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Program Wellness

The program leadership encourages fellows to establish care and meet with health providers (i.e., primary care, mental health, dental, and other specialists).  

Recognizing that obtaining evening/weekend appointments with providers is often challenging, we work with our faculty members to ensure that fellows can protect time from their workday to attend health appointments, including psychotherapy.

To help prepare our fellows for life after fellowship, the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences arranges lectures on such life skills as financial preparedness (e.g., loan forgiveness plans and saving for retirement), job interviewing, and contract negotiation.

Some highlights contained in our program resources are: 

  • RUSH Addiction Medicine Fellowship Training Program Wellness Resources.pdf
  • Pecha Kucha with the Program Director; Wellness with Leadership:  
    • Pecha Kucha translates as “the sound of conversation” or “chit-chat” in Japanese. Fellows meet with the program director monthly over a complimentary dinner to check in with each other, offer feedback about the program, and troubleshoot any issues in real-time. 
    • The program director individually performs wellness check-ins during each fellow’s-semi-annual evaluation. During these check-ins, the program director reviews and gives feedback on the fellows’ wellness plans. 
    • The program leaders’ “doors” are always open to residents.
  • Wellness Days & Sick Days
    • House staff may take up to two wellness days per year to attend medical, mental health, and dental care appointments, including those scheduled during working hours.  Wellness days may also be taken when house staff cannot attend work due to fatigue, illness, family emergencies and parental leave. Additional wellness days may be scheduled at the discretion of the program director. They are not subtracted from vacation time.
    • House staff may take up to five sick days per year at the discretion of their program director. Sick days are not subtracted from vacation time.
    • House staff may take up to five sick days per year at the discretion of their program director. Sick days are not subtracted from vacation time.
  • Flexible Wellness Allowance
    • House staff will receive four quarterly stipends of $250.00 in their paycheck to use on meals, at the Rush Bookstore, at the RUSH Fitness Center, or for other wellness expenses.
  • Counseling Services
    • RUSH Wellness aspires to create highly innovative, evidence-based solutions that will positively impact our community and the future of health care. In July 2020, RUSH Wellness opened the Center for Clinical Wellness (CCW) to provide a healing environment.  The Rush Center for Clinical Wellness (CCW) offers counseling for house staff at no cost. See the CCW website for more information and to schedule an appointment. The Rush Center for Clinical Wellness also offers Well-Being Coaches and mini-wellness retreats to Rush House staff. Learn more about the CCW in this YouTube video.
    • Employee Assistance Program: The team member assistance program (EAP), ComPsych, provides free and confidential managed mental health care services for employees/members and families struggling with personal difficulties. You may self-refer. The EAP can also help find child or elder care, address financial or legal issues, deal with relationship concerns, and get help for substance misuse. Contact 877-465-1324 or visit guidanceresources.com.
  • Health and Fitness Center
    • The RUSH Health and Fitness Center, located at 711 S. Paulina St., supports all your health goals by helping you get in shape, lose weight or unwind after a busy day. The facility includes a fitness studio, cardio, strength training, stretching areas, and men’s and women’s locker rooms with showers. Contact the RUSH Health and Fitness Center.
  • About Insurance Coverage
    • All three Rush medical insurance plan options cover mental health and substance use services the same way, regardless of the network. Six thousand one hundred thirty-six mental health providers are now available to the Rush community at the same price point as the Rush Provider network. Whether you use Rush or Cigna network providers, inpatient and outpatient mental health services will be covered. The co-pays and co-insurance are the same for both networks.