Charbo completed a two-year integrative medicine fellowship at the University of Arizona and interned in West Virginia. He then completed a primary care psychiatry fellowship at the University of California, Irvine in 2023 and began a new addiction medicine fellowship at UCI this year.
“It has given me a lot of confidence in treating patients in the mental health field and running an addiction clinic,” said Charbo, who earned her primary care psychiatry trainer certification last year. . “California has a shortage of mental health professionals. There's not enough support. Primary care is a good place to fill that gap.”
Identifying problems and proactively addressing them is not a new approach for Charbo, director of human services and director of the integrative stress reduction clinic at Ridgecrest Regional Hospital.
Charbo was already a vocal supporter of mindfulness as a resident when the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education revised its Common Program Requirements in 2017, requiring all accredited training programs to address wellness. . He was asked by his medical center's Graduate Medical Education Department to create and deliver educational modules for all training programs.
A few years later, as director of human services and health committee for his employer, Charbo had to think bigger.
“I wasn't just thinking about what I needed to do as an individual,” he says. “For the first time, I was involved in listening to what people needed and creating a healthy environment for interventions and doctors. I needed to learn more.”
Charbo found what she needed in AAFP's 10-month certification program, Leading Physician Wellbeing. This program teaches scholars the skills necessary to lead the transformation of practices and healthcare organizations. He currently serves as the program's core faculty.
“It was a blessing,” he said.
After two years of implementing evidence-based, system-level interventions through a dedicated interdepartmental and multidisciplinary well-being task force, Ridgecrest Regional Hospital is focused on prioritizing the health of its clinicians. Recognized by the AMA's Joy In Medicine Health System Recognition program for its
Charbo spends approximately 70% of his clinical time on mental health and 30% on addressing lifestyle changes. He works with patients in individual and group settings on a mindfulness-based lifestyle change program he has developed utilizing emotional intelligence, lifestyle medicine, and motivational interviewing.
“That’s my baby,” Charbo said. “Group visits are underutilized in primary care. A lot of healing happens in groups. For me, it is one of the most important ways to provide care.”
Patients spend four hours each week focusing on their trauma and its effects. Her next four weeks will focus on lifestyle changes regarding nutrition, cooking, sleep, and exercise.
“Those who have taken this program and are still applying its concepts are still benefiting years later,” he said. “They're completely different people.”
Charbo co-authored an article on “Physician Health'' that appeared in the January/February issue of the magazine. FPM. He was also the presenter for his AAFP webinar in January, which focused on how trauma affects mental health and how to deal with it in a healthy way. A recording of that webinar is now available (free to AAFP members).Both FPM CME credit will be provided for this issue and webinar.
Charbo will be the featured speaker at the AAFP Physician Health and Welfare Conference, May 6-8, in Scottsdale, Arizona. He launched a telemedicine platform earlier this year with services for integrative medicine, mental health, lifestyle changes, weight loss, and addictions, and hopes to reach more people online. Charbo, who has more than 80,000 followers on Instagram, also plans to offer patient education in the form of his courses online. A free mindfulness-based resilience course for healthcare workers is already available.
“I'm not going to quit my job,” he said. “But I also want to serve people beyond my small town and help more people.”
