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Wellbeing 2024-07-15T16:42:23+10:00

Being well

Doctor – and trainee – wellbeing is never far from our minds, and is often in the media. The Queensland Clinical Senate convened a meeting on Health and Wellbeing of the Workforce in May 2019. They noted a clear link between clinician wellbeing and patient safety and quality:

The health outcomes of patients are inextricably linked to the health and wellbeing of clinicians- a healthy, happy workforce is a necessity. Existing programs have helped normalise conversations between colleagues and shift the focus from the isolated individual to include the broader team and organisational context. Leaders visibly value staff and promote psychological safety. Effective interventions range from the very simple to the more complex, but are developed by the collective team and supported by the organisation. 

The senate promotes a ‘whole-of-system approach to staff wellbeing’, centered on the following principles and actions (excerpt from Queensland Clinical Senate, Health and Wellbeing of the Workforce – a statement of principles and actions, May 2019):

Your Rural Generalist team has and continues to consider how best we can support you and your wellbeing during training and beyond. We welcome input from anyone interested in sharing their thoughts on what would be most helpful on the ground.

Please contact us if you’d like to contribute and watch this space for further updates throughout the year.

We’re all human – exploring vulnerability in medicine

The QRGP has been working on the development of a curriculum on embracing vulnerability in medicine and embedding it across our program as a core value. The source of inspiration for this body of work was feedback received from our Trainee Advisory Group (TAG). TAG members placed a higher value on personal, real stories shared by medical professionals and wanted skills to support colleagues in need, instead of another ‘self-care’ or wellness ‘how to’ as part of their training.

Our work in this space has been on the back of a growing recognition of the importance of embracing our humanness, self-compassion and a growth mindset – all to maintain our wellness as clinicians and find meaning in medicine. This is in the wake of ground breaking pilot programs for medical students in this space.1

What do we mean by vulnerability? For our purposes, the concept and experience of vulnerability broadly covers situations of uncertainty, risk and emotional exposure – all things we might try to avoid professionally, but those that (if we are honest with ourselves) are an everyday part of being a clinician, especially a Rural Generalist.

Recognising, acknowledging, and exploring our vulnerabilities with ourselves and our colleagues is a highly valuable reflection point. It is a skill to foster as we work towards a future of rural and/or remote medicine that is good for our patients, our communities, and the clinicians who serve them.2-3

We invited our team members to start the conversation by sharing their own stories of professional and personal vulnerability below. The more sensitive team member experiences and stories have been incorporated into specific workshop sessions developed by long standing QRGP team member Prof. Tarun Sen Gupta as a catalyst for discussion, sharing, and connection for trainees and alumni alike.

Vulnerability and vulnerability in medicine is a big topic. If you are keen to learn more about embracing it in your personal and professional life, check out the resources listed below.4-6

We will leave you with some curious questions and reflection points to ponder, journal, or discuss with a trusted colleague (you can even claim the time spent as CPD):

  • What situations in your professional life have made you feel vulnerable (uncertain, at risk, emotionally exposed, uncomfortable)? What happened?
  • What about the situation made it feel uncomfortable?
  • What was significant about this situation? Why was it important? What did it mean to you?
  • How did you manage the experience, if you were to be in the situation again what would you do differently? The same?
  • What did you learn from this experience? What did you take away from the experience? Initially? Has that changed now that you have reflected more deeply?
  • Did anything change in your practice? Is there anything you want to know more about?

If you would like to know more or would like some help to navigate vulnerabilities you may be experiencing, please contact us.

  1. Kelly, M., Lynch, J., Mainstone, P., et al. (2022). ‘Things we are expected to just do and deal with’: Using the medical humanities to encourage reflection on vulnerability and nurture clinical skills, collegiality, compassion, and self-care. Perspect Med Educ 11, 300–304. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40037-022-00724-w
  1. Konkin, J., Grave, L., Cockburn, E., et al. (2020).  Exploration of rural physicians’ lived experience of practising outside their usual scope of practice to provide access to essential medical care (clinical courage): an international phenomenological study BMJ Open. 10: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-037705
  1. Shanafelt, T., (2021). Physician Well-being 2.0: Where Are We and Where Are We Going?. Mayo Clinic proceedings, 96(10), 2682–2693. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2021.06.005
  1. Brown, B., (2012). Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead. New York, NY, Gotham Books.
  1. Lynch, J., (2020). A whole person approach to wellbeing: building sense of safety. Routledge.
  1. Richardson, D., Kinnear, B., Hauer, K., et al. (2021). Growth mindset in competency-based medical education, Medical Teacher, 43:7, 751-757. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159X.2021.1928036

“Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage are not always comfortable, but they are never weakness…”, Brene Brown

Wellbeing Resources

In addition to the QRGP team, there are many resources available to support you during training and beyond.

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Queensland Health

DRS 4 DRS

‘Promotes the health and wellbeing of doctors and medical students across Australia’.

Providing good care for our patients requires us to first be well. We know that doctors often ignore or delay their own health needs and this is more so in rural and remote practitioners. Access to our own GP can be difficult or impossible. Looking after ourselves and looking out for our colleagues is essential for functional clinical teams. In rural practice there are times when we find ourselves caring for colleagues which can create a complex interaction that many of us are not well trained for.

If you are looking to broaden your understanding of your own health and the health of the medical profession, the free Drs4Drs online learning module is a great resource. Registration for the course is free and it takes about 2 hours to complete.

Australasian Doctors Health Network (ADHS)

Health Workforce Queensland

Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM)

Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP)

Doctors Health Alliance

Doctors Health in Queensland

Crisis Support

Mindfulness Tools

Mindfulness is a skill that once learnt, can be used all the time whilst doing anything – like washing the dishes, washing your hands, waiting for your computer to turn on. It is a mindset.

Mindfulness Applications (evidence based):

The apps can be helpful in getting you into that mindset, but they aren’t the be all and end all.

There are many other ways to train in mindfulness or to be mindful, depending on your interests, time constraints and abilities. Choose an activity that suits you and add them to your toolbox to have ready to go when needed:

  • Undertaking courses eg. Mindfulness Works Australia
  • Enjoy yoga which teaches mindfulness and breathing, particularly Hatha yoga
  • Journalling
  • Mindful exercising eg. mindful running programs, pilates etc.
  • Creative pursuits like music, creative, arts etc.
  • Spending time connecting with others

Other valuable mindfulness resources are available below:

Get in touch

We’re here to answer your questions.

Call us on 1800 680 291

Please contact us to discuss your future as a Rural Generalist or your application to the Queensland Rural Generalist Pathway.