We invited positive psychology practitioner, Jordyn Feingold, MAPP to share her tips on improving well-being while in medical school. Jordyn, in a week-long series, will explore the concepts of REVAMP—a novel approach to well-being. Here, she discusses the first element of the model: relationships.
My path to medical school has been guided by one, overwhelming, and unrelenting desire: improve health and well-being in our world. About a year ago, this quest lead me to spend a year at the University of Pennsylvania after graduating from the College of Arts and Sciences in the Master’s of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) program, studying the science of human flourishing. While transitioning to medical school, I researched and explored the vast opportunities for positive psychology to make medicine a more positive, thriving, efficient, and effective practice.
As first-year medical students, in 2015 Jessica Rizzuto and Mimi Smith were selected to become co-leaders of the Student Wellness Committee—a student-run organization at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS). While the groups’ commitment to every students’ well-being was reinforced through a variety of initiatives and social events created to reduce burnout, Jessica and Mimi felt that there was a significant opportunity to enhance existing resources and make well-being a key priority supported by the Department of Medical Education.
