GME Wellness Wednesday- September

Upcoming events:

If you have an event you want uplifted, please email me at bass-maya@cooperhealth.edu

Helpful Links

·                    New Link for Discounted daycare: Bright Horizons For Cooper Housestaff

·                     Residents’ guide to accessing Primary Care at Cooper:  Wellness Resources for Trainees​​

·                     Cooper GME Wellness Page: https://wellness.cooperhealth.org/gme-wellness/

·                     Cooper Wellness Page: Compassion & Resiliency Experience (C.A.R.E.) Program

·                     Cooper’s Community Resources: Cooper Unite

·                     Cali Courses for Professional Development: http://portal/Departments/CALI/CALI%20Catalog/Forms/AllItems.aspx

Wellness Wednesday – September 2026

Protecting Your Attention: The Most Valuable Resource You Have

As September arrives, many of us have settled into new rotations, new schedules, and the rhythm of the academic year. The challenge is no longer getting started. The challenge is staying focused amid constant interruptions, notifications, pages, inboxes, and competing demands.

We often talk about time management, but research increasingly suggests that our greatest challenge is actually attention management.

Every interruption has a cost. Studies show that after a distraction, it can take several minutes to fully re-engage in the task at hand. In medicine, where our attention is constantly pulled in many directions, protecting even small amounts of focused attention can reduce stress, improve efficiency, and create a greater sense of control over our day.

Wellness Tip: Create Attention Anchors

An attention anchor is a small practice that helps you intentionally direct your focus rather than allowing circumstances to direct it for you.

1. Start Your Day with a “Big Three”

Before opening your email or Epic inbox, identify:

✅ The 3 most important tasks you want to accomplish today.

Not twenty. Not ten. Just three.

If the day becomes chaotic (and some days inevitably do), returning to these priorities can help you regain your footing.

Action Challenge:
Write your Big Three on a sticky note or in your phone before noon tomorrow.

2. Practice Single-Tasking for 15 Minutes

Medicine requires multitasking, but not every task benefits from it.

Choose one activity today:

  • Charting
  • Reading
  • Completing evaluations
  • Studying
  • Preparing a presentation

Set a timer for 15 minutes and give that task your full attention.

No email. No phone. No switching tabs.

Action Challenge:
Schedule one 15-minute focus block this week.

3. Create a Transition Ritual

Many of us move directly from one patient, meeting, or task to the next.

Try a 30-second reset:

  • Take one deep breath.
  • Ask yourself: “What deserves my attention next?”
  • Intentionally move to the next task.

This small pause can reduce cognitive overload and prevent stress from carrying forward into the rest of your day.

Action Challenge:
Use this transition ritual once after a difficult patient encounter or meeting this week.

4. Give Yourself Permission to Be Finished

There will always be another email, another task, another chart.

At the end of your workday, ask:

“What did I accomplish today?” rather than “What still remains?”

Recognizing completed work builds a sense of efficacy and protects against the feeling that you’re never doing enough.

Action Challenge:
Before leaving work one day this week, write down three things you completed.

September Wellness Challenge

This month, spend 5 minutes each morning:

✅ Identify your Big Three priorities
✅ Schedule one 15-minute focus block
✅ Pause for one intentional transition during the day
✅ End the day by acknowledging three accomplishments

Small moments of intentional attention create meaningful improvements in focus, well-being, and satisfaction.

In a profession where everyone needs something from us, protecting our attention is one way we care for ourselves.

Wishing you a focused, grounded, and meaningful September.