Dear Wellness Community,
Welcome to UW Medicine! We are so glad you are here. This is a very exciting time for you as you begin your training. You may feel a host of emotions: a mixture of joy, anticipation and perhaps some trepidation with change and the beginning of a new phase in your life.
Take a moment to pause and reflect on what brought you here. As you unpack and start getting settled in your new surroundings, you can begin to notice all that this region has to offer. The Seattle area is blessed with natural beauty, parks, hiking spots, restaurants, vibrant cultural events and sightseeing opportunities. July brings neighborhood festivals, summer music concerts, farmers markets and many local cultural celebrations you can partake in. If you are a food lover, you can check out the Bite of Seattle or try a new summer recipe.
July is BIPOC Mental Health Awareness month, and we have curated some resources to share with you.
As you begin your journey, know that the Wellness Team is here to support you along the way. Feel free to connect to one of us to say hello or to establish ongoing care. Check out our Wellness page here! The Wellness Team is excited to announce the expansion of our services to non-ACGME trainees.
Starting July 1, our Wellness Services will be available to our non-ACGME fellows (those without faculty titles). For more details, please check with your program or feel free to direct any questions to me at diptic@uw.edu.
In this issue, you will find ways to embrace summer, nourish yourself with delicious recipes, immerse yourself in the local culture and festivities and many other ways to stay well.
This month’s Wellness Corner authored by:
Dipti Chrastka, LMFT
GME Wellness Director
Monday – Friday at Harborview
206.744.0655
diptic@uw.edu
GME Wellness Counseling
Contents
Residents & Fellows – We want to hear from you!
We hope to learn more about your current engagement with the UW GME Community and to understand opportunities for further connection and communication among trainees. Please take a moment to complete this survey and share your ideas about current and future GME education and community engagement events and tools.
We look forward to better serving the GME community.
Thanks for the award!
We are excited to share some good news with you! In April, GME Wellness applied for a Well-Being Grant and received funding to be able to equip a few work rooms and team rooms with therapeutic lightboxes. Thank you Dr. Tara.B.Reid who shared this idea with us. Thank you to all the PA’s that supported this initiative. Also, many thanks to Dr. Anne Browning and the Well-Being Grants Review Committee for this award. We will share more details soon!
GME Event
You are not Broken featuring Dr. Casperson sharing her thoughts on “Cultivating Healthy Sexuality during training.” In case you missed this event, we have a recording and resources for you.
Embrace Summer
- Bring chairs, pack a picnic and a blanket and enjoy free summer concerts at the Ballard Locks (starting on July 1st at 2 pm).
- Celebrate Halloween in July at the Wallingford Parade.
- Catch a free movie under the big blue sky.
- Enjoy live theater with Shakespeare in the Park (free) all of July.
BLM and Cultural Celebrations around Seattle
- Participate and learn about Black Arts at the Festival from July 14-16 at Seattle Center.
- What is Black Art? “Freedom of Expression” showcases the breadth of visual artistic expression by artists of African descent, residing in PNW.
- Join in many cultural celebrations all over Seattle. Check out Pista Sa Nyon (Filipino Festival), CID Celebration, Chinatown Seafair Parade, Seafair Indian Days Powwow, Japanese Festival and many more.
Resources
- July is BIPOC Mental Health Awareness Month. NAMI Seattle has a wealth of resources you may find of interest.
- GME Wellness can connect you to community resources including therapists of color.
Eat
Tickle your taste buds with a variety of food at the famous Bite of Seattle (July21-23)
Dance
Shake a leg! Free dance in the park.
Run
Celebrate National Ice-cream Day with a fun run! Your run will benefit Seattle Children’s.
Mindfulness Minute
- Practice deep breathing with your child using a pinwheel.
- Interested in mindfulness practice? Drop into a free online mindfulness session
- Jolenta Greenberg, comedian shares how to make an effective apology. Watch this video.
Wellness Corner Quick Links
Gems from Treasure Valley
- Celebrate International Friendship Day with a walk/run. “You are the Hocus to my Pocus” July 30th
- Connect with your friends while experiencing the outdoors. Womeness and Wilderness (Yoga and meditation on July 15th)
- Find some cool, vintage antiques at the Summer Event Expo (July 13-15)
Got Feedback for Us?
We’d love to hear it! Share your thoughts about the Wellness Corner, suggestions for future events, discounts or articles to highlight, or anything else you’d like to share. Please email your thoughts to Dipti Chrastka (diptic@uw.edu), Julia Kocian (jkocian@uw.edu), Patty Long-Brohm (pattylb@uw.edu), Howard Schafer (hischa5@uw.edu), and or Amy Wheat (amywheat@uw.edu).