GME Wellness Grant Program

The GME wellness grant program was launched in 2023 to promote the engagement of residents and fellows in wellness programming at UC San Diego Health. Through this program, any UC San Diego Health resident or fellow may apply for funding to support the development and implementation of house staff well-being initiatives.

Proposals should focus on addressing systemic aspects of resident/fellow wellness such as living conditions, access to free time, or working conditions.

Possible project themes could include but are not limited to:

Supporting GME physicians during times of stress or crisis at work
Building personal safety in your program
Reducing stigma and improving access to mental health care
Solutions that assist in work-life harmony
Assisting in personal tasks outside of work

Effective beginning the 2025-26 academic year, the GME wellness grant program has been incorporated into the Physician Wellness Culture Awards program. Please visit the linked page for information on application requirements.

Physician Wellness Culture Awards

The Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion has joined forces with UC San Diego Health to support physician research and education. This commitment supports initiatives that foster empathy, compassion and burnout prevention in health care and promote a culture of wellness.

Learn more about the awards

Previous Grant Recipients

Project	Recipient	Department
Fit for the Frontlines: Revitalizing Resident Wellness with Fitness Upgrades	Ruth Laverde	General Surgery
Guiding Hands: Hematology/Oncology Big-Little Sibling Mentorship Program	Christopher Grant Amanda Herrmann	Hematology/Oncology
Resident WELL (Workspace Enhancements for Living and Learning)	Grace Kooi	Pediatrics
Reducing Psychiatry Resident Burnout Through On-Call Workout Equipment	Hailee Tougas Justine Ku	Psychiatry
Enhancing Wellness Among Family Medicine Residents Through Structured Social Engagement	Kevin Zhen	Family Medicine
Group Fitness for Resident Physicians: A “ClassPass” Pilot Study on Well-Being and Connectedness	Kevin Yang Lauren D'Andrea	Psychiatry
Mitigating Chronic Repetitive Hand and Wrist Injuries through Ergonomic Solutions for Radiology Residents	Luke Wojdyla Julie An	Radiology
Pet Care Reimbursement Program for El Centro Rotations	Elaine Yu	Emergency Medicine
Residency Houses: An Evidenced-Based and Systems Approach to Addressing Physician Burnout	Anjali Kumar Michael Jew	Internal Medicine
The PeloDocs Project – Working Out at Work	Benjamin Ostrander	Otolaryngology
Literature in Medicine Book Club	Maya Stawnychy	Emergency Medicine
Rec Center Memberships	Avi Patel	Emergency Medicine