Career and Life Planning Guidebook for Medical Residents

SECTION I: T MINUS THREE YEARS Meagan W. Vermeulen, MD, FAAFP Associate Program Director, Family Medicine Residency Program, Rowan University SOM Dr. Vermeulen has almost 20 years of experience practicing family medicine. During that time, she has served as volunteer and paid faculty in a variety of residency programs. She is now the associate program director of the Rowan University SOM Family Medicine Residency Program in Stratford, NJ. In her role of associate program director, she has pioneered the Family Medicine Resident Wellness Initiative, a full spectrum curriculum embedded in the residency program didactic to teach residents the skills of self-assessment, effective interpersonal communication, financial literacy, and self-care. Her academic research focuses on resident wellness, including a recent study presented at American College of Osteopathic Family Medicine on rates of burnout amongst allopathic and osteopathic residency programs in the state of New Jersey. In addition to working to grow and develop wellness curricula on the graduate medical education level at her own university, she has served as a mentor for AAFP’s Emerging Leader Institute: Family Medicine Leads program, during which she helped her mentee create a truly innovative source for resident and medical student financial literacy; drpiggybank.org. Dr. Vermeulen truly believes that the tenets of wellness include self-awareness, effective communication, self-care, mentorship, and advocacy for those looking to grow and move forward in their career. C H A P T E R A U T H O R “Wellness Encompasses a healthy body, a sound mind, and a tranquil spirit. Enjoy the journey as you strive for wellness.” ~ Laurette Gagnon Beaulieu CAREER AND LIFE PLANNING GUIDEBOOK FOR MEDICAL RESIDENTS 50