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 in its first 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:
In recent years, the Wellness Coalition has 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, Activities, and Projects for Students:
- Earth Day watch parties and sustainability efforts on all campuses (Environmental Wellness)
- Weekly yoga classes in-person and on Zoom (Physical Wellness)
- Journaling Workshops (Emotional Wellness)
- The White Coat Investor Book Discussion (Financial Wellness)
- Sporting events tickets and mixers at local restaurants (Social Wellness)
- Intro to Knitting (Intellectual Wellness)
- Amusement park tickets (Social Wellness)
- Meditation sessions (Spiritual Wellness)
- Access to Daly Gym with new and improved equipment (Physical 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
- 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. Joe can also connect you with other members of the Wellness Coalition (or with one of our partnering SIGs).
- Chair of Wellness:Joe Whitaker
- VP of Environmental Wellness: Autumn Austin
- VP of Emotional Wellness: Cat Meador
- VP of Financial Wellness: Alan Trinh
- VP of Intellectual Wellness: Maddie Gaines
- VP of Occupational Wellness: Sarah Montgomery
- VP of Physical Wellness: Natalie Jacobson
- VP of Social Wellness: Doriann Alcaide
- VP of Spiritual Wellness: Leah Bode
- VP of Curricular Integration:Brian Niebuhr
- VP of Social Media & Marketing:Brenna Miller
- Secretary: Jourdan Carroll
- Treasurer: Emily Adaniya
Campus Representatives:
- Bloomington: Sierra Crowe, Vickie Cooke, Samantha Ake, Sanjna Vinze, Michael Jay Riddle, Sarah Montgomery
- Evansville: Autumn Austin, Ally Gottfried, Olwen Menez
- Fort Wayne: Cassandra Anderson, Cat Meador, Gabbey Cunningham, Lauren Feder
- Indianapolis: Divya Udayan, Adam Corya, Chloe Wahl, Joey Lenkey, Lily Suh, Avery Chadd, Trilliah Faizle, Larry Chen, Ethel Okonjo, Doriann Alcaide, Natalie Jacobson, Leah Bode
- Muncie: Priya Soni, Cami Jones, Katrina Fliotsos
- Northwest: Jummy Bamgbose, Kate Fernander, Shannen Sharpe, Danielle Wilmes
- South Bend: Sydney DiGregory, Nicole Hicks, Joe Whitaker, Alan Trinh, Brenna Miller, Erin Bontrager, Jared Badgley, Maddie Gaines, Claudia Li, Allison Irwin
- Terre Haute: Amanda Middleton, Kelsey Kinney, Kenzie Ayers
- West Lafayette: Brian Niebuhr, Jennifer Teeling, John Sakaleros, Ethan Goins, Leah Dauterman
