Pelotons to Improve Resident and Faculty Wellness

The Department of Surgery is committed to improving the wellness of our faculty and trainees. MUSC has an active and dedicated Wellness Group, led by faculty sponsor Andrea Abbott, M.D. MSCR, Vice-Chair of Personal Development and Well-being. Dr. Abbott is an advocate for resident-driven wellness initiatives and in her new role as Vice-Chair she will be expanding her efforts to include faculty and staff wellness.  

The Wellness Group conducts surveys and provides open forums, so trainees have an opportunity to have their voices heard. One prevalent theme trainees expressed was lack of time and access to physical fitness opportunities. A solution was to provide a gym experience through purchasing Peloton bikes for the Clinical Science and Ashley River Tower resident call spaces. By using the bikes while on call or during a few spare moments of downtime during the day, residents, fellows and faculty can improve their physical and mental health resiliency.

“Dr. Streck, who serves as the General Surgery Program Director, is a big Peloton fan,” said Kristen Quinn, M.D., PGY-research and wellness group committee member. “He thought it would be a great resource for a health and wellness opportunity because it’s not just a bike – there are coaches, trainings, and classes for whatever amount of time you have, which can create an exercise environment that is more engaging and motivating.”

Quinn explains the committee is also incorporating an education research component into this initiative. The committee will conduct a pre-intervention survey for trainees using Peloton’s physical health metric form, and will track progress over time. All data collected for the study is anonymous, and residents and fellows are not required to enroll in the survey. Regardless of survey status, participants will have access to their Peloton physical health information so they can track their progress.   

“Once the bikes are set up, we’ll start some friendly competitions, too,” she added. “We are entertaining the idea of competitions between the two hospitals or between PGY classes, and we are hearing the attendings are jealous and hope to line up some competitions and challenges to see who can top the leaderboard!”