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Your wellbeing is our priority!
From The Chair Of The Colorado Medical Society Committee On Physician Wellbeing
Clara Raquel Epstein, MD, FICS CMS CPW Chair
The CMS Committee on Physician Wellbeing (CPW) directs the activities of CMS that pertain to physician wellbeing and burnout prevention through recommendations to the CMS Board of Directors. This committee was created in 2011 as the Expert Panel on Physician Wellbeing when “Physician Wellbeing and Success” was one of five CMS strategic goals. It continues to be a strategic priority under “Helping Physicians When They Need Help.”
FOLLOWING IS OUR CURRENT COMMITTEE:
• Clara Raquel Epstein, MD, FICS, Chair
• Donna Sullivan, MD, Vice-chair
• Lise Barbour, MD
• Matthew Husa, MD
• Lucy Loomis, MD
• Lisa Schlitzkus, MD
• Clark Zimmerman, MD
CPW meets monthly on the third Tuesday from 6-7 p.m. MT via Zoom and ad hoc, and uses multiple communication channels for efficiency. All committees are open for all CMS members to attend; go to cms.org/events for more information on how to register. If physician wellbe - ing is your passion, consider joining us when the call for volunteers goes out in the summer.
We have a commitment to create viable physician wellbeing resources. This year we will be celebrating all CMS members while simultaneously providing members support and resources to build upon, to enhance our practice of medicine and the communities we thrive in and contribute to. We endeavor to provide physical, mental and spiritual health and longevity tools for our present and to be relevant long into each of our futures, thus inspiring positive change into the next generations of medicine. We intend to create a culture shift, a strong foundation to build upon and a legacy that will benefit all of us, those who we love and care for, and those who will follow in our footsteps. Our commitment to wellbeing in our profession will enable each one of us to facilitate our lifelong goals and enjoy our practice of medicine and our personal lives while doing so.
Results from cross-sectional, longitudinal and experimental studies find that well-being is associated with:
• Self-perceived health.
• Longevity.
• Healthy behaviors.
• Mental and physical health.
• Social connectedness.
• Productivity.
• Factors in the physical and social environment.
Excerpt from https://www.cdc.gov/hrqol/ wellbeing.htm
Our committee has prioritized the wellbeing needs of each member of our profession, focusing on resources that can benefit those entering medicine, transitioning in various settings, and ultimately retiring from practice but still desiring to engage in the medical community.
Remember, it takes a village and we need each of you to contribute to our community by becoming the best version of yourself! We look forward to sharing our tools, experiences and resources to enable each physician to optimize themselves. Let’s each experience a life well lived and without regrets. And stay tuned for more coming from the CMS Physician Wellbeing Committee! ■
The CMS Committee on Physician Wellbeing has created the new CMS Physician Wellbeing Resources webpage, cms.org/articles/physician-wellbeing . We welcome your feedback and contributions for consideration by our committee and to be included on this webpage. Please email your thoughts and additions to membership@cms.org
