80. No Cape is Needed - Reflections on Physician Well-Being

The Mindful Healers Podcast with Dr. Jessie Mahoney and Dr. Ni-Cheng Liang

Learning from a Physician Well-Being Think Tank. Part 1. Gratitude to the Teravana Foundation and Mindful MD for hosting the think tank "experience."

Well-Being is a global issue.

Today we discuss the parallel pandemic -- un-wellness and lack of well-being. Specifically physician well-being.

The vision of physicians as superheroes can actually cause harm. Physicians and nurses are humans and there should be human expectations of us. We also need to have human expectations of ourselves. Anything other than this is a recipe for burnout, exhaustion, and long-term disaster to our healthcare system.

Physicians are stronger when we connect and recognize our common humanity. We are stronger when we acknowledge our fallibility. We are stronger when we are a team. One without victims, villains, or superheros.

The hero cape actually is a heavy burden for physicians. It's like bricks in our white coat pockets. We can do everything right and things will still go wrong because we, and our patients, are humans. The hero cape leads to isolation and pressure to control things out of our control.

Our healthcare systems are failing physicians. This is not up for debate.

Physicians don't have adequate resources.

We learn in an education system that traumatizes us.

There are few laws to protect us.

Covid was the straw that broke the camel's back. It exacerbated the failings of an already broken system.

From the perspective of someone who has worked in physician wellness for 20 years: “Life whispers messages and when you don’t listen, it screams.”

Pearls shared in this episode:

• Connection, creativity, mindfulness, beauty, nature, and experience are powerful tools for healing.
• Upleveling our parasympathetic nervous system helps us find heal, grow, and solve complex problems.

If you are a healthcare worker, have you embodied a superhero persona?

What if you dropped the cape?

What thought patterns and habits do you practice that you were taught during training, but don't serve you anymore?

What are your thoughts about using the words well-being versus wellness?

Join us to Connect in Nature at our first Mindful Healers retreat, to experience in community. To create space so you can be the change you want to see. www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreat-connect-in-nature

If you want help addressing negative thought patterns in your own mind, reach out to Jessie for coaching- it makes a world of difference. www.jessiemahoneymd.com

If you want to develop a mindfulness practice, reach out to Dr. Liang www.awakenbreath.org

*Nothing in this episode should be considered medical advice.