Creating “Healthy Healers” UCSF Programs Dedicated to Student Wellness
By Christina Palmer
Staff Writer
Whether you are a new UCSF student or seasoned veteran, you know that UC students are under a lot of pressure. Students here come from unique and diverse backgrounds, but you are all successful and goal oriented. Here you will face unparalleled challenges while you diligently work to achieve your career goals. You will try to do everything to the best of your ability, whether it is service, residency, research, studying or all these things at once, while maintaining the high level of integrity that UC demands.
Try doing all this and you will soon realize, if you haven’t already, that things are going to fall through the cracks. You are going to miss outings and events with friends and work will take center stage in your life. You are going to have too much to do. You are going to get stressed.
To prevent this situation from escalating out of control, UC has taken steps to embrace and promote a balanced life for its students. In recent years health and wellness has become a primary focus for UCSF community – taking care of yourself so you can better take care of others; creating “Healthy Healers.” This pro-active approach to health and wellness, both mental and physical, is something you, as a physician, nurse, dentist, etc, would probably recommend for your patients.
So, why not take the initiative yourself and work to create a balanced lifestyle by understanding and managing the stresses in your life? The resources developed by various groups at UC seek to help you do just that.
An important resource for all the UCSF student community is Student Health Services (SHS), located at Mission Bay in the William J. Rutter Center and at Parnassus in Milberry Union. SHS is here to provide all you with the tools and advice you need to maintain a healthy lifestyle while at UC, as well as learn how to maintain that focus on health and wellness throughout your career.
The Health Is Power initiative (HIP for short) is focused on health and wellness education for UC students, with offerings such as midday meditation, discussion groups on family and relationships and yoga, to name a few. For full offerings, schedule and locations see: http://shs.ucsf.edu/docs/education.html.
In addition to health education, SHS provides traditional services for primary and urgent care, consultations and referrals for specialists. Because UCSF understands the demanding and stressful environment that you live in, and because they understand that physical and mental health go hand in hand, SHS also offers mental health services to all UC students. Whether you just need someone to talk to or long term support, students may see a SHS mental health provider up to 10 times per year under their UCSF insurance.
If additional care is necessary, SHS will help you find an outside provider covered by your insurance. Visits to SHS mental health are completely confidential and free for students. You can also obtain referrals through SHS for appointments at LPPI for more specialized care, for a $20 co-pay per session.
But maintaining a healthy lifestyle means caring for not only your mind and body, but also your soul. It’s not always easy to find you to put yourself and your needs first. The well-received Passport to Wellness (P2W) program was developed to do just that.
According to Maureen Conway, Director of the Student Activities Center, this program “is a unification of various providers on campus who want to send a message to students of the value of wellness and provide unique and coordinated offerings for the student community.” The partners of this program include such groups as Fitness and Recreation, Arts and Events, Career and Professional Development, Student Health Services, the Center for Gender Quality, and the UCPD.
The main focus of P2W comes during the Winter Quarter when students find it most vital to have a break from the rigors of their academic year. By participating in the various offerings, such as the lunchtime Chancellor’s Concert Series, an early morning BodyPump class or a Student Enrichment Series workshop on Healthy Eating habits, students earn stamps they can put toward winning prizes like gift cards, iPods, massages and more all to encourage you to take time out to embrace your interests, develop skills and learn about living a well-balanced life.
By signing up for their weekly emails, you can find out about all of the events going on around campus, not only during P2W, but throughout the year. The kickoff for the next P2W program is November 6th with a talk from David Sobel entitled: The Health Benefits of Sensuality, Optimism and Altruism.
Another resource available online is the UCSF Thrive Guide, chockfull of useful tips on staying healthy. It can be found at http://osl.ucsf.edu/thrive/
A continuum of services and support are here for you to access. Many at UC value student wellness and support the development of healthy healers. You just need to reach out and find the help you need.