Intealth Senior Vice President and FAIMER Executive Director Lyuba Konopasek, MD Co-Publishes Findings on Physician Well-being Efforts During COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic had significant impacts on the well-being of residents and fellows of graduate medical education (GME) programs, exposing them to increased stress and burnout. To address this, institutions introduced well-being interventions, but how effective were they?

Senior Vice President, Intealth^™, and Executive Director, FAIMER^®, Lyuba Konopasek, MD, recently collaborated with Halah Ibrahim, MD, MEHP; Sawsan Abdel-Razig, MD, MEHP; Jillian Silverberg, MSLIS, MA; and Ingrid Philibert, PhD, MA, MBA, on Interventions to Support Resident and Fellow Well-Being During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Scoping Review. Published in the Journal of Graduate Medical Education, the article examined 18 studies on interventions used to support medical trainees in GME programs during the pandemic. It focused on a variety of strategies, including schedule changes, mental health support, and peer connections.

The findings revealed useful approaches and pointed to important gaps in the literature, uncovering the need for better long-term studies and more diverse settings. Additionally, the results demonstrate that though the strategies used were helpful, many were deployed in short durations and limited data was captured on final outcomes and effectiveness. The authors ultimately determined that additional research is needed in the future.

As Intealth Senior Vice President and FAIMER Executive Director, Dr. Konopasek works closely with Intealth’s executive leaders to develop and implement strategies for FAIMER that align with Intealth’s vision and goals, including collaboration on Intealth’s Physician Wellness initiatives. She is responsible for the overall leadership and management of FAIMER programs and activities including its global programs, world information resources, research, and initiatives that support international medical graduates in the United States. Additionally, Dr. Konopasek guides FAIMER’s support of the health professions worldwide through development of international partnerships and the acquisition and analyses of data.

For more published research by FAIMER staff, visit FAIMER Staff Publications by clicking here.