An Assessment of Residency Wellness Programming in Urology Training Programs

Objective: To assess the prevalence and characteristics of wellness programming provided in urology residency programs (URPs). Methods: Websites for all 145 ACGME-accredited URPs in the United States were assessed for mention of “wellness” or “well-being.” Program directors and/or coordinators for each URP were e-mailed asking about the presence of formal wellness programming, informal wellness activities, and wellness programming offered by the institution or graduate medical education. A description of what wellness programming was offered was also requested. Results: Assessment of program websites found that 29 programs (20%) mentioned “wellness” or “well-being.” Representatives from 58 URPs (40%) responded to the survey, with 38 programs (65.5%) indicating formal wellness programming and 54 programs (93.1%) indicating informal wellness programming. Compilation of data from e-mail responses and information from program websites revealed that 112 URPs (77.2%) offer residents wellness resources from the institution or graduate medical education, 58 (40%) provide wellness events for residents, and 29 (20%) provide wellness lectures to residents. Other metrics noted included presence of wellness committees, scheduled check-ins from program directors/faculty, and conferences for open resident discussion of issues. Conclusions: Given that wellness programming is a requirement for ACGME, it is unsurprising that most programs have institutional wellness programming available. Wellness programing from individual URPs appears limited, showing that there is significant room for improvement.