Please visit the Resident Physician Confidential Concern Reporting Form page for more information.

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

• To speak with our staff or to obtain a referral for legal/financial/worklife services, please call 713-500-3327 or 800-346-3549. (User name: uteap Password: uteap)

Assessing and Addressing Emotional and Psychological Distress/Depression/Suicide

• American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP)
  
  • Interactive Screening Program (Screening/Survey Instrument, Proprietary)
• Depression Screening Test (Screening/Survey Instrument)
• Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (Depression Suicidal Ideation Screen, Screening/Survey Instrument)

Identifying and Addressing Burnout

• American Medical Association - Mini-Z Burnout Inventory
• Maslach Burnout Inventory
• Education on Burnout

Crisis Hotlines & Chat Lines

In crisis (available 24/7)

• Call 911
• Call National Suicide Hotline 1-800-273-8255
• Use National Suicide Lifeline Crisis Chat

Crisis Text Line available 24/7 by texting TALK to 741741

IMAlive is a confidential and secure chat line supporting people in crisis or considering suicide.

SAMHSA’s National Helpline –1-800-662-4357(HELP) available 24/7 geared toward substance abuse related circumstances that can attribute to depression, burnout, and suicide.

Online depression & burnout resources (free)

• Learn coping skills: Mood gym
• Free online therapy: 7 Cups
• WellMD Standford Medicine: Coping with Adverse Patient Outcomes
• HelpGuide: Helping Someone with Depression
• ReThinking Drinking: Interactive worksheets & More
• ProQOL.org: Professional Quality of Life Measure

The Fortified Resilience Initiative is a HRSA funded institutional initiative at UTRGV SOM to build and sustain a culture of wellbeing for medical residents and fellows (R/Fs). The FRI helps R/Fs maintain wellbeing by addressing key issues of personal health throughout their graduate medical education. The FRI currently provides support to over 250 R/Fs across 19 residential programs. R/Fs who opt into the FRI receive well-being resources, direct counseling support for mental health needs, and targeted feedback to build sustainable practices for personal wellbeing. Access to mental health services are designed with low-barriers. Physicians typically avoid seeking mental health care due to stigma and its potential to disrupt their future career prospects. We are able to provide low-barrier, confidential support through Tend Health. The FRI is implemented through three key measures to address the issues of resident health and wellness: Access Strategy, Empowerment Initiatives, and System Redesign.

Access Strategy

Tend Health Partnership

Tend Health is an innovative company that specializes in the care and wellbeing of health professionals. Through partnership with Tend Health, the FRI provides R/Fs with flexible access to one-on-one counseling and coaching by licensed mental health practitioners. Tend Health also facilitates live online skills training monthly and an opt-out annual wellness consultations. With medical integrated medication support, these services are delivered by psychologists and psychiatrists with extensive experience in healthcare delivery settings. View more of Tend Health’s service offerings, or HERE to meet Tend Health providers assigned to Texas.

Empowerment Initiatives

Fortify Resilience Mobile Application

Medical residents enrolled in the FRI have free access to Fortify Resilience, UTRGV SOM’s proprietary wellness mobile application. Available on Android and iOS systems, Fortify Resilience helps students anonymously assess their overall wellbeing at their own convenience, receive evidence-based recommendations, contact a wellness professional through Tend Health, set personal goals, and track their progress throughout the duration of their residency. students also have access to self-management tools and strategies to respond to significant stressors, such as burnout.

Wellbeing Champion Toolkit

FRI coordinators have developed the Wellbeing Champion Toolkit (WCT), which is a manual entitled Promoting wellbeing and preventing illbeing within program committees: A team-based toolkit for wellbeing champions. This is the foundation of several hour-long workshops provided through the FRI to supported residency programs, where attendees acquire and practice team-based skills for wellbeing and overall health. Additional consultations and feedback through the WCT help form Program Specific Wellness Committees (PSWCs) and aid in setting goals and identifying key issues.

Program Specific Wellness Committees (PSWCs)

Program Specific Wellness Committees (PSWCs) are resident-led, faculty involved teams dedicated to providing wellness support to aspiring physicians at FRI programs. By participating in PSWC activities, residents are empowered to take ownership of their climate and practice principles of shared governance with faculty. Each residency program under the FRI has its own PSWC to provide in-depth focus on the specific needs of medical residents on an individual basis. Contact your residency program coordinator to learn more about the PSWC at your program.

System Redesign

Master Trainer Faculty Development

Through consultation with Tend Health provided at the institutional level, the Master Trainer Faculty Development (MTFD) track is implemented to train a cohort of up to 20 selected SOM faculty and staff to full competency in addressing the needs and issues of resident health and wellness. Tend Health facilitates the MTFD training, with expert psychologists and wellness experts leading faculty through a four-phase training process over the duration of two years of continuous development. In coordination with the Office of Faculty Affairs, Clinical Chairs, and each program leadership, MTFD coordinators will introduce and improve additional training pathways for future cohorts.

If you are a UTRGV medical resident or fellow and are interested in the FRI, please contact 956-362-3520 or email tanya.eychner@utrgv.onmicrosoft.com for more information.

For consultation services and additional information, please contact:

Deepu George, PhD
Associate Professor of Family and Community Medicine
Email: Deepu.George@utrgv.edu
Phone: (956) 362-3520
Location:
EREBL 1.200
1201 W University Dr, Edinburg, TX 78539
Interactive Campus Map

University of Pennsylvania Five Pillars of Well-Being PERMA Workplace Profile Survey (Screening/Survey Instrument)

Work Environment Factors that Contribute to Burnout (Screening/Survey Instrument)
Quiz: Are You on the Path to Burnout?

Sleep & Wellness

UTRGV’s Institutional wellness programs

• UT System Living Well Program
• Campus Wellness
• Contact UTRGV’s Employee Wellness Department
  • by email EmployeeWellness@utrgv.edu
  • or phone, 956-665-2451

Please visit UTRGV's Office of Human Resources - Employee Wellness page for more information.

• Disaster Relief Resource Guide
• Resident Wellbeing Mental Health Resources
• Guidelines to Manage UTRGV GME Resident/Fellow Wellbeing Concerns

Physician Well-Being Tools

• ACGME Tools and Resources for Resident and Faculty Member Well-Being

Promoting Well-Being

• Mayo Clinic Well-Being
• Professional Quality of Life Scale (PROQOL)

UT System Living Well Program

• Living Well - Make it a Priority. UT Systems goal is to enable their employees, retirees and dependents to take charge of their health and develop their own personal wellness programs. Explore the site to see what the Living Well program has to offer.

Please visit UTRGV's Office of Human Resources - Wellness Champions page for more information.