Sharpen for medical student resiliency

  • Nov 14, 2024
  • 2 min read

Updated:Sep 24, 2025

Our 6-year Journey

In a recent Summit presentation held at Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) our partners highlighted our 6-year collaboration and shared accomplishments:

  • Two early studies that have been published.
  • VCOM's expansion of Sharpen to all 4 campuses.

To help address the mental health issues faced by medical students and future physicians our team customized the Sharpen ® resiliency and mental health literacy toolkit featuring peer and expert videos that resonate deeply with medical students. The name of VCOM's toolkit is "Mindful MEDS".

Beginning in 2018, our 6-year journey together has enabled us to leverage over $400,000 in grants to ultimately extend the Sharpen / Mindful MEDS program to four campuses. With grant awards ranging from national (SAMHSA) to local (VCOM and Spartanburg Regional Healthcare Foundation) the project has now grown to include a full eating disorder training program for physicians, along with the original resiliency and suicide prevention training for medical students.

Below is a film featuring the leadership from all four campuses outlining the importance of the effort:

Dr. Deborah West, Provost for VCOM

In addition, the following research publications and conference presentations have been awarded:

  • Fadel et al (2024). A Process Evaluation of a Mobile App for Medical Students Aimed at Increasing Resilience and Decreasing Stigma in Mental Health .
  • Berreta et al, 2023. A RE-AIM analysis of a Mental Health App for Undergraduate and Medical Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study.
  • 2023 American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Annual Conference
  • 2025 American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Annual Conference

The many deep listening campaigns and participatory-style interviews held over six years with providers, medical students and administrators has led us to develop enhanced training programs. We will feature these in a separate post.

This is an example of why long-term collaborations with trusted partners are critical in making significant impact.

Topics

SharpenMinds