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. 2022 Jul;88(7):1703-1707.
doi: 10.1177/00031348211003060. Epub 2021 Mar 20.

Fireside Chats: A Novel Wellness Initiative for Medical Students in the COVID-19 Era

Sean J Lee  1 , Abdul Kader Natour  2 , Sunil K Geevarghese  3
Affiliations

Fireside Chats: A Novel Wellness Initiative for Medical Students in the COVID-19 Era

Sean J Lee et al. Am Surg. 2022 Jul.

Abstract

To supplement preexisting wellness programming for the surgery clerkship, a faculty surgeon at Vanderbilt initiated Fireside Chats (FC) in 2015. Inspired by Franklin Roosevelt's Depression-era radio broadcasts, FC features small group sizes, off-campus excursions, and a reimagining of the mentor-mentee relationship that eschews hierarchy in favor of deep, mutualistic connections in both personal and professional domains. Here we describe the rationale and implementation of FC and present survey data that demonstrate the warm reception of FC and its efficacy in stewarding the mental health of medical students. Moreover, unlike large group activities such as "learning communities," FC continues to meet in-person during COVID-19 and preserves social engagement opportunities that may alleviate pandemic-induced isolation and distress.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Graphical representation of responses to Likert scale items in Fireside Chats survey; N = 55 for each item.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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