Read more about the origins, updates and exciting events you can participate in through the Wellness Coalition at IU School of Medicine.
Origins:
The IU School of Medicine Wellness Coalition (WC) started in the Fall of 2018. The group brought together existing student organizations who all had a focus on student wellness to operate as a united front to make decisions about student wellness, work with the administration to inform decisions about student wellness, and to provide cohesive programming and events for student well-being. At the time of its origin the WC had representation from the Wellness Committee, FIRM, MedTalks, Reflections, Gold Humanism Honor Society, the Vital Healing Project and the Psych SIG. Largely piloted in Indianapolis last year, the coalition hosted two events per month, all based on the eight dimensions of wellness, which include environmental, emotional, financial, intellectual, occupational, physical, social and spiritual.
Updates:
This year, the Wellness Coalition joined forces with Medical Student Council and structured itself with officer positions, absorbing the Wellness Committee, and creating chair positions for each dimension of wellness. Our VP of Wellness (Coalition Chairperson) sits on the MSC board and meets regularly with administration and our advisor, Kristen Heath, Statewide Wellness Coordinator. Our team also consists of wellness representatives on each regional campus and for each class year in phase 1.
Check out some of the projects and events that we are currently working on below:
Events for Students:
- Build your own Terrarium (Environmental Wellness)
- Meal Prep Demo & Dine (Physical Wellness)
- Daly Gym Workouts & Weekly Yoga (Physical Wellness)
- The White Coat Investor Book Discussion (Financial Wellness)
- Speed Friending for MS1s (Social Wellness)
- Financing the Residency Application Process (Financial Wellness)
Academic & Administrative Projects:
- Wellness Town Halls
- Student-lead clerkship debriefs
- Centralized Feedback Forms regarding wellness concerns
- Regional campus and Indianapolis peer contacts for students on rotations
- Research on student barriers to wellness
- Involvement in national academic meetings regarding medical student education and wellness
- Improving the wellness website and communication between the Wellness Coalition and student body
Events Supported, Planned, &/or Funded by the Wellness Coalition:
- Wellness Student Breakouts at Orientation (class of 2023)
- Post-exam Healthy Snacks
- FIRM
- MedTalks
- Vital Healing Project
- Peer Mentor Events
We would love for you to meet our team and feel free to reach out to our Chair if you have any wellness concerns or if you have an idea for an event, program, and/or solution to improve student well-being. Abby can also connect you with other members of the Wellness Coalition.
- Chair of Wellness: Abigail Brenner
- VP of Environmental Wellness: Annie Jacobs
- VP of Emotional Wellness: Emma Ross
- VP of Financial Wellness: Cam Smock
- VP of Intellectual Wellness: Joe Baker
- VP of Occupational Wellness: Colin Fry
- VP of Physical Wellness: Emily Hentz
- VP of Social Wellness: Manuela Gil Cupello
- VP of Spiritual Wellness: Kayla Brown
- Secretary: Brian Ceballos
- Treasurer: Aileen Hoffman
- MedTalks Co-directors: Seungyup Sun, Lindsey Wells
Campus Representatives:
- Bloomington: Elizabeth Davis, Sam Melo, Yoony Na, Sanjna Vinze, Michael Jay Riddle
- Evansville: Autumn Austin & Annie Stenftenagel
- Fort Wayne: Mikayla Burrell
- Indianapolis: Divya Udayan
- Muncie: Priya Soni
- Northwest: Elena Konrath & Dominik Kowalczyk
- South Bend: Sarah Bruns
- Terre Haute: Jonathan Ang, Amanda Middleton, & Vyvian Borse
- West Lafayette: Brian Niebuhr & Jennifer Teeling
