Patrick Guthrie is the Program Coordinator for Institutional Outreach and Collaboration, supporting the ACGME’s Clinical Learning Environment Review (CLER) Program and the Pursuing Excellence in Clinical Learning Environments initiative, among other projects. He also works to engage employees internally, through activities that include a monthly Brown Bag Lunch Series and the annual Holiday Charity Drive.
The ACGME’s commitment to physician well-being and mental health has been a focus in many dimensions of the organization’s work historically, and that commitment has deepened in recent years. The ACGME’s pledge to face the issue of well-being head on and contribute to actionable progress includes ACGME Leadership collaborations with major health care organizations like the National Academy of Medicine and the Association of American Medical Colleges; financial commitments to research; program development for enriched meaning in work such as Back to Bedside; and national symposia providing opportunities for leaders across the health care spectrum to discuss solutions. Perhaps the most important demonstration of ACGME’s commitment has been the adoption of new requirements in this area into the latest revision of the Common Program Requirements.
The ACGME’s commitment to mental health awareness extends to its staff as well. ACGME leadership has vowed to provide staff members with resources to sustain a healthy work environment and healthy lives.
To this end, in 2018 we chose Hope For The Day as the beneficiary of our annual ACGME Holiday Charity Drive. Hope For The Day, founded by Jonny Boucher, is a Chicago-based 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization with the mission to achieve proactive suicide prevention by providing outreach and mental health education. In 2010, Boucher’s boss and mentor committed suicide. This was a final straw for Boucher, and compelled him to take action to honor his colleague, as well as other close friends and family members he knew who had died by suicide.
For the ACGME, raising money for this organization was only part of the effort. Since the conclusion of the charity drive in early 2019, we have been working with Hope For The Day to become a Partner in Prevention. A Hope For the Day Partner in Prevention is a group that is actively working towards mental health education and proactive suicide prevention. To gain this distinction, our organization has committed to providing mental health resources and educational sessions for all employees throughout the year. We have hosted representatives from Hope For The Day at multiple educational sessions at our offices to discuss how to de-stigmatize mental health issues and be supportive to those experiencing a mental health episode or crisis.
As we move forward toward our Partner in Prevention status, we are proud to continue working with Hope For the Day to achieve our shared goal of a healthier, happier future. Stay tuned for updates as this partnership develops.