Wellness Home

Get started on the right path to healthy living with the Medical School's Wellness Resource Website.  We offer information on events, contacts, and basic necessities to help Vanderbilt medical students with both the fun and challenging times of medical school.

The Vanderbilt Medical School Wellness Model is a multifaceted and proactive approach to lifelong health, happiness, and success.  We have built our program on a foundation of five principle aspects, modified from the “Six Dimensions of Wellness” by the National Wellness Institute.  We have established corresponding committees to promote wellness and program development in each of these five areas.

Mentoring and Advisory Colleges-

Achieving wellness is not something we do alone

The mentoring committee focuses on strengthening the relationships between students and their faculty and peers. The nature of these relationships may relate to career issues, lifestyle issues, and personal issues. We try to facilitate this kind of support for all students at VUSM.

Along with the Careers in Medicine Advising Committee, we are working to revise the faculty-to-student advising system for professional and personal mentoring.  We also have a number of ways to bring students from various levels of medical school together to advise and support one another.  Often the best advice is provided by peers who have faced the same struggles and experiences.  Second year students provide individual mentoring for VMS I during orientation and throughout the first year.  We are working for programming for advising of VMS IIs and VMS IIIs by senior medical students as well.

Body

Medical school is stressful; the demands on one’s time are many and great.  Unfortunately one of the first things to go during medical school is physical wellness. Many students end up neglecting their bodies in a quest for mental perfection (or at least a “P”), thinking there is simply not enough time to exercise, eat well and study. 

Enter the Body and Mind Committee.  We are here to educate you, the medical community, about the benefits of any and all physical exercise, healthy eating, and stress management, and to make it easier than ever to maintain physical wellbeing while in medical school. 

We are the one-stop-shop for any and all questions related to health and fitness.  Inside you will find:  links to quick and healthy recipes, many different types of workouts, running routes, “athletic interest groups,” intramural sign ups and deadlines, “personal trainer day” information, reproductive health issues, marathon/triathlon training guides, restaurants of the month, our monthly speaker series schedule, and much, much more.  If there is anything else you may need, please let us know.

Welcome to Wellness—We appreciate your interest!

Mind

The goal of the Mind and Body Committee is to promote the mental health of all medical students by ensuring that seeking help is easy, not scary, and stigma-free.  The committee works to educate students on when and how to seek help, and when and how to intervene if a friend needs help.  We focus in particular on issues of anxiety, depression, stress, and substance abuse.  We also focus on actively dispelling the notion that seeking help is a sign of weakness instead of a sign of strength.  We provide accurate and comprehensive information about the mental health resources available to students, and plan special events during the year to promote balance and general mental well-being.

Social

The purpose of the social committee is to promote a sense of community and unity within the school environment.  Moreover, the social committee should seek to provide non-academic programming to help students relax and have fun.  Developing long-lasting interpersonal relationships is invaluable for a support network and for future professional success. In addition to fun social activities, programming for this subcommittee should include volunteer and charitable services, diversity awareness, and the development of interpersonal skills like conflict resolution.

Community

The Community subcommittee aims to improve the living and working environments of Vanderbilt medical students. It will serve as a go-to point for student safety concerns, including issues of crime at VUMC and in the neighborhoods surrounding the medical campus. The subcommittee will work with the administration as the student lounge and computer spaces are renovated, so that the new designs reflect and are suitable to student desires and needs. To promote a sense of community among students it will plan activities for groupings of VMS I-IV, thereby encouraging bonds among students whose daily schedules may not intersect. Collaboration with the Body/Mind Committee, VUMC administration, and the Nurses Wellness Committee will focus on expanding the number of healthy food options on the medical campus. The subcommittee also will deal with student health insurance, providing an avenue for medical students to give input on features of the insurance plan.

Calendar

A New Year of Wellness!

Thinking you should set some goals this year for more Contemplating improving your cooking skills and your health? Let the Wellness Committee Help! We’ve got a whole semester of opportunities for you to meet your goals, tackle your challenges, and just have tons of fun! 

Coming Soon!!!

The Wellness Lockin- Annual Wing-a-thon, Karyoke, Class rock bands, Wheelchair races, and Fortune Telling! You’ll never know what’s next on this annual night of fun.

College Cup- Olympic style relays, challenges, and sports. Residency college against residency college- only the strongest will survive!