Touro University of Nevada

Touro University Nevada (TUN): Raising Resiliency Together is designed to provide TUN medical students with the knowledge and confidence to identify and overcome the stressors that contribute to substance abuse and mental health issues before they become debilitating and dangerous situations. Medical students face intense stress and experience both mental illness and suicide at a higher rate than their peers and the population as a whole. TUN will build campus capacity and infrastructure to help these students by forming a Behavioral Health Advisory Board and implementing activities including: 1) A coaching program directed primarily at students from underserved and underrepresented populations; 2) A long-term counseling model to increase access to campus counseling services; 3) A series of trainings and presentations for students, faculty, and staff; 3) Self-assessments that flag and refer students to needed services; and 4) Outreach activities that will promote awareness and action for students, faculty, and staff. The programs will reach and serve 1500 faculty, staff and students. TUN enrolls approximately 1,400 students in osteopathic medicine, physician assistant studies, nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and education. The osteopathic medicine program is the largest medical school in Nevada. TUN’s student population demographics are: 53% white, 32% Asian, 6% Hispanic of any race, 4% two or more races, 3% black or African-American, 2% unknown, .5% native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, and .1% American Indian or Alaska native. Fifty-two percent of TUN students are female and 48% are male. Seventy-four percent of students are age 20-29, 19% are age 30-39, 5% are age 40-49, 3% are age 50-59. The average age of students is 28 years old. Veterans make up .6% of students and .3% are student dependents on VA benefits. The goals of TUN Raising Resiliency Together are to: 1) Grow and strengthen the institution’s infrastructure and network of mental-health and substance-abuse treatment resources and services; and 2) Increase the capacity of resiliency, emotional well-being, and mental health of all TUN students, including those traditionally underserved and underperforming student groups, in order to address the prevalence and severity of mental illness in medical students. The corresponding measurable objectives are to: 1) Increase the number of counseling hours available to students from 30 to 60; 2) Increase student self-awareness of alcohol, drug, and other risky behaviors; 3) Increase student knowledge and awareness of campus and community mental-health resources; 4) Serve 50 students per year (100 total) in a new coaching program to help create resiliency during years two and three; 5) Increase the frequency of campus awareness and prevention presentations to one per month by dean of students and Student Counseling Services, in addition to presentations given by the Drug and Alcohol Committee; 6) Increase student attendance at awareness and prevention trainings and presentations by 10%; and 7) Increase faculty and staff attendance at awareness and prevention trainings and presentations by 10%.