Dear Community:
What brings you joy?
Based on the moment, the response may vary. I know it does for me. I will always answer ‘my family,’ but if you ask me at times when I’m running on fumes, I might respond, ‘my pillow.’ When I’m feeling fresh, the response might be, ‘coaching other surgeons.’
As we’re all aware, myself and others talk a lot about burnout and advocate for wellness. From my perspective, burnout is not an individual failure, although it is a sign that something must change. We can achieve that change by mitigation, elimination, or adding layers of protection for future instances. Easier said than done, but it’s about starting somewhere.
This month we had two guests on the podcast who presented different ways to introduce joy to practice. Naomi Lawrence-Reid, MD shared how to Doctor Differently! and Wendell Cole, MD encouraged us to pursue Creative Outlets!
Let me know what brings joy to your practice.