Promoting Health and Wellness

RA.com: Why should RAs be concerned about promoting health and wellness? 

KLC: All college students have to deal with stress-both academic and social. Unfortunately, all too many students turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms. The popular slogan "work hard, play hard" usually implies a pattern of excess: studying without sufficient breaks, rest, exercise or contemplation followed by a jam packed weekend-too little sleep, too much partying and too much alcohol. RAs spend a lot of time dealing with the consequences of these unhealthy patterns-and are left to pick up the pieces. Think how much time RAs spend dealing with the consequences of alcohol abuse-vandalism, unplanned sex and date rape, noisy halls and vomit in the bathroom. How many hours do you spend counseling students who are exhausted and struggling unsuccessfully to manage their academic demands? How often do you deal with a steady stream of sleep deprived residents, complaining of colds and flu, searching for relief from anxiety and stress? How much time do you spend with tense roommates who get on each other's nerves, making it more difficult for everyone to concentrate on the work at hand? 

Obviously, RAs can't change everyone's behavior patterns and eliminate all unhealthy habits. They can, however, play an important role in supporting the academic success and physical and emotional well being of their residents by keeping principles of Health Promotion and Wellness in the forefront of their thinking. As is true in so many of the challenges facing RAs, a pro-active approach is invaluable. RAs are in a unique position to set the tone for their community. 

RA.com: What can RAs do to promote health and wellness? 

KLC: RAs are, first of all, role models. Finding balance in your own lives is an on-going challenge. Balance isn't something you achieve once and for all and then check off your "to do list." Balance comes in those everyday interactions: it's being able to say to a resident, "I need some quiet time now. I'll talk to you after dinner." It's making the time for exercise or recreation in your most pressured weeks, not just when there's an obvious lull in your schedule. It's taking time to eat healthy meals, rather than grabbing soda and chips from the floor vending machine. 

You send a message when you invite some of your residents to come along when you are going out for a run or heading to dinner during a particularly busy time of the semester. You send a message when you say,"I'm going to get some sleep. I can't really study effectively on no sleep." 

You can take advantage of teachable moments in the way you respond to a student who says, "I just finished my chem test. I'm going out to get wasted." Or in the way you respond to a student who says,"I haven't eaten a real meal in two days. All I've done is study." 

You can work with your residents to set community standards that promote health and wellness. And you can easily do passive programming that becomes part of your floor's environment: a bulletin board with lists of recommended Web sites, such as Go Ask Alice, an excellent interactive question and answer web-site from the Columbia University Health Service; a small library of books and pamphlets in the lounge; posters and flyers that promote healthy behavior and transmit accurate social norms. 

When creating the environment for your floor or planning programs, it helps to keep the six dimensions of wellness in mind: emotional, intellectual, occupational, physical, social and spiritual. Keeping these six dimensions in mind inevitably strengthens partnerships with other professionals on campus. RAs can join hands in creative ways with members of their campus health and counseling service, chaplains or ministers, athletic trainers and coaches, career counselors , academic advisors and learning specialists. If you are fortunate enough to have an office of health promotion and wellness, you can tap into their resources and expertise. 

Last week here on the Washington University campus one of our residence halls hosted a "Loveline" program, patterned after the MTV show of the same name. The physician who is head of our health service played Dr. Drew, and a psychologist from the counseling service played the female co-star. An RA played Adam Carolla. A counselor from the counseling service played guest celebrity, Mark Edwards of ER fame, and the GYN nurse practitioner played Dr. Ruth. The students asked questions about sex, love , and relationships much more freely than they might have in a more serious format.. According to students-and the "cast," everyone learned a great deal and laughed a lot too! 

As RAs you already have more than enough to do. Promoting health and wellness doesn't have to be an added obligation--one more thing on your plate. As a matter of fact, integrating health and wellness into your environment will support your own well being as well as that of your residents. - Karen Levin Coburn