At the Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine in California Eduardo Velasco, MD, Ph.D, uses ProgressIQ to engage faculty mentors and students in the WARM (Wellness, Academics, Resilience, and Mindfulness) program for the first and second years of medical school.
Wellness. On the first day of orientation students are assigned a mentor (an “authorized viewer” role in ProgressIQ) where they begin learning the importance of life balance, adequate sleep, stress management, and meditation. Students are required to meet with their mentor once per semester and on an as-needed basis. All notes from the meetings are kept in ProgressIQ for reference, reflection, and improvement.
Academics. Throughout the preclinical years students take mock medical licensing exams to prepare for the rigor of these often stressful, career determining exams. In addition to their regular studies to gain medical knowledge, students are formally trained in test taking strategies.
Resilience. Once per semester students fill out a survey in ProgressIQ with quantitative and qualitative questions regarding how they are coping as a medical student. Students are required to reflect and write about how they plan to improve. Mentors read the comments and provide feedback for improvement to students directly through the ProgressIQ platform. If a student’s resilience report falls below a threshold, mentors are alerted through ProgressIQ to schedule a meeting. All meetings, notes, and surveys are documented in ProgressIQ to facilitate understanding of student journeys in increased resilience.
Mindfulness. Students are introduced to yoga and breathing exercises on the first day of orientation. Additionally, before each major exam the class participates in breathing exercises to reduce test anxiety, to reenforce and improve skill in these techniques for use throughout the students’ careers.
“Student reflection survey compliance is at 100%,” says Dr. Velasco. His next steps are to collect and analyze two or three years of data, and based on his findings, create metrics to design a real-time dashboard within ProgressIQ. Due to its success, he plans to expand the WARM program to the clinical years of medical school. “Because it allows students, mentors, and administration to very effectively interact,” says Dr. Velasco, “students, mentors and the new dean really love ProgressIQ.”
