NPSA Day Wellness Gallery

OFF SHIFT? STILL VITAL. GET OUT THERE.
This video is a celebration of life beyond the hospital walls. Through clips of outdoor activity, laughter with friends, and soaking in sunsets, I share the moments that keep me grounded, connected, and thriving. It's a reminder that physician wellness isn't a luxury—it's a lifeline. By embracing nature, movement, and community, we protect not only our own vitality but each other. Let's break the silence around physician suicide and encourage a culture where taking care of ourselves is an essential part of the job.

-Karmen Kazma

Painting and firing ceramic plates are an stress-free creative outlet. Not knowing how the glazes interact is exciting to anticipate as well.

- Patricia Nouhan

Emergency medicine naturally forces you to compartmentalize and build "walls" which some may argue leads to a loss of connection. "Bubbles" is an alternative look at the analogy of walls that came to mind as I watched my god-children play outside one day. Thin, shiny walls that I can hold specifically for each patient but also let float away. As I go through my training as a resident, I'll continue searching for ways to maintain that sense of connection with my patients and my colleagues. Because everyone deserves a space to share their story.

-Tauqir Khattak

At the conclusion of each Emergency Medicine (EM) student rotation, as clerkship director, I send a brief two-question survey asking students to identify any resident who significantly influenced their learning and to describe that resident’s strengths. When a resident is recognized, I personally share the feedback with the resident, the Program Director (PD), and Associate Program Director (APD), highlighting the resident’s role in fostering a positive educational environment.
This initiative not only reinforces meaningful connections between students and residents but also promotes wellness and professional fulfillment among residents.

The responses from residents have been deeply affirming:

“This made me smile. Thanks for sharing.”
“Thank you for sharing!! I’m proud to be an influential part of this amazing program.”
"I'm glad I made it a good experience for them, its because I have such great faculty that trust me with supervising med students and being great role models for me, thank you guys!"

By recognizing and celebrating these moments of impact, we cultivate a culture of appreciation, mentorship, and joy in medical education.

-Tracey MacIntosh

As emergency medicine physicians, we often care for patients in extremis, both physiologic and emotional. Patients often share intimate details with us as physicians. My poetry serves as a reflection on these interactions. I find writing poetry is a way to express the intense emotions that way experience as EM phyisicians.

- Andrew Moore

The original draft of this poem was written almost 10 years ago after a night shift covering the trauma service when I was a young EM intern. I have revisited it over the years, making small edits here and there but the "bones" of the poem are the same. Nearly a decade has passed, yet I still remember that moment in my car in the hospital parking garage, tears streaming down my cheeks, really feeling the weight of our profession for the first time. Writing this poem helped me process my emotions from a difficult experience. Revisiting it has also been important, reminding me that with time I have gained experience and expertise but I am still the same human that I was sitting in my car that day, and I hope that I always will be. The patient's name and some small details were changed for confidentiality purposes.

- Jennifer Irick

- Ali Ashhar

This is a statue in the middle of a lake that I run around several times a week. I’ve always loved the statue and sit near it to rest after running. I decided to try my hand at art, taking an oil painting class this past spring. It’s been a welcome change to be creative and I find painting to be somewhat meditative.. much like running.

-  Amanda Polsinelli

This is a photo of my children enjoying the beach during a lovely sunset on Laguna Beach, CA. I believe in the stress of life and the difficulties of working in a specialty in which we witness so much sadness, pain, and death, we can remember the moments that make it worth it, and that there is so much more to life than suffering. I have so much to be grateful for, and this picture helps me remember that.

- David Hart, MD

This photo is a part of a series I did during medical school titled "memoirs of an uncontrolled adhd..." I create art to relieve the tension and emotions I experience when I feel inadequate because of my ADHD. Photography provides me with the space to create something that I can then map my emotions on, to better understand and process them.

-Omar Taweh, MD

This is a photo taken during a rare vacation in New Mexico when I was exploring White Sands National park. Photography is about the journey, the experience, the new sounds (and sometimes lack of) and textures, the wind blowing against your neck. To me, it all becomes a physical representation of tranquility and calm. A place where I can be alone in my thoughts gazing out into a far more vast world than what meets me at the hospital. It helps provide the opportunity to develop calmness of mind and reflect on my most recent experiences.

-Jonathan Warren, MD

-Marc Borenstein, MD

-Marc Borenstein, MD

At the University of Puerto Rico Internal Medicine Program, physician wellbeing and wellness is a priority. We are aware of physician’s suicide statistics and support the #National Physician Suicide Awareness Day initiative. Stop the stigma! … Start the conversation! Your life is important, YOU ARE IMPORTANT!

-Arelis Febles, MD

The Internal Medicine Residency Program at the University of Puerto Rico is aware of the impact and the importance of mental health. This picture with discordant socks, is a call to stopping the stigma and raising awareness of mental health disease and the impact on physicians!

-UPR Internal Medicine

"Hi, I'm Doctor" is a short poem that embodies the struggles of being a doctor and how we suppress those struggles in front of our patients and colleagues. This poem serves as a reminder that doctors are humans too, but we often try to hide our humanistic qualities and feelings to protect others. Being human isn't a weakness, so let's turn it into a strength.

-Autumn Breutzmann, DO

As I reflect on my healing journey, it has been nothing like I expected—it has been longer and more difficult. I can’t just “try harder” and think my way through it. However, it has also been more freeing and transformative—I am learning to live authentically from my humanity with joy and hope. Writing, regardless of form, helps me find myself and my voice, and I share these writings with gratitude.

-Kendra Parekh, MD

Exercise and movement are truly essential for me for a variety of reasons, and when the covid pandemic happened and Orange Theory closed down, I pivoted to using the Peloton platform and have never looked back! With the convenience of exercising at home along with being in the "empty-nest" phase of life, physical fitness has become my primary hobby and mechanism of helping me to stay calm in all aspects of my life. Weight lifting and riding the bike are my release from the physical and emotional stressors of being an academic emergency physician and chief wellness officer, as well as my various other identities, such as wife, mother, and member of my community.

- Pam Dyne, MD

Pictures of beautiful desert flowers I took during my walks in the El Paso desert with my daughter, a favorite wellness activity of mine.

-Radosveta Wells, MD