Today’s POTD will be focused on wellness.
I will attempt to briefly summarize an amazing piece on “Happiness and Resilience in the Life of an Emergency Physician” from ACEP Wellness Guidebook. But more importantly the piece is written by our amazing and hardworking wellness advocate Dr. Arlene Chung in collaboration with Dr. Rosanna Sikora and Dr. Laura McPeake.
The first paragraph is talking about defining happiness and resilience. My favorite quote is “Engagement and meaning appear to be the strongest contributors to living a happy life” and that “You can strengthen happiness and resilience by practicing”. But at the end of the day it is very individualized and we, ourselves “ must choose what is most meaningful in our lives along the way to be happy”.
The part that I would like to draw your attention to are the suggested specific strategies by the authors that can help to build resilience in the practice of emergency medicine:
Writing a journal or recording oral narratives.
Transforming your traumatic experiences into a written or recorded piece will not only help you to cope with difficult emotions but also put the situation in perspective and even learn from it.
Meditation or mindfulness exercises.
Mindfulness can be as simple as taking in a deep breath and exhaling very slowly, resulting in a parasympathetic charge of feeling peaceful and settled.
Peer mentoring.
Discussing stressful events with a supportive and empathic colleague is some of the best medicine that we have, and if our emergency medicine atypical humor is involved, all the better. Humor is a great coping strategy.
Niche development.
“Research has demonstrated that physicians who have developed a niche within emergency medicine have lower rates of burnout, better career longevity, and more career satisfaction.” This one is specifically very important for the senior class. Thinking about what can improve your clinical practice after graduation (and I am not only talking about fellowship) but rather looking into different areas of interest that can potentially become your niche.
Education.
I’ve heard teaching is rewarding and improves doctors satisfaction :)
Personal coaching.
Develop a mission statement and a career plan and the examples that authors suggest: personal organization, time management courses, and learning to say “no” to obligations outside your mission statement.
Focus on empathy.
Consider books, workshops, and podcasts. Connect with your family, friends, and co-workers outside of the fluorescent lights of the emergency department.
Take care of your own needs.
We need to take care of ourselves before we can care for others. Remember to MOVE your body: “A jog a day keeps depression away.” Make time for what you enjoy. Place it on your calendar and treat it like a shift.
Limit stressful downtime.
Balance your high-stress activities with low-stress activities.
Please read the full article at ACEP emergency physician-focused wellness guide
https://www.acep.org/globalassets/sites/acep/media/wellness/acepwellnessguide.pdf