Jeff welcomes to the podcast Associate Professor (Clinical) in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at the University of Utah School of Medicine, Dr. Kyle Jones.
Kyle is also the author of Fallible: a memoir of a young physician’s struggle with mental illness.
In his book, Kyle describes his experience as a physician dealing with severe anxiety and depression. As physicians, we focus so much energy on our patients – often without tending to our own mental health. It’s essential that we reduce the stigma of mental health in the medical community and take steps to help ourselves and our colleagues cope with mental illness.
What does Kyle suggest we do for coping strategies?
Suggestion 1 – Take care of yourself and your colleagues. Treat each other with kindness and respect. As physicians, we are all in this together.
Suggestion 2 – Give autonomy back to physicians to treat their patients, rather than giving that autonomy to regulators or insurance companies.
Suggestion 3 – Develop at least 3 coping mechanisms (emotional PPE) to help yourself cope with the stressors of being a physician. This could be going for a run, doing a puzzle, reading a book, or whatever helps you recharge.
Most importantly, we should proactively and intentionally create coping strategies for mental wellness!
Guest: Kyle Jones, MD, FAAFP
Kyle Bradford Jones, MD, FAAFP is an Associate Professor (Clinical) in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at the University of Utah School of Medicine. He completed his training at the Medical College of Wisconsin, and then residency at the University of Utah. He is author of Fallible: a memoir of a young physician’s struggle with mental illness, and is currently President of the Utah Academy of Family Physicians. He lives in Salt Lake City with his wife and four children.