Pump the brakes on your week and take 10 minutes to make your life as a surgeon just a little better…
Jeff welcomes to the podcast SurgeonMasters collaborator and physician coach, Dr. Helane Fronek. Helane joins Jeff to offer her perspective on where we’ve been making a positive impact on burnout in medicine.
Regardless of how we feel about the B-word, we have most everyone’s attention when we use the term… Burnout. Helane has been working with physicians for over 10 years – helping them find joy and passion in their work. She highlights that some of the changes in medicine have made it more difficult to provide great patient care. That, in turn, challenges physician wellness. Additionally, we’re taught that talking about mental wellness and sharing our emotions is a sign of weakness or illness. We need a culture change that emphasizes the importance of talking about emotions and mental health.
Helane describes the two major changes that need to take place if we are going to reverse course. We should be doing both. 1. System Change and 2. Individual Change. While the system can make the biggest impact, those changes might come slowly. Helane adds a few to the many individual changes out there in the discussion.
One of her boldest suggestions to individual change may be one that has the greatest impact upon system change.
What can we do?
What practical step does Helane suggest we take?
Listen to Episode 53 to find out!!
Most importantly, pay greater attention to YOUR own well-being! The positive impact will be felt by our families, friends, peers, and patients!
Guest: Helane Fronek, MD, FACP
Helane trained in internal medicine and spent 30 years as a vein specialist. Dr. Fronek is also a coach who assists other physicians to regain their love of being a doctor while they enjoy a life full of other fulfilling activities. Her combination of fierce kindness and total commitment to her clients’ goals encourages them to dream big, think creatively, and find new and exciting ways of having the life they want. She is also an internationally recognized speaker whose enthusiasm and ability to clearly explain difficult subjects continues to inspire and enlighten her audiences.