Students from local chapters of Medicine in Motion, a nonprofit organization composed of a diverse group of healthcare providers whose mission is to address medical burnout through fitness, interdisciplinary community building, and philanthropy, took part in “Fenway Stadion,” which was organized and managed by Spartan, the recognized global leader in obstacle course racing.
“Burnout in the medical field is such a salient issue these days, we try to address it by organizing various fitness events like training sessions or competitions,” said Logan Briggs, a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society and M.D. candidate at Harvard Medical School and one of the founders of Medicine in Motion. “We’ve found that students, trainees, and attendings alike get a lot of fulfillment out of getting out there, meeting new people, and doing something healthy for their bodies and minds.”
The Fenway race drew 130 participants from Harvard medical School, Tufts University School of Medicine and Boston University School of Medicine, University of Massachusetts School of Medicine and Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth.
“It can be hard to meet other students and professionals in your field that are not at your own institution,” said Jacob Klickstein, a Medicine in Motion leader and M.D. candidate at Tufts. “We can easily get caught up in our class work and clinical hours. But seeing as Boston has such a large medical community, it would be a missed opportunity to not branch out and meet people from other institutions and fields. This presents a great opportunity for our members to expand not only their professional network but also their friend circle.”
Participants and leaders have embraced the concept of community wellness and philanthropy.
“I think this event was really successful not only because of the amazing turnout, but really because of the atmosphere at the race,” said Stephanie Vaughn, an M.D. candidate from Boston University. “Wellness, and particularly wellness through fitness, is so often a thing that students do in a silo or with a small static group of friends, so it was really great to see so many students come together, and I think that the camaraderie was really special. In a field that can be very competitive at times, it was so nice to see people supporting each other by waiting for the people that they were racing with and cheering as they saw others pass by.”