Emory Emergency Medicine Wellness

The mission of the Wellness Section of Emergency Medicine at Emory University is to “contribute to Emory’s status as a ‘best place to work’ by creating and maintaining a working environment that nurtures the well-being and professional fulfillment of all staff.” Our section strives to provide local, regional and national leadership toward improving the health and wellness of all physicians and healthcare providers.

• Wellness Mini-Grant Program offering small grants for innovative wellness ideas from Emory EM faculty, residents, APPs, and staff 

• “Chomp and Chart” study attempting to improve resident efficiency, nutrition and wellbeing during busy shifts 

• Organizing seasonal gatherings for the Department, including the Department’s annual holiday party 

• Ongoing study into the impact of physicians’ creative thinking preferences on their wellbeing in emergency medicine 

• Comprehensive residency curriculum on wellbeing topics including resilience, building relationships with patients, second victim syndrome, mindfulness in medical practice 

• Representation on the Emory at Grady Wellness Working Group initiative 

• Emory at Grady study on wellness needs: survey study and focus groups 

• Wellness themed Journal Club and Grand Rounds during the academic year 

• Wellness lecture for EM Faculty Development Course 

Leaders in our department have been involved in advocating for and promoting local, regional, and national change in the healthcare system with the goal to improve wellness for physicians and healthcare providers. The prolific number of our publications and involvement in national committees demonstrates this commitment. We promote wellness by encouraging teamwork, positivity in patient care, empathy, group events, and group retreats.

On the local and national levels, Emory EM has several wellness champions. Many have authored several publications and are leaders of committees.

• Dr. Sheryl Heron: Chair, Emory University SOM Wellness Working Group. Associate Dean, Community Engagement, Equity & Inclusion/Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer
• Dr. Michelle Lall: Director of WEDI; Vice Chair for DEI
• Dr. Philip Shayne: Lead, GME Wellness
• Dr. Alex Isakov: Chair of the Faculty Staff Assistance Program (FSAP) Advisory Committee
• Dr. Shamie Das: Site lead EUH
• Dr. Adrienne VanCurren: Site lead EUH
• Dr. Elle Brombereck: Site lead EUHM
• Dr. Lisa Tadayon: Site lead VA
• Dr. James O'Shea: Co-Chair, Wellness Committee
• Dr. Michael Zdradzinski: Co-Chair, Wellness Committee
• Liz Alexander: APP Lead
• Sharon Ashley: Staff Lead

Lall MD, Gaeta TJ, Chung AS, Dehon E, Malcolm W, Ross A, Way DP, Weichenthal L, Himelfarb NT. Assessment of Physician Well-being, Part One: Burnout and Other Negative States. West J Emerg Med. 2019 Mar;20(2):278-290. doi: 10.5811/westjem.2019.1.39665. Epub 2019 Feb 28. Erratum in: West J Emerg Med. 2021 Sep 02;22(5):1210. doi: 10.5811/westjem.2021.9.54611. PMID: 30881548; PMCID: PMC6404708. 

Lall MD, Gaeta TJ, Chung AS, Chinai SA, Garg M, Husain A, Kanter C, Khandelwal S, Rublee CS, Tabatabai RR, Takayesu JK, Zaher M, Himelfarb NT. Assessment of Physician Well-being, Part Two: Beyond Burnout. West J Emerg Med. 2019 Mar;20(2):291-304. doi: 10.5811/westjem.2019.1.39666. Epub 2019 Feb 28. Erratum in: West J Emerg Med. 2020 Mar 26;21(3):727. doi: 10.5811/westjem.2020.3.47433. PMID: 30881549; PMCID: PMC6404719. 

Lall MD, Chang BP, Park J, Tabatabai RR, Manfredi RA, Baren JM, Castillo J. Are emergency physicians satisfied? An analysis of operational/organization factors. J Am Coll Emerg Physicians Open. 2021 Dec 21;2(6):e12546. doi: 10.1002/emp2.12546. PMID: 34984412; PMCID: PMC8692211. 

Blanchard J, Messman AM, Bentley SK, Lall MD, Liu YT, Merritt R, Sorge R, Warchol JM, Greene C, Diercks DB, Griffith J, Manfredi RA, McCarthy M. In their own words: Experiences of emergency health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Acad Emerg Med. 2022 Aug;29(8):974-986. doi: 10.1111/acem.14490. Epub 2022 May 22. PMID: 35332615; PMCID: PMC9111302. 

Blanchard J, Li Y, Bentley SK, Lall MD, Messman AM, Liu YT, Diercks DB, Merritt-Recchia R, Sorge R, Warchol JM, Greene C, Griffith J, Manfredi RA, McCarthy M. The perceived work environment and well-being: A survey of emergency health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Acad Emerg Med. 2022 Jul;29(7):851-861. doi: 10.1111/acem.14519. Epub 2022 May 22. PMID: 35531649; PMCID: PMC9347760. 

Lu DW, Zhan T, Bilimoria KY, Reisdorff EJ, Barton MA, Nelson LS, Beeson MS, Lall MD. Workplace Mistreatment, Career Choice Regret, and Burnout in Emergency Medicine Residency Training in the United States. Ann Emerg Med. 2023 Jun;81(6):706-714. doi: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2022.10.015. Epub 2023 Feb 7. PMID: 36754699. 

Lall MD, Bilimoria KY, Lu DW, Zhan T, Barton MA, Hu YY, Beeson MS, Adams JG, Nelson LS, Baren JM. Prevalence of Discrimination, Abuse, and Harassment in Emergency Medicine Residency Training in the US. JAMA Netw Open. 2021 Aug 2;4(8):e2121706. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.21706. PMID: 34410392; PMCID: PMC8377562. 

Barton MA, Lall MD, Johnston MM, Lu DW, Nelson LS, Bilimoria KY, Reisdorff EJ. Reliability and validity support for an abbreviated Copenhagen burnout inventory using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. J Am Coll Emerg Physicians Open. 2022 Aug 8;3(4):e12797. doi: 10.1002/emp2.12797. PMID: 35949274; PMCID: PMC9358756. 

Lu DW, Lee J, Alvarez A, Sakamoto JT, Bird SB, Sundaram V, Lall MD, Nordenholz KE, Manfredi RA, Blomkalns AL. Drivers of professional fulfillment and burnout among emergency medicine faculty: A national wellness survey by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine. Acad Emerg Med. 2022 Aug;29(8):987-998. doi: 10.1111/acem.14487. Epub 2022 Apr 22. PMID: 35304931. 

Ashooh MP, Barnette K, Moran TP, OʼShea J, Lall MD. Advanced Practice Provider Burnout in a Large Urban Medical Center. Adv Emerg Nurs J. 2019 Jul/Sep;41(3):234-243. doi: 10.1097/TME.0000000000000255. PMID: 31356250. 

Seitz R, Robertson J, Moran TP, Zdradzinski MJ, Kaltiso SO, Heron S, Lall MD. Emergency Medicine Nurse Practitioner and Physician Assistant Burnout, Perceived Stress, and Utilization of Wellness Resources During 2020 in a Large Urban Medical Center. Adv Emerg Nurs J. 2022 Jan-Mar 01;44(1):63-73. doi: 10.1097/TME.0000000000000392. PMID: 35089284. 

Reisdorff EJ, Johnston MM, Lall MD, Lu DW, Bilimoria KY, Barton MA. Prospective validity evidence for the abbreviated emergency medicine Copenhagen Burnout Inventory. Acad Emerg Med. 2024 Mar 17. doi: 10.1111/acem.14892. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38494655. 

Lall MD, Jayaprakash N, Carrick A, Chang BP, Himelfarb NT, Thomas Y, Wong ML, Dobiesz V, Raukar NP; American College of Emergency Physicians Well-being Committee and the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine’s Academy for Women in Academic Emergency Medicine. Consensus-Driven Recommendations to Support Physician Pregnancy, Adoption, Surrogacy, Parental Leave, and Lactation in Emergency Medicine. Ann Emerg Med. 2024 Jun;83(6):585-597. doi: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2024.03.005. Epub 2024 Apr 19. PMID: 38639673. 

O'Shea J, Vu S, Siegelman J, Heron S, Lall M. "Breaking" the Emergency Department: Does the Culture of Emergency Medicine Present a Barrier to Self-Care? West J Emerg Med. 2020 Feb 21;21(2):313-321. doi: 10.5811/westjem.2019.10.44584. PMID: 32191188; PMCID: PMC7081850. 

O'Shea, James; Dannenfelser, Mark; White, Melissa; Osborne, Anwar; Moran, Timothy P.; and Lall, Michelle D. (2022) "A Resident Retreat with Emergency Medicine Specific Mindfulness Training Significantly Reduces Burnout and Perceived Stress," Journal of Wellness: Vol. 4 : Iss. 1 , Article 3. DOI: https://doi.org/10.55504/2578-9333.1114 

Akhavan AR, Zhan T, Lall MD, Barton MA, Reisdorff EJ, Hu YY, Bilimoria KY, Lu DW. Suicidal ideation, perception of personal safety, and career regret among emergency medicine residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. AEM Educ Train. 2024 Mar 20;8(2):e10955. doi: 10.1002/aet2.10955. PMID: 38516253; PMCID: PMC10951625. 

Zdradzinski MJ, Sanders S, Kazmi Q, Fields V, O'Shea J, Medoff S. A Novel Leadership Curriculum for Emergency Medicine Residents. J Educ Teach Emerg Med. 2024 Jan 31;9(1):C1-C15. doi: 10.21980/J81D2S. PMID: 38344053; PMCID: PMC10854878. 

Zdradzinski MJ, Kaltiso SA, Seitz R, Moran TP, Clements J, Heron SL, Lall MD. Utilization of Wellness Practices, Burnout and Stress during COVID-19 Among an Interdisciplinary Cohort of Emergency Healthcare Workers. J Wellness, 2023; 5(1), 1-9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.55504/2578-9333.1174, PMID: 35089284 

Zdradzinski MJ, O’Shea J, Moran TP, Caro D, Gomes PG, Huskey R, Heron S, Lall MD. A comprehensive Residency Wellness Curriculum. J Wellness, 2020; 2(1), 1-6. DOI: 10.18297/jwellness/vol2/iss1/1