SESSION FORMAT

Wellness Activities are designed to provide participants with tools for relaxation, personal enrichment, and avoidance of burnout, as well as experiential learning opportunities in methods proven to be beneficial for patient well-being. In addition to programs in yoga, mindfulness meditation, and various outdoor recreational activities, the Program Committee is interested in including a limited number of additional opportunities for meeting participants to explore and experience innovative and/or important approaches to wellness.

Wellness activities are not eligible for CME credit. If you think your submission would be eligible for CME credit, please submit it as an Other Program.

GUIDELINES

A Wellness Activity has flexible guidelines and can accommodate any number of programs in order to be considered by the Program Committee for the 2025 Annual Meeting program:

• Be designed around a larger topic or skill set pertinent to physician wellness.
• Can be a mix of didactic lectures, discussion, and hands-on learning exercises.
• The Review Abstract must provide details describing the activity and precisely outline how time for the activity will be organized, INCLUDING any pertinent background or evidence base for the utility of the activity.
• Some examples of programs that have proven successful at past meetings include therapeutic drawing, poetry writing, paper cutting, and music therapy.

STANDARD ROOM SETUP AND AV

A Wellness Activity will be in a room with seating at tables in a u-shape or hollow square, but room setup can be flexible depending on the session. AV requests will be considered but cannot be guaranteed. Wellness Activities hosted outside of the meeting venue(s) will also be considered.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Each submission for a Wellness Activity should include the following items:

• Submission Title
• Chair(s) affiliation and email address(es)
• At least two (2) educational learning objectives
• Requested length of session (1 hour, 1.5 hours, 2 hours)
• Review Abstract that includes the program’s objectives, the approach to guiding participants, and proposed schedule.
  • If you anticipate capacity limit for this session, it MUST be addressed in your review abstract.
• Names, organizations, contact information, email addresses, and disclosures for all co-presenters

NOTE: Wellness Activities do not require a Proceedings Abstract.

CONTENT ADDRESSING DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION

AACAP has a strong commitment to promoting mental health equity and combating health disparities. We support cultural competency efforts that enable practitioners to care effectively for patients from diverse cultures, groups, and communities. Each presentation MUST include relevant information on differences in prevalence, diagnosis, and treatment pertaining to diverse racial and ethnic populations and/or consider other ways of infusing diversity, equity and inclusion principles into the proposal. This may include selecting diverse presenters, including participants with lived experience, using the backdrop of Chicago to the benefit of the program, or many other ways that reflect AACAP’s values. If information is not available or if the presenters’ research does not include this information, speakers should address limitations of current research data in addressing needs of minoritized groups.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Wellness activities are free and open to all meeting attendees as space permits. Programs can be 1-2 hours long.

The Chair and/or presenter of an accepted Wellness activity may claim up to $75 for reimbursement following the meeting for the cost of providing all of the necessary materials for this activity (receipts must be provided and approved after the meeting). It is the presenter’s responsibility to bring and set up these materials onsite for the session.

BEGIN YOUR SUBMISSION

AACAP will accept Wellness Activities based on space availability and efficacy of the proposal. All Wellness Activities must submit a complete proposal each year to be considered for the program at the Annual Meeting. To submit a Wellness Activity for consideration, select “Begin a Submission” at the top or bottom right-hand side of this page.

Questions regarding Wellness Activities can be directed to can be directed to meetings@aacap.org.