Mental Health & Wellness
The Office of Student Affairs (OSA) at CMSRU, in collaboration with staff, faculty, and student leadership, has created a comprehensive system of programming to support students’ well-being and adjustment to the physical and emotional demands of medical school.
The OSA has adopted a culture of wellness that supplements students' classroom learning and contributes to their personal development through an array of programs, advisory college resources, and clubs/organizations designed to promote and sustain the well-being of our students. The OSA incorporates the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) eight dimensions of wellness to offer programs and resources that align with each dimension of wellness, to best meet the needs of the student when providing supplemental information and facilitating wellness. The SAMHSA eight dimensions of wellness include:
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CMSRU SAMHSA Wellness Activities
The CMSRU Wellness Center is located on the fourth floor of the Medical Education Building (MEB) and serves as a convenient location for students to exercise and expend energy. The 1,508-square-foot wellness center includes:
- A large exercise room with free weights and fitness equipment.
- Certified instructor-led classes.
- Group workouts in addition to available fitness audiotapes.
A changing room with showers is located across from the Wellness Center. The cardio room is outfitted with treadmills, rowing and elliptical machines, and stationary bicycles.
The fourth-floor meditation room may be utilized as a private lactation area or for prayer. In addition to the Wellness Center, students participate in many other wellness activities, including but not limited to the following:
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CMSRU provides an additional wellness/relaxation space on the fourth floor across from the CMSRU Wellness Center. The CMSRU Student Lounge (Rm 420) is a dedicated area with soft seating for students to relax and socialize and includes a pool table/air hockey, board games, puzzles, and a large screen TV.
CMSRU encourages students to collaborate with the Advisory College Learning Communities and Wellness Program Specialist to facilitate other wellness activities and programming.
Student Mental Health Services
The Office of Student Affairs (OSA) has created a multifaceted system of programming to support students’ well-being and adjustment to the physical and emotional demands of medical school. CMSRU provides medical students with on-site access to two Student Support Services Specialists, who are masters-level clinicians to provide immediate support and referral, when needed, encompassing the diversity of medical students’ needs.
In addition, the CMSRU Student Support Services Specialists (SSSS) provide programming to students to increase their well-being. These services include:
- Brief solution-focused individual coaching is provided to students upon request.
- Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) – short-term helping process to avoid the development of post-traumatic stress disorder in crises.
- Comprehensive Assessment of Resources and Emotional Support (CARES) - individual meeting with each incoming M1 to build rapport and assess needs.
- Small group meetings – SSSS and Financial Aid Services meet with M2 students to address emotional and financial well-being.
- Proactive Advising for Student Support (PASS) Program – An innovative, proactive, supportive, and supplementary process to identify and support each student’s success.
- Partner with Learning Support Services Specialists and Primary Academic and Career Advisors.
- CMSRU: Raising Mental Health Awareness – An online learning platform (Canvas course) that provides students with specific mental health themes, including diagnostic criteria/symptoms, self-assessments, coping skills, and resources for support.
- Suicide Prevention (Question, Persuade, Refer) - innovative, practical, and proven suicide prevention training.
- Collaboration with JED Foundation – Non-profit foundation created to provide programming supporting mental health, substance misuse, and suicide prevention.
Wellness and Student Support Services Collaborative Programming
The Wellness and the Student Support Services Specialists partner on various programs and activities to promote student success including:
- Student Mental Health and Wellness Week – weeklong activities to promote well-being and information on resources available to CMSRU students.
- Suicide Prevention - Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) - innovative, practical, and proven suicide prevention training.
- CMSRU membership - Delaware Valley Medical Student Wellness Collaborative Board - The College of Physicians and the seven medical colleges in the Delaware Valley region collaborate to promote the emotional wellbeing and resilience of medical students.
- CMSRU Mental Health and Wellness Guide – a comprehensive list of online resources corresponding to all eight dimensions of wellness as defined by SAMHSA.
- Technology-based support programming:
- Early Alert – check-in system to monitor wellness in all dimensions.
- My MD to Be - communication sent to the student's designated support network to help understand the medical school experience and offer support to the student.
- Pet Therapy - Certified therapy dogs visit to enhance student mental health and well-being.
Student Behavioral Health Services
Counseling Services
CMSRU has partnered with the Student Wellness Program (SWP), made available through Rutgers University Behavioral Health Services. The SWP provides the following confidential services to students and members of their household:
- Counseling for:
- Personal and interpersonal related issues
- Academic performance problems
- Test anxiety
- Substance abuse issues
- Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) services
- Community resource referrals
Crisis services through the SWP are available to students 24 hours per day, seven days per week.
CMSRU coordinates with the SWP to provide informational and educational programming, on topics including well-being/self-care, compassion fatigue, mental health awareness, and dealing with challenging patient encounters.
Additional counseling services are offered via Uwill, through teletherapy services. They also provide 24/7 crisis counseling services and on-demand resources for wellness.
Psychiatry Services
CMSRU has contracted with Cooper University Health Care (CUHC) for psychiatry services. CUHC provides students with confidential access to psychiatric evaluation and medication management. In addition, the service coordinates with CMSRU to provide on-site special events about mental health, as requested.
In addition, CMSRU provides a menu of community psychiatric providers to students who wish to seek help outside of the school environment. The providers on this menu need to be vetted by each student to determine which best meets their needs.
*As a requirement of the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), providers of health and psychiatric/psychological services to a medical student will have no involvement in the academic assessment of or in decisions about the promotion of that student.
Office of Student Affairs
Student Support Services
401 S. Broadway, Suite 409
Camden, NJ 08103
Phone: 856-361-2850