If ...then.... Rituals to make you more reflective in the moment We all have important things we want to accomplish, but there are so many distractions and stumbling blocks that may get in our way. Here, writer Bina Venkataraman shares a startlingly easy strategy to use to defeat future challenges.
Thriving in Scrubs: Making Mistakes One of the most traumatic experiences doctors go through is making mistakes. Though they try to prevent errors at all costs, they will inevitable make mistakes at some point in their training and career. How can they cope with the repercussions – for the patient as well as for themselves, legally, mentally, and emotionally? How can the medical community support one another through the process, instead of silencing the mistake, thus perpetuating shame and guilt?
Thriving in Scrubs: Mothering While Doctoring Becoming pregnant and having children is a part of life for many doctors that challenges their efforts to balance their personal and professional selves. This deeply human experience adds insight into the experiences that patients have, but adds weight to the personal demands and experiences the doctors have.
Thriving in Scrubs: How Much Time Do I Have, Doctor? Fictional accounts of medical encounters often feature the conversation when a patient asks their doctor to predict the outcome of their disease. Doctors in real life have to answer these questions, too, but without the benefit of a pre-written script. Thinking about prognostication means trying to answer difficult questions, but more importantly trying to get to the heart of what the patient may really be wondering. It’s about trying to connect with the heart of what patients need in times of uncertainty about their health. It’s also about understanding how these conversations affect us doctors as people who struggle with some of the same questions ourselves.
Thriving in Scrubs: Normal People At some point in their education, doctors start talking about “normal people” with a mixture of envy and curiosity. Why do doctors feel this distance from others, and from the parts of their own selves outside of their profession? We talk to Nicole, Sarah and Emma, three OBGYN residents at different stages of training about how they recognize, love and forgive the normal parts of themselves. Spoiler alert: it’s all about the friends who keep us from feeling alone.
Thriving in Scrubs: Doctor's Orders Why is it so hard to take our own good advice about maintaining health? We talk to Barbara, an internal medicine physician about nutrition, and consider why doctors don’t take their own advice about sleep and exercise and other good habits.
What happens when a patient says, "Doc, help me die." Mercy, compassion - does this fade at the end of life? Does ending a life conflict with our values as physicians? Read for one physician's perspective.
Asking for help is a strength, not a weakness Michelle Sullivan talks about her experiences of being different and not fitting in and how that forced her to accept her vulnerability and view getting help as a strength. She believes in order to truly help and support one another we have to look pass the surface, let go of judgement and adopt a new way of giving.
The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination J.K. Rowling delivers Harvard's commencement speech, emphasizing the importance of perspective, empathy, and humility in addressing two key topics: failure and imagination.
Transparency, Compassion, and Truth in Medical Errors Leilani Schweitzer's son died by fault of medical error - she talks of the importance of transparency, truth, and compassion in medicine.
Everything Doesn't Happen for a Reason An essay on the importance of grieving and avoidance of "platitudes cloaked as sophistication" from "The Adversity Within" - a blog dedicated to examining the topic of resilience in the face of adversity
Compassion Fatigue TED Talk Goleman Daniel Goleman, psychologist and award-winning author of Emotional Intelligence and other books on EI, challenges traditional measures of intelligence as a predictor of life success.
Compassion Fatigue --Defining a nebulous entity Charles Figley describes compassion fatigue, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress. This article highlights this phenomenon within the military and warning signs.
Understanding and Preventing Compassion Fatigue: A Handout for Professionals A guide to recognizing compassion fatigue, methods for prevention, and methods for recovery.
What happens when a patient says, "Doc, help me die." Mercy, compassion - does this fade at the end of life? Does ending a life conflict with our values as physicians? Read for one physician's perspective.
Doctors, Revolt! The real work is compassion, empathy, and listening....
Asking for help is a strength, not a weakness Michelle Sullivan talks about her experiences of being different and not fitting in and how that forced her to accept her vulnerability and view getting help as a strength. She believes in order to truly help and support one another we have to look pass the surface, let go of judgement and adopt a new way of giving.
The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination J.K. Rowling delivers Harvard's commencement speech, emphasizing the importance of perspective, empathy, and humility in addressing two key topics: failure and imagination.
Everything Doesn't Happen for a Reason An essay on the importance of grieving and avoidance of "platitudes cloaked as sophistication" from "The Adversity Within" - a blog dedicated to examining the topic of resilience in the face of adversity
Compassion Fatigue --Defining a nebulous entity Charles Figley describes compassion fatigue, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress. This article highlights this phenomenon within the military and warning signs.