The Well-being Word
September 13, 2022
Associate Vice-Chair of Well-Being
Hi friends,
Successful cultures are established by design, not by chance. They are clear, well-defined, and purposeful. As a mission-driven organization, we must also have a mission-driven, clear vision of the culture we desire.
The values and beliefs that an organization holds drive the actions and behaviors of its team members and influence relationships both within the organization as well as all those who they touch.
My goal for this year is to establish our core cultural values and make those values a mantra that all members of WUDA know by heart and live to the fullest each day!
What is the (famous or infamous!) “Live.Laugh.Love” of the Department of Anesthesiology Think about what YOUR ideal culture looks like. What words come to mind?
I am asking all members of the department to submit their three words so that we can collectively establish our mantra.
Help me design our culture. Let’s show everyone that the Department of Anesthesiology is passionate about establishing a culture where we all thrive!
Please submit your 3 words via this anonymous survey!
Yours in Wellness,
Erin
Upcoming Events
Diversity Training Sessions
WUDA has partnered with the Washington University School of Medicine’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ODEI) to provide a comprehensive professional-development curriculum that is specifically tailored to each member within the School of Medicine.
The curriculum is called Understanding Systemic Racism and will be provided to all members of the Washington University community from medical trainees, staff members, researchers, and clinical teams.
The first series of curriculum content is Diversity Modules 1- 4 which include (awareness, understanding, commitment, and action). The curriculum content will be led by team members from the ODEI consisting of psycho-educational presentations and interactive, hands-on and experiential exercises. This series of four one-hour training sessions introduces participants to the fundamentals of diversity education.
September 2022 – March 2023
Participation is an expected competency for all members.
PIA SAFE Champions
Do you want to be involved in creating and revolutionizing our culture here in WUDA and being a champion of positive change? We invite you all to join our PIA SAFE Champions group!
As a PIA Safe Champion, we will provide you hands-on, in-person training in the following areas:
- Listening skills & navigating difficult conversations
- Bystander & Feedback training
- Recognizing and addressing microaggressions/microinvalidations/ misclassifications and bias
- Recognizing and verbalizing positive behavior to reinforce expectations
This will be a dynamic and ongoing opportunity to create the culture we want and the positive environment we demand for all who work in the department. Come join us on the forefront of transformation!
Upcoming PIA SAFE events…
PIA SAFE Program Introduction & Workshop
Nov. 3, 6-7 pm
PIA SAFE Retreat
Nov. 19, 8 am-12 pm
Save the date: Saturday, Feb. 4!
We are thrilled to announce the launch of our newest Well-Being/Professional Development/DEI initiative: Women of WUDA!
Women of WUDA will be women-led professional development with a focus on the specific needs of OUR department. We aim to have an annual retreat as well as continuing content, education, and networking opportunities throughout the year.
Keep an eye out for an invite to our inaugural retreat on February 4th for a morning of learning, networking, mentorship and well-being! More information, including how to RSVP, coming soon.
Please fill out the needs assessment survey to help us deliver the most relevant content:
October Wellness Walk
Sunday, October 2 at 10 am.
Come get some exercise, fresh air, fresh food, and new friendships!
All are welcome (families, dogs, kids)
A Day in the Life of Chakrapol Lattanand, MD
Meet WUDA’s Vice Chair for Clinical Operations, Dr. Chakrapol Lattanand! This position was created within the last year, and his responsibilities include: managing the clinical business of the department, and providing expertise in the areas of financial clinical operations, strategic planning, and contract/affiliation negotiations and management. We are thrilled about his appointment to this key leadership role in our department! Learn more about a day in the life of Dr. Lattanand below.
I officially started as Vice Chair for Clinical Operations on January 1, 2022, but I wasn’t able to truly spend time in my Northwest Tower office until March. Since then, it has been quite a ride in the hotseat, and a lot of variety in my days.
I still take five to seven overnights at Progress West Hospital as part of my clinical work, and occasionally help out at Barnes West County. I try to be in my office on Tuesdays which means I will be non-clinical, post call, or taking call that night.
Here is a typical Tuesday for me:
5 am — Catch a 6 to 7 mile run around Forest Park with my training group. I find it gives me a sense of accomplishment early in the day and sets a positive tone. After a quick clean up in the Kaldi’s bathroom, I’m off to the office to check-in with the staffing boards and reply to emails from overnight.
Dr. Avidan hosts the weekly Vice Chair Meeting on Tuesday mornings. We give updates for our respective areas of responsibility, and discuss Departmental issues. It is quite the impressive group and humbling to hear about our accomplishments and innovations in education, research, clinical work, and wellness of our Department members.
The remainder of the morning, I will have meetings with faculty members, business directors, Division Chiefs and CRNA leadership, hospital administrators, and trainees. We have many committees that are responsible for the running of our enterprise, but I like to set up meetings just to meet the people in our Department. If I haven’t met you yet, please set up some time!
For lunch I may grab a sandwich and soup at Farmstead. If Dr. Avidan is available, I’ll grab lunch with him so we can have a casual catch up.
I make a habit of visiting a clinical location when I am at BJH. You may see me getting lost at CAM, SLCH, PVT, or BJH South, so please point me in the right direction! If I am not headed to Progress West for the evening, my meetings are usually done by 5pm.
I’ll pick up my older daughter after sports practice and let her drive home. I like making dinner for the family once a week, as long as they don’t mind pasta, or something cooked on the grill.
Even though I am home, there are many people in our department still working across our many locations, which gives me extra appreciation for the time I can spend with my family. This knowledge motivates me to think about what I can do the next day to help our clinicians perform at their best and get satisfaction from the wonderful work they do.
Calm App News
Celebrate National Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month
Every year, from September 15 to October 15, Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month is celebrated in the United States to commemorate the histories, cultures, and contributions of American citizens and residents whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.
The U.S. Latinx and Hispanic populations make up 18.3% of the U.S. population. Of those, 16% reported experiencing a mental illness this past year. For the Latinx and Hispanic community, mental health and mental illness are often stigmatized topics resulting in prolonged suffering in silence. This silence compounds the range of experiences that may lead to mental health conditions including immigration, acculturation, trauma, and generational conflicts.
In an effort to develop the next generation of Hispanic and Latinx leaders through civic engagement, healing, and changing the narrative, we encourage all individuals to take care of their mental well-being and deepen their self-care routines as best as they can. We’ve curated a selection of celebrated Hispanic and Latinx health and wellness Calm narrators below to help you get started:
- Sleep Story: A Dia de Muertos Story by Thamara Aguilar. Enjoy the beautiful traditions of this meaningful holiday among butterflies, candles, and Mexican marigolds.
- Sleep Story: Camino de Santiago by Ben Cura. Revel in the history and landscapes of northern Spain as you walk an ancient and storied trail.
- Meditation: Walk Away Stress with Dr. Eric López. Find peace in the presence of walking meditations that meet you wherever you are.
- Music: Sola sleep remix by Luis Fonsi. Fall asleep to this 60-minute soothing mid-tempo R&B Spanish remix.
It’s easy to change the language of the Calm app to Spanish. Click here for step by step instructions on how to do so.
Dependent coverage is now available with Calm
We believe mental health care should extend beyond you to your family. That’s why we’re offering dependent coverage with the Calm Business benefit!
Up to four of your dependents can now receive their own premium Calm subscription.
Inviting your dependents is easy—here are step-by-step instructions.
Once added, each dependent can create their own unique profile and access Calm’s diverse content library of over 350 narrators in seven languages. (Please note that qualified dependents are 16 years of age or older. No information about a dependent’s use of Calm will be shared.) For more information, please visit Calm’s Help Center.
We hope this expansion of coverage of the Calm Business benefit will make it easier for the people you love to be mentally and emotionally healthy and promote their well-being.
Navigate changes in life and work with mindfulness
Whether it be changing seasons or routines, we’re often navigating how to cope with the uncertain nature of life.
Not only is it just a time of personal changes, but this time also brings with it new work challenges, such as workplace transitions and navigating continued burnout after working through a pandemic.
To support you through this process, here are some resources from Calm, our partner for strengthening mental health:
- Listen to A Mindful Return, a series of exercises to acknowledge emotions from the past year or two and emerge from the pandemic with a peaceful mindset
- Try meditating with A Heart Less Heavy to soothe difficult emotions and find peace through especially turbulent times
- Read 5 Tips for Supporting Your Mental Health During Workplace Change for tips on how to validate your feelings and express your needs to others at work
Experiencing change isn’t always easy, but we can support ourselves by strengthening our resilience, being patient with ourselves, and recognizing the emotions that change can bring.
The People of WUDA
