Wellness
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Program Contact Information Jan Terpstra, M.D. |
Rholinda Lange |
Defining Wellness
Wellness is first and foremost a choice to assume responsibility for the quality of your life. It begins with a conscious decision to shape a healthy lifestyle. Wellness is a mind set, a predisposition to adopt a series of key principles in varied life areas that lead to high levels of well-being and life satisfaction. A consequence of this focus is that a wellness mind set will protect you against temptations to blame someone else, make excuses, shirk accountability, whine or wet your pants in the face of adversity. (I threw that in to help you remember this explanation.)
--Don Ardell, Ph.D., Living Well Center, University at Buffalo
The World Health Organization in 1948 broadly defined wellness as “not merely the absence of disease and infirmity" but an overall sense of well-being. Modern definitions often specify well-being as satisfaction in multiple interrelated realms; usually the physical, emotional, social, and spiritual aspects of human life. I prefer the contemporary (and irreverent) definition provided by Dr. Ardell as a starting point. Although not developed for medical students, I think it captures the importance of wellness in the development of future physicians.
While the central focus of every wellness program must be on the well-being of its students, the development of a medical student wellness program must also include an understanding that for future physicians, the development of a wellness outlook on life has additional professional ramifications. In defining wellness as both choice and responsibility, it suggests that taking care of oneself and seeking assistance when needed are also important aspects of medical professionalism, accountability and, ultimately clinical care.
Seeking assistance may include Mental Health Counseling. If a medical student is in need of mental health counseling, the Student Health Insurance Program will cover the counseling with a provider anywhere. A Student Health Center Referral is not required. Medical students are responsible for a $250 deductible; then, the insurance will cover 50% of the counseling expenses. Students can contact Kerry Hill at Kerry.Hill@shs.utah.ed or 801-581-5804 if they need additional information regarding the Student Health Insurance Program.
Also, the University of Utah has a Counseling Center for students. There is no charge for the initial intake session and billing for follow up sessions are based on a sliding scale. The Counseling Center does not bill the student’s insurance because their cost is minimal—approximately $10.00. The Counseling Center is located in the Student Services Building in Room 426, and it is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM. For after hour emergencies, please call 801-581-2291 (University Medical Center). More information about the Counseling Center can be found at http://www.sa.utah.edu/counsel/.