UPMC Lititz Internal Medicine – Terrarium Building at Gallery Grow 04/13/2024

The internal medicine residents took advantage of the warmer weather and spent the day putting their creative skills to the test plant building and making their own DIY terrariums...

1.What was the general understanding of the purpose of the project/program by participants?
It was a fun and stress-free event where participants can spend time getting to know their co-residents outside of the work environment.

2. During the project/program, what tangible tools or strategies were demonstrated or taught (i.e. coping skills for wellness and life balance)
As residents with busy schedules, it is easy to get caught up in our day-to-day tasks and responsibilities. This event helped to slow things down, establish a sense of peace, and connect to nature. Completing the terrariums also serves as an accomplishment which can help further boost the residents’ self-esteem and foster their creative abilities. It helped put things into perspective, much like life where there are countless options and multiple solutions to a task at hand, there is also a large variety of plants, vases, and stones, etc to choose from. All these options culminate together into a final project that was truly beautiful and unique to each person.

3.What word(s) best describes how you feel when you are experiencing stress or well-being imbalance?
Anxious, tired, burn out, exhausted, frustrated

4.What suggestions do you have to increase the probability of success for the project/program for other institutions?
For smaller programs like ours, it helped that we were able to book a room at the shop for the space and choosing an event that a majority of the residents are excited or interested in. For bigger programs, we recommend using the funds to order smaller jars and materials online and coordinating with a local plant shop for the terrarium or succulent plants.

5.What do you intend to do upon returning to work that you learned and practiced during the activity, that will improve your response to stressful situations.
We learned patience and the importance of establishing a process to see a job through. This also further taught us to be more receptive to collaborative feedback, building off of each other and sharing resources to ultimately help our patients in their health and wellness goals.