Dartmouth Medical School Wellness Committee

Wellness Committee Goal/Charge:
The Association of American Medical Colleges LCME standard for accreditation mandates "a school must have an effective system of personal counseling for students. The faculty and administrators should determine whether personal counsel is to be provided by an officer of administration, by assignment of faculty members or others for this purpose, or both. There should be a program to promote the mental well-being of students and facilitate adjustment to the physical and emotional demands of medical school."

The DMS Wellness Committee was established to help promote a balanced life for all medical students and to help ensure emotional and physical well being. This committee generally consists of student representatives from each of the four-year classes, and interested faculty and administrators.

Program Components:
The work of this committee aims to address 5 areas for wellness through a variety of activities and initiatives that may change from year to year:

Mental health
Exercise/fitness
Nutrition
Relationships
Spirituality

Structure

2 student volunteers from the 2nd year class will be elected to become non-voting members of SG. Each representative will be elected for 1 year with the possibility of renewal to ensure continuity of service.
Create a "Wellness Committee" consisting of:
- Wellness Representatives (ideally, 2 from each class = 8 total)
- Representative(s) from the Office of Student Affairs/Advising Dean's Office
- Representative(s) from the Office of Multicultural Affairs
- Representative(s) from the Student Health Service
- Representatives from other student groups interested in promoting wellness
- Community Members at large (any student and/or faculty interested in wellness issues)
The Wellness Committee will meet 2 times a year (Fall and Spring). The Assistant Dean of Student Affairs and the Office of Student Affairs will organize meetings and provide administrative support.
At least one representative will be expected to attend SG meetings in order to give updates to SG on initiatives and activities of the Wellness Committee, and also to solicit input on the state of wellness at DMS and ongoing Wellness Committee functions. This type of participation in SG will facilitate communication between the Wellness Committee and other allied parties such as Class Representatives, Curriculum representatives, SNAP representatives, and the Social Committee.

Responsibilities of Wellness Committee

Assessment of incoming class (Orientation) for interests/activities related to wellness; half-year assessment to monitor impact of wellness activities and respond to needs.
Enhance community wellness awareness through: informing students about campus or larger community happenings, passive wellness education via email articles, bulletin board, posters, mailings, etc.
Development and planning of wellness events/activities through: collaboration with other student groups to have integrated wellness events (ie, class reps, social committee, electives, community service committee, SNMA, AMWA, Partners group, etc); publicity of wellness events.
Submit annual report to SG and the Dean of the Medical School as a means of emphasizing wellness as a priority among students and improving funding.
Assess medical students' wellness behaviors and attitudes as a means of targeting interest and need.
Plan and coordinate wellness events in collaboration with other efforts to improve community wellness (i.e., class reps, social committee, electives, community service committee, SNMA, AMWA, Partners group, etc)
Monitor/evaluate Wellness Committee initiatives and activities to assess impact on community well-being.

Wellness Committee Information/Activities

Funding Sources:
There are three possible funding sources for student wellness initiatives: The Office of Student Affairs, Student Enrichment Account and the DMS Student Government (student activities fees). Students requesting funds from the Office of Student Affairs and the Student Enrichment Account must have the final approval of the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs.