Osteopathic Medical Education Wellness Initiatives
AACOM is committed to the well-being of trainees, clinicians, staff and all health professionals and to helping its colleges of osteopathic medicine (COMs) create and support healthy learning environments.
As the unifying voice in osteopathic medical education, AACOM represents and supports its member COMs and their clinical education partners in preparing osteopathic physicians who are ready to meet the evolving healthcare needs of our society. In addition to being a sponsor of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience, AACOM is engaged in efforts to decrease trainee, faculty and clinician burnout through medical education excellence, research, and interprofessional collaboration.
COSGP Mental Empowerment Directive
AACOM’s Council of Student Government President (COSGP) continues to reach
new milestones with its Mental Empowerment Directive (formerly the Mental Health Awareness Task Force (MHATF), which was formed with the goal of promoting an environment where medical students and physicians can seek the help they need without fear
of retribution. The task force was created to empower students to have their voice heard and to create change.
QPR Training
During Academic Year 2019-2020, each COM was offered the opportunity to send a faculty member to “train the trainer” education provided by the Question, Persuade, Refer Institute and given the charge to train the students on their campus.
More information on QPR training is available from the QPR Institute.
While funding for the initial training has been exhausted, AACOM encourages all COM campuses to make this valuable training available to students through their on-campus trainers.
National OMS Day of Wellness
This video was created by TCOM students in acknowledgement of National OMS Day of Wellness as a reminder of the struggles of medical school, the daily challenges and worries of the students and most importantly the resilience they can show.
HRSA Grant: Resilient Mindsets in Medicine
AACOM has partnered with Motivate Lab testing interventions to develop learning environments that are supportive of Mindset GPS in osteopathic medical students. Mindset GPS comprises Growth mindset (the belief that intelligence and skills can be developed), Purpose and relevance (the belief that coursework is relevant because it is connected to a larger purpose) and a Sense of belonging (the belief that one is academically and socially connected, supported and respected). Our work so far has shown that Mindset GPS is associated with student well-being, resilience, burnout and suicidal ideation.
This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under HRSA-22-109, Health and Public Safety Workforce Resiliency Training Program, totaling $2.28m with 0% financed with nongovernmental sources. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.
The Project in Osteopathic Medical Education and Empathy
The Project in Osteopathic Medical Education and Empathy (POMEE), sponsored by AACOM, in collaboration with the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University and the Cleveland Clinic is a first-of-its-kind national study of empathy in medical students. POMEE Phase I, completed in 2020, included national norms for empathy among osteopathic medical students across all four years. POMEE Phase II, set to conclude in 2023, is a longitudinal assessment of changes in empathy in the entering class of 2023.
National Academy of Medicine Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience
AACOM is proud to be an inaugural sponsor and participant in the National Academy of Medicine (NAM)’s Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience, which launched in 2017 with the support of a network of more than 200 organizations committed to reversing trends in clinician burnout. The Clinician Well-Being Collaborative has three goals: Raise the visibility of clinician anxiety, burnout, depression, stress and suicide; Improve baseline understanding of challenges to clinician well-being and advance evidence-based, multidisciplinary solutions to improve patient care by caring for the caregiver. In October 2022, the Clinician Well-Being Collaborative published a National Plan for Health Workforce Well-Being.