happen

 

Inbox Sweeps (2× / day)

• Check email & Teams at set times — not all day
• Reply, delete, defer, or delegate each item
• Mute non-urgent notifications during patient care

Attention is the scarce resource — not time

Master Your Week (Weekly Practices)

Bigger systems that organize the whole week

 

Weekly Review

• 1 REVIEW Last week — what got done, what didn’t
• 2 PLAN Next week’s top 3 priorities
• 3 SCAN 2 weeks ahead — deadlines, exams, off-service
• 4 BLOCK Calendar protected time for study & deep work

15 minutes Friday or Sunday — every week, every PGY level

 

Eisenhower Matrix

• Sort tasks: urgent vs. important
• Do · Schedule · Delegate · Delete
• Most overload sits in ‘urgent-not-important’

 

Pomodoro Blocks

• 25 min focused work + 5 min break
• Long break (20 min) after 4 cycles
• Ideal for board prep, MOC, scholarly writing

Your Toolkit (Apps, Calendars & Systems)

Infrastructure that pays dividends all year

 

Task & List Apps

• Things 3 (Apple) — clean & fast
• Todoist · Microsoft To Do — free tiers
• Apple Reminders ·
• Pick ONE — consistency beats tool choice

One system. Not three.

 

Calendar Hygiene

• Outlook + Google Calendar — accept or decline cleanly
• Color-code clinical, academic, personal
• Block ‘focus’ and ‘admin’ time weekly
• Share calendar with chiefs & co-residents

Your calendar is your contract

 

Note & Knowledge

• Evernote · OneNote · Notion · Obsidian
• Capture references, dot phrases, board notes
• Search beats memory — write it down
• Sync across phone, tablet, workstation

Second brain for a busy PGY

 

Focus Apps

• Forest — gamified focus, blocks phone
• Focus To-Do — Pomodoro + tasks combined
• Freedom — site/app blocker for study time
• Calm · Headspace — recovery between blocks

Distraction is a design problem

Quick Moves (30–60 Seconds)

Between patients, post-rounds, or any chaotic moment

 

Stairwell Lap

• 1–2 flights, no phone
• Resets cortisol & heart rate in under 60 sec
• Take stairs whenever possible during shift
• Best for: after a difficult encounter

Brief movement interrupts stress response

 

Desk Stretch Reset

• Neck rolls + shoulder shrugs (30 sec)
• Hip flexor opener after long rounds
• Wrist & finger extensions for chart blocks
• Repeat 3–4 times throughout shift

Best for: post-charting, pre-conference

 

Breath + Movement

• 5 jumping jacks, then 4-7-8 breath cycle
• Reactivates prefrontal focus in 60 seconds
• Activates parasympathetic recovery
• Combine with brief walk if possible

Best for: mid-afternoon cognitive slump

Starters (Weekly Habits)

Low-effort routines that compound — 5–15 min/week

 

Weekly Fitness Tip

• Share 1 move/week via residency group chat
• Rotate among residents — voluntary
• Ideas: wall sit, plank timer, step goal
• Builds wellness culture, no budget needed

Peer-led initiatives drive highest uptake

 

Stairwell Challenge

• Post a floors tracker in break room
• Weekly team goal (e.g., 20 flights/person)
• No equipment, any schedule, any level
• Shout out weekly leader in newsletter

Cost: $0 — just a printed chart

 

App of the Week

• Nike Training Club — free, 15–45 min
• Down Dog yoga — free tier, custom length
• MyFitnessPal — group challenges, free
• Feature 1 app/month in newsletter

No institutional cost for free-tier apps

Main Courses (Monthly / Quarterly)

Organized events and program-level investments

 

Group Fitness Class

• Yoga, spin, bootcamp, or Pilates — monthly
• On-site or virtual (virtual = higher attendance)
• Resident co-lead option builds ownership
• Group exercise reduces burnout scores

Cost: $$ | Split via program wellness budget

 

Fitness Challenge

• 4-week steps, plank, or push-up contest
• Track via shared Google Sheet or free app
• Prizes: gift cards, water bottles, snacks
• Team format outperforms individual

Cost: $ | Gift cards + printing only

 

5K / Race Subsidy

• Subsidize 1 race entry/resident/year
• Local NJ: Run the Raritan, Jersey Shore 5K
• Optional: team Rutgers Health shirts
• Builds identity, camaraderie, lasting habit

Cost: $$ per participant | ACGME fund eligible

Desserts – Facility & App Access

Infrastructure investments that pay dividends all year

 

On-Site Gym Access

• Rutgers Newark Golden Dome — $205/year
• East Orange VA Wellness Gym: FREE
• M–F 11:30a–1:30p for residents
• RBHS employee gym discount via HR

Cost: $–$$ depending on subsidy level

 

Digital Fitness Apps

• Peloton institutional subscription — $$
• Calm / Headspace: stress, sleep, recovery
• Nike Training Club + Down Dog: free
• MyFitnessPal group challenges — free

Cost: free tier (–) to institutional ($$$)

 

Sports Leagues

• Intramural volleyball, basketball, pickleball
• GME office coordinates signup & fee subsidy
• Monthly gym guest pass giveaway (raffle)
• High resident-satisfaction return

Cost: $$–$$$ for league fees + passes

 

Quick Bites (30–60 Seconds)

For between patients, before presenting, or during a chaotic shift

 

Box Breathing

• Inhale 4 → Hold 4 → Exhale 4 → Hold 4
• Repeat x4 cycles
• Best for: pre-round anxiety, difficult pages

 

The “3–3–3 Reset”

• Name 3 things you see
• 3 things you hear
• 3 things you feel

Grounds you instantly

 

Hand-on-Heart Pause

• Place hand on chest
• One slow breath
• Silently say: “I’m here. I’m okay.”

Starters (2–5 Minutes)

Between admissions, after rounds, before sign-out

Mindful Walk (Hospital Edition)

• Walk from one unit to another
• No phone, no thinking ahead
• Notice: steps, breath, surroundings

 

Name It to Tame It

• Identify emotion: “I feel overwhelmed”
• Labeling reduces amygdala activation

 

1-Line Journal

• “Today, one thing that went well was…”
• Builds resilience over time

Main Courses (5–10 Minutes)

Post-call, before heading home, or protected time

Guided Breathing Reset

• 4-7-8 breathing
• Slows heart rate
• Improves vagal tone

 

Cognitive Reframe

• Ask:
• “What am I telling myself?”
• “Is there another way to see this?”

 

Gratitude x3

• Write or think of 3 things
• Even small wins count (e.g., “discharge went smoothly”)

Desserts (10–20 Minutes)

Off-day or lighter rotation

 

Mindfulness Meditation

• Apps: Headspace or Calm
• Focus on breath or body scan

 

Digital Detox Window

• 20 min no phone
• Let your brain idle

 

Music Reset

• Listen to one song fully
• No multitasking