Requesting a consult is easy and confidential.
We welcome your contact via personal email, Microsoft Teams messaging or paging to any one of the RWBC members/consultants or via the Resident Well Being Committee email address under Groups (see RWBC poster for members info). You are also welcome to approach us whenever you see us in the medical complex or to call or send us a note.
Click here to request a consult.
RWBC began providing consultations in 2005 and meets with approximately 20 medical students, residents, and fellows per year for consults. Recognition of the benefit of the meetings has led to over half of the consults being from residents who self-referred. Concerns have addressed a variety of topics including personal, interpersonal, performance, harassment, professionalism and career planning. Our goal is to respond to your request within 24 hours and offer a meeting within 48 hours. If your concern is related to severe depression or suicidal thinking please see the Behavioral Health Services section of the RWBC website for immediate options and support.
What happens in a consult?
Once you contact us and agree to the consultation, we will arrange a meeting with you. Typically consults include two members of RWBC meeting with you in person or through a virtual platform. Meetings typically occur during scheduled breaks in the workday or after 5 p.m. to reduce disruptions to your day.
The initial consult is a time for you to share your concerns, for us to listen and offer feedback on your concerns. We may provide specific recommendations on how to handle the concerns, recommend resources to you for addressing the concerns, request that you meet with us a second time to continue to address your concerns or offer to facilitate referral to mental health providers who work with medical students, residents, and fellows with similar concerns.
Hesitant to contact us?
Here are common hesitations and information to dispel these fears:
Confidentiality (“My PD
will find out”): RWBC contacts are not shared with any DOE staff except in the
case of impairment/improper behavior that could affect patient care, concerns
for your safety or issues with potential legal ramifications. Consults are not used in any evaluative process process as part of
performance evaluation. No electronic record is generated from the consult.
Stigma (“They'll think I'm weak or a whiner"): Contact with RWBC is a sign of your effort to address concerns in a proactive manner, similar to what we hope our patients will do in their health care. Stress in training is a normative experience and accepting support and consultation is a healthy response to that experience. DOE created the RWBC to serve trainees for exactly this reason and Program Directors encourage medical students, residents, and fellows to use RWBC with this in mind.
Reprisal (“People will get
upset if I take the time to do this”): RWBC accommodates your training schedule
to minimize impact on others to complete
the consult. All Program Directors are supportive of trainees taking the time to meet with RWBC.
