Self-compassion and resilience for healthcare professionals S E L F-CO MPAS S I O N
Kai Krüger
Rites of passage guide; educational trainer, Faculty of Family Medicine, University of Freiburg
This article is about the possibilities of building selfcompassion through resilience in healthcare professionals to help them face distress. It raises the question of whether promoting resilience is relevant in healthcare professionals and proposes a robust approach to building resilience and explains its framework.
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I trained as a rites of passage guide before my medical education. Consequently my perspective on its educational and professional structures recognised the importance of supporting life transitions, and viewed resilience as a key factor in sustaining people who help others. Having developed ways of supporting their self-care, I now run seminars, communication trainings and workshops on resilience for healthcare professionals.
Introduction
An analysis of need
More than 20 years ago my aunt, who is a pediatrician, told me she had chosen the most beautiful profession in the world. I didn’t quite understand what she meant at the time, about human connection, authenticity, love and faith as essential qualities of a doctor. But now, after training and working as both physiotherapist and doctor, I agree with her: helping and supporting others is one of the most satisfying and inspiring jobs I can imagine. Having said that, aspects of this work too often neglected or even surrounded by taboos are health professionals’ own self-care and emotional wellbeing. I certainly remember many times when giving advice to others was easier than having an honest confrontation with myself. But if you can’t help yourself, how can you help others? Though it is legitimate and important to remind others about their need for self-care, professionals suffering burn-out or addiction, mental and somatic illness, who are not enjoying life or working with others, need to discover selfcompassion. In this article I will share my journey with you, say why I chose to address the resilience of people who study and work in healthcare, and present a framework for doing so.
Is building resilience actually needed for healthcare professionals? The research illustrates why we must. Rotenstein et al (2016) reported the prevalence of depressive symptoms among a total of 120,000 medical students was 27.2% overall, with some variation between different universities depending on their system of grading. Many other authors report on the prevalence of psychological illness among healthcare students. A 2015 systematic review found the rate of depression among resident physicians was 28.8% (Mata et al, 2015), and among resident surgeons Dimou (2016), who gave the prevalence of burnout at more than 50%, identified a lack of programmes for supporting them. By comparison, the estimated overall prevalence of depression in the general population is only 4.4% (WHO, 2017).
Building resilience for healthcare students and professionals Self-compassion is a key element for building resilience. In my own experience and that of friends and colleagues, self-care was seriously lacking. I wanted to do something
© Journal of holistic healthcare
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Volume 16 Issue 2 Summer 2019
