Residents Embark on First Wellness Walk with the Chair

The Ophthalmology residency program at UMass was approved in April 2019 and the inaugural class of residents, Dr. Soraiya Thura and Dr. Saad Al-Kadhi started their residency training program in July 2019.

“Because our residency program is new, we had the rare opportunity to conceive, design, and include new and original elements in our residency program, that are not seen in other programs”, says Dr. Schaal, Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences at UMass Chan Medical School. “One of the new elements is the intentional and deliberate focus on the well-being of our residents, and this includes physical and mental wellness.”

This is how the idea of a regular bi-monthly walking meeting with the chair came about. In this meeting, the residents have an opportunity to discuss their educational schedule with the chair and suggest improvements. First walking meeting took place September 6th in Boston. Residents and Chair walk 5.14 miles in historic Boston (see map) in a little over two hours.