Category: Resilience & Work-life Balance

Resilience – preparing your action plan

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I recently attended a talk on the OMA’s Physician Health Program where they discussed THE BASICS guide to helping physicians develop strategies for coping with stress and building personal resilience.  This is a quick and worthwhile read.  BASICS stands for:

  • Body: Allostatic load, homeostasis, nutrition, toxins, sleep, exercise, personal care
  • Affect: Personality/stress/suffering, perfectionism, cognitive distortions, changing thinking & changing feeling
  • Social: Connections with family and friends
  • Intellect: Intellectual diversion, occupational considerations, control, change, choice
  • Community: Barriers to community & genuine community
  • Spirituality: Practices that enhance resilience

Why not create your own resilience action plan using the BASICS Checklist!

Interview: mindfulness in the medical curriculum

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Medicine is always thought of as one of the most stressful careers. Therefore, achieving a good balance in life is a milestone we all strive towards – in order to cultivate our fullest potential and be our best self. Mindfulness meditation is one example of a path that can help us pursue our passion for medicine without the associated stress.

To explore this further, Jennifer DCruz, University of Ottawa MD2019 Candidate, interviews their pre-clerkship coordinator, Dr. Heather MacLean, about her thoughts on practicing mindfulness as a Neurologist, and integrating it into the curriculum for all pre-clerkship students.

 

The art of saying “no”

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So many of us who go into medical school are overachievers. We have tried to do everything. Student council presidents, valedictorians, researchers, first aiders, varsity athletes, talented musicians, debaters, model UNers, actors, etc. The list goes on. We like to be busy and we’re very good at balancing our schedules and very good at achieving. That’s part of how we ended up in medicine in the first place.

This, our greatest strength, is also our greatest weakness. Anything is good in moderation. However, for any virtue, there is a vice of excess. For me, I know that I struggle with saying “No”. Part of this is because the world is fascinating and I so badly want to help as many people as possible, and part of it is that I don’t want to let anyone down.

Unfortunately, if you don’t say no sometimes, it’s only a matter of time before your schedule gets too full and you end up completely overwhelmed and burnout. I felt burnt out after pushing myself too hard this year and it was challenging to fulfil any of my commitments. I knew I needed a reality check and a shift in my thinking. So I said “No.”

I said “No” to social events when I was tired, to extra curriculars that sounded great but I didn’t have time for. I said “No” to taking on extra work in class. I said “No” to sitting on new subcommittees that didn’t fit with my goals and that I wasn’t completely passionate about. In doing this I made new time for my friends, my family, the hobbies that I love, and commitments that will help me achieve my goals. My stress levels are lower. And, every time saying no gets a little bit easier.

You can be an impressive person without overwhelming yourself. To be the best you, say no to the extraneous and do what you love with 110% commitment. Take breaks when you need them. Saying “No” doesn’t make you any less or weak – it makes you strong and wise!

Say “No” sometimes!

 

My wellness playlist

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Music Doodle

One thing that helps me relax after a long day is listening to music. Especially when I’m discovering new music. So for this blog post I thought I would share with you some of the music that I’m jamming to right now! Hope you enjoy my playlist!

P.S.: If you have any songs that help you unwind please share them in the comments section below!

Enjoying some Latin Vibes

Dancing While Doing the Dishes

Nostalgia