Challenge
How many times, while flying, do you ignore the flight attendant giving safety instructions? You might be busy sending that last email, giving your staff on the ground some last-minute instructions or reading a book. You get the idea, but you may be missing an important safety instruction:
Secure Your Own Oxygen Mask Before Assisting Others!
Learning to take care of their own needs is often counterintuitive for physicians. After all, most physicians enter medicine because they want to help others, and often they don’t think of themselves. Flight attendants give these instructions because we must take care of ourselves before we take care of others. This is a basic, fundamental aspect of having a rich and rewarding life.
Solutions
Let’s first consider what constitutes a healthy lifestyle, one that will enable you to “walk the talk” of a healthy and balanced life, yet still have time to be a doctor.
We all know that physicians lead incredibly busy lives and often struggle to maintain their own health – in mind, body and spirit. This module addresses mindfulness, or awareness, as well as your emotional wellbeing, before moving on to weight, nutrition and fitness.
Physician Wellbeing Index: A confidential self assessment developed by the Mayo Clinic that assesses your current level of well-being, learn how your level of well-being compares to your peers, track changes in your well-being over time, and gain access to just-in-time resources designed to promote your well-being and address a variety of concerns.
Canadian Mental Health Association Self Quiz: Begin by taking this quiz to assess how you are doing in the area of self-care. Information on this website, maintained by the Canadian Mental Health Association, is helpful to Americans as well.
Dimensions Provider Toolkit: Or use this toolkit, which contains information on developing skills for assessing one’s overall wellness, education regarding the importance of wellness, low-burden means of assessing readiness to change, and evidence-based strategies for improving your well-being. Many Colorado collaborators and the University of Colorado at Anschutz Medical Campus Behavioral Health and Wellness Program put this kit together.
National Plan for Health Workforce Well-Being: Read about the National Academy of Medicine’s National Plan for Health Workforce Well-Being developed in October 2022.
Mindfulness and Meditation
(Krasner, M. S., Epstein, R. M., Beckman, H., Suchman, A. L.,Chapman, B., Mooney, C. J., & Quill, T. E. (2009). Association of an educational program in mindful communication with burnout, empathy, and attitudes among primary care physicians. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 302(12), 1284-1293.)
Use these resources to learn more about the practice of mindfulness:
Palouse Mindfulness – Online Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
Mindfulness Meditation Instruction – David Nichtern
Nine Awesome Mindfulness Videos on YouTube
All it Takes is 10 Mindful Minutes
Opportunities for Pausing
Focus on Yourself
Headspace: Guided Meditation and Mindfulness
Calm: Meditation Techniques for Stress Reduction
10 Simple Ways to Practice Mindfulness Each Day
Emotional First Aid
Mediation Books by Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, internationally known for his work as a scientist, writer and meditation teacher bringing mindfulness into the mainstream of medicine and society. He is professor of medicine emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
Wellness for Trainees
These wellness websites for physicians in training can be utilized by those in practice as well.
The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education’s Physician Well-Being
Journal of Graduate Medical Education’s Focus on Resident Well-Being