Personal Factors – Clinician Well-Being Knowledge Hub

Mental Health Help for Nurses

NAM — Tue, 04 Jan 2022 16:12:09 +0000

Compilation of mental health resources tailored to the nursing profession

Age and Sex Differences in Burnout, Career Satisfaction, and Well-Being in US Neurologists

NAM — Thu, 19 Sep 2019 20:43:21 +0000

The following study contains a quantitative/qualitative analysis of survey responses from US neurologists. The purpose of the surveys was to examine age and sex differences in burnout, career satisfaction, and well-being. Questions in the survey covered personal and professional characteristics along with standardized instruments to measure burnout and career satisfaction. Results found higher rates of burnout and lower rates of career satisfaction in women than in men. The relationship of burnout with age combined with demographics of respondents was significant to this result. The differences in burnout, career satisfaction, and well-being by age and between men and women neurologists suggest that efforts to mitigate burnout would be most effective if they are personalized to reflect the physician’s age, career level, sex, and home life.

We Don’t Need Self-Care; We Need Boundaries

NAM — Thu, 19 Sep 2019 20:25:01 +0000

This op-ed from a female physician talks about the “faux self care” advice that women in medicine receive when they are burnt out. Women in medicine are often told to just get lunch, get a manicure, or do yoga but it ends up as an item on their to-do list that guilt trips them and doesn’t seem to solve any problems. This is because it is not actually self care. Self care is defined as the internal hard work of making decisions for yourself. However, for women in medicine, making these decisions is difficult, especially in a hyper-productivity oriented medical culture. She discusses the broken system that places the burden of improving resilience onto the individual and exonerates the system. She encourages setting boundaries as a form of self-care to counteract a system that will make doctors feel ashamed for reaching their limit.

Perceived Stress and Well-Being Among Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy Students

NAM — Wed, 18 Sep 2019 13:17:57 +0000

This study explores the perception of stress and well-being amongst undergraduate dental hygiene and therapy students at the University of Portsmouth Dental Academy. A questionnaire was given to students measuring their perception of levels of stress and well-being. Results found that a majority of students reported levels of stress, depression, and anxiety that were within normal ranges. All reported having high levels of positive well-being. While previous studies have made the assumption that stress in undergraduate dental training is debilitating, this current study shows that students experiencing stress are reported to be positively-functioning individuals.

The Code Not Taken: The Path From Guild Ethics to Torture and Our Continuing Choices

NAM — Thu, 15 Aug 2019 20:23:33 +0000

This article examines tactics used to maintain the façade of professional ethics despite over a decade of publicized reports—in newspapers, professional journals, books, reports published by human rights organizations, and other widely available sources—of documentary evidence of psychology’s organizational involvement in what came to be called “enhanced interrogations.” It asks if we use versions of these tactics in our individual lives. If a credible identity, integrity, and professional ethics are not reflected in our individual lives, it is unlikely they will thrive in our profession and organizations.

Top 10 Lies Doctors Tell Themselves

NAM — Thu, 15 Aug 2019 19:03:20 +0000

This interview between Pamela Wible MD, and Sydney Ashland, an expert in physician mental health, explores the top 10 lies and negative thinking patterns that doctors create for themselves, such as “I can’t get confidential mental health help” and “I have no power”. Sydney Ashland urges doctors to stop waiting for the system to change, because systems are made up of individuals, and start building alliances and reaching out to other individuals for support.

Health Care Professionals Get Serious About Their Health

NAM — Thu, 15 Aug 2019 19:00:19 +0000

In 2013, University of Indiana Health invested in Fitbit Health Solutions, registering employees and ordering FitBit devices. They started a three-month step challenge and offered different prizes to participant. After the program, 40% of employees decreased their BMI, 60% of participants of diabetes decreased their hemoglobin A1c, and 92% of employees said they would continue to use their Fitbit devices.

Occupational Well-Being in Anesthesiologists: Its Relationship with Educational Methodology

NAM — Wed, 14 Aug 2019 20:48:10 +0000

Anesthesiologists face stressful factors such as lack of control over their workday, jeopardized family life, medical and legal aspects, work standards, administrative responsibilities and management of critical patients. This lack of occupational well-being may manifest as lack of interest in work, absenteeism, dissatisfaction, and medical malpractice. Steps needed to promote wellness and prevent burnout among anesthesiologists include recognizing the problem itself, teaching coping mechanism, and providing active rehabilitation, supported by the medical community.

This Penn Study Found that Studying Art Can Make for More Attentive Physicians

NAM — Wed, 14 Aug 2019 20:45:45 +0000

A study by the University of Pennsylvania and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia showed that taking a course with the Philadelphia Museum of Art benefited medical students’ medical and ophthalmological observational skills. Through the course, students learned to sharpen their descriptive and communication skills through color and shape concepts, as well as their ability to to view artwork from multiple perspectives. The improved observational abilities could potentially translate to improved clinical effectiveness, empathy, and overall better physicians.

Being a Doctor is Hard. It’s Harder for Woman

NAM — Wed, 14 Aug 2019 20:42:23 +0000

The following New York Times article highlights the combination of the unequal distribution of domestic labor and a physically and emotionally demanding profession with a lengthy training process that allows few, if any, breaks, as a major cause of burnout disparity between male and female medical residents. Gender bias against women within hospitals, both subtle and over, from patients and colleagues are similarly debilitating. As a result, female physicians are more than twice as likely to commit suicide as the general population, less likely to advance to full professorships, and earn significantly less than their male colleagues. Initiatives that may help with the larger cultural shift include a Stanford pilot program that allows physicians to “bank” hours spent mentoring others or serving on committees to be used as credits towards domestic labor, and placing more women in leadership and mentorship roles.