We All Get by With a Little Help From Our PEERS 

PEERS is a positive psychology program rooted in the knowledge that the quality of our well-being is directly related to the quality of our relationships. In addition, it’s rooted in the knowledge that ISMMS students, residents, and fellows do not lack resilience. In fact, we believe it is their resilience that is essential to Mount Sinai’s success! PEERS aims to assist our talented students, residents, and fellows tap into their resilience and communities in new, creative ways as they navigate the rigors of medical and scientific education by learning evidence-based skills in community with their peers. 

Through a series of peer-led, guided small-group sessions, our well-being curriculum combines empirical data with hands-on practices to cultivate a sense of meaning, belonging, growth, and connection with self and others, building and sustaining community among ISMMS students and trainees. 

The core values of the PEERS program are explained by its acronym:  

 Practice Enhancement: The pursuit of well-being is both a moral imperative and an essential component to quality clinical care and scientific inquiry. It includes skills necessary for the practice of sustainable, high-quality, patient care and scientific pursuits. The content learned in the PEERS program may be practiced by the learner in personal and professional settings and may also be implemented with patients within clinical settings and amongst colleagues in scientific spaces.  

 Engagement: Content guides learners to deliberately reflect on their sense of meaning in day-to-day life, empowering them to live by their values and use their unique character strengths in personal and professional settings.  

 Resilience: Mistakes and adversity are inevitable in medicine and academia, and one’s ability to not only bounce back but bounce forward and grow through challenges can be learned and developed. Trainees are highly resilient when they enter medical and graduate education and training programs; PEERS guides learners to reflect on and deliberately cultivate resilient practices in times of stress.  

 Support: Students and trainees frequently encounter the same challenges as their peers but may lack the space to debrief and reflect with one another. A strong sense of community can be a powerful source of well-being and an antidote to distress. PEERS is a space to learn and grow in community with colleagues.