Prioritize time off Barbara Nickel Hamilton, MD In my opinion, it is important to recognize that we entered a demanding profession, so wellness and
burnout are something to surveil and manage rather than fear or deny.
I’ve realized that taking a week of emergency call at a clip (and carrying a full-time physician schedule in general) means that I need a lot more time than the average person to rest. As a result, vacation time is very important to me, whether it’s used to catch up on tasks at home, or to actually “get away.” This time off is key to making the burden of night and weekend work sustainable.
However, now that my leadership responsibilities have expanded, it’s becoming harder to truly step away from work for a week at a time. I’m learning a new personal balance and hoping to develop new strategies to counterbalance my new roles and responsibilities.
Make things manageable Daniel Veyg
Burnout is, unfortunately, ubiquitous. As a medical student applying to IR this year, it feels like there is
almost always some type of activity to be a part of.
My personal approach to burnout during this very busy time is threefold. First, striving to be present and having “Wow, this is real life happening now” moments allow me to appreciate and feel that every endeavor is a positive contribution—either toward my future or someone else’s. Second, scheduling even a small amount of alone time helps me recharge to tackle the next week’s goals. Finally, breaking said goals into short-term chunks instead of massive, long-term mountains to climb makes things seem a lot more manageable and less overwhelming in the moment.
THE 3 5S
The second technique is a variation on the 5 senses exercise, which is used to reorient yourself to your surroundings and help you regain focus and calm. The goal is to sit quietly and focus on 3 of your 5 senses. For example:
Inhale for 4 seconds. Hold
your lungs full for 4 seconds.
Exhale for 4 seconds. Hold
your lungs empty for 4 seconds.
Practice breathing exercises Drew M. Caplin, MD, FSIR When stressful things happen at work, your typical stress reduction techniques may not be viable—from walking the dog, to working out, to spending time with friends and family. These approaches may help us recharge in the long term, but we need something else we can turn to in
moments of acute stress at the workplace. If possible, it’s best to remove yourself for the moment so you can reset yourself mentally and physically and there are several strategies I use to do this.
While I’m fortunate enough to have an office where I can turn off my lights and reset, these techniques can be done anywhere. I am not an expert on them, but I have found that with practice, they require less than 5 minutes to reset yourself to bring your clear your mind and decrease your heart rate, blood pressure and respiratory rate.
BOX BREATHING
Box breathing, also known as the Navy SEAL breathing technique, or tactical breathing, is a simple and effective way to regain calm and control of your thoughts under stress.
Look around and identify
5
things that you can see.
Close your eyes and identify
5
things you can hear.
Identify 5
things you can feel (e.g., the fabric of your clothes, the smoothness of the table, the movement of your foot, or the blinking of your eyes).
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