Our working environment has changed enormously over the last few decades. The workload, intensity and patient complexity have grown exponentially. In parallel, the time and space that we have at work and at home to recharge and support each other has become massively compressed. My last post looked at the factors that make doctors vulnerable … Continue reading Thriving, not just surviving.
Category: purpose
“What day is it?” asked Pooh. “It’s today” squeaked Piglet. “My favourite day” said Pooh. AA Milne I have been flirting with mindfulness for the past 18 months. Dipping in and out of it, but never fully committing. I know that it would be good for me, just as being more active and eating more … Continue reading Mindful or Mind Full?
I don’t really like rules. It struck me in my time off from clinical practice that perhaps this was yet another reason that I have found general practice more challenging over recent years. Ever-changing guidelines playing catchup to the pace of evidence base, complex treatment algorithms such as diabetes that defies the comprehension and retention … Continue reading Playing to our strengths
On qualifying as a GP, I followed a traditional route from trainee to salaried and locum doctor, to partner, trainer, and appraiser. A path that many doctors of my generation have taken. Underneath, I suspected that the anxiety which appeared in my 30’s, as the invincibility of my 20’s faded, would limit my time in … Continue reading Jungle gyms and re-defining success
I rediscovered this blog that I wrote a while ago when considering whether or not to return to clinical medicine. I thought it worth posting as I have now returned to clinical practice. In a very small way, but this is something that I never thought I would ever do......This was the start of me … Continue reading Medicine – should I stay or should I go?
How often do you start the New Year with optimistic resolutions, which you never see through, despite good intentions? As medics, we are used to setting ourselves SMART goals and objectives. These work for the purposes of appraisal. They commit us to something specific that we can evidence to others. Last year, I discovered a … Continue reading # My 3 words. Reword yourself for the Year Ahead.
As work gets increasingly demanding and stressful, often not balanced by energy repletion at home, it is all too easy to neglect our own well-being. As Dr Paddy Barrett notes in the Dr Paradox, “For physicians to sustainably provide help” to patients, they must first and foremost help themselves. Not to do so will ultimately degrade one of … Continue reading Building resilience -your 5-a-day
Recognise. Prevent. Recover. 