It’s the beginning of 2023. Many people are taking longer walks, watching what goes on their plate or quitting unwanted habits to improve their mental and physical health. The UNC Department of Medicine is creating strategies to help employees bring that same focus to their wellbeing at work.
“When I think of wellness, it’s not just the absence of depression, anxiety or severe psychological distress, but it’s the addition of positive things in people’s lives where they’re feeling valued at home and by their institution,” Lindsey A. Rosman, PhD, assistant professor and clinical health psychologist in the Division of Cardiology, said
Dr. Rosman is also the Department’s wellness champion. This evolving program at the University of North Carolina is made up of around 30 professionals. With clinical, education, scholarship and research subgroups, the Wellness Committee meets to identify and address the needs of specific faculty and staff populations. Dr. Rosman can provide teammates with psychological and wellness resources or referrals and has an open-door policy.
“There is a lot of focus on burnout and preventing it. We are also focusing on embracing a more wellness focused culture. Since many of us don’t use all our sick days, I’m championing an idea where one or two of those days would be labeled as wellness days for people to participate in self-care,” Dr. Rosman added.
The Department’s wellness efforts go hand in hand with our diversity, equity and inclusion goals. Dr. Rosman will be collaborating with the DEI team to strengthen the resources offered to faculty and staff.
“I think when you’re talking about feeling valued and included, like the diversity, equity and inclusion group is working on, that’s a whole part of general wellness. We want everyone to look forward to coming to work, enjoy working with their colleagues and just really experience the joy of medicine,” Dr. Rosman explained.