WELLNESS PHYSICIAN WELLNESS = SUSTAINABILITY + SELF ADVOCACY

Jessie Mahoney, MD

I have worked to support “physician wellness" since 2002. What wellness is and our willingness to accept, support and prioritize physician wellness has changed tremendously over the years. In 2023, the word “wellness” still brings up confusion, resentment, frustration, and blame in many physicians and healthcare institutions.

What does wellness mean? Does wellness conflict with productivity and other “metrics”? How do you measure wellness? Can you/should you measure wellness? Is wellness a worthwhile endeavor or investment? Is it ok to prioritize our own wellness? Is wellness fluff? Does it make a difference? Does prioritizing physician wellness impact our ability to serve the needs of our patients? Do wellness retreats and workshops change anything? Is it possible to be “well” in medicine today? Whose responsibility is physician wellness?

If you are asking yourself these questions, you are not alone. I have recently found it helpful for many physicians to re-define wellness. The most effective definition I have found is Wellness = Sustainability + Self-advocacy. This definition takes out much of the confusion. Wellness is then a shared responsibility between individuals and institutions. How might your relationship with wellness change if you thought of wellness as sustainability + self-advocacy.

Jessie Mahoney is a pediatrician, a certified life coach for physicians, and a yoga instructor. She is the Chair of the SFMMS Physician Wellness Task Force. She practiced pediatrics and was a Physician Wellness leader at Kaiser Permanente for 17 years. She is the founder of Pause and Presence Coaching where she supports and empowers her physician colleagues using mindfulness tools and mindset coaching.

Podcasts to Enhance Your Wellness

How Mindfulness and Self Compassion Can Help Smooth Your Journey with Real Estate

Lessons from a wise and mindful real estate agent who offers a mindful, caring, and loving approach to buying and selling homes in the Bay Area.

To listen, visit: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ mindful-healers-podcast-dr-jessie-mahoney-dr-ni-cheng/ id1542538851?i=1000611193477 or scan the QR Code with your smartphone

The Value of a Nature Prescription

Prescribing nature for our patients and ourselves is good medicine. The restorative power of a simple dose of nature is tremendous. How might you incorporate the idea of “prescribing nature” into your own practice of medicine? How might you add more nature to your day and/or your family's life? How might you use nature to help you recover, heal or transform more easefully and effectively?

To listen, visit: https://podcasts.apple.com /us/podcast/ mindful-healers-podcast- dr-jessie-mahoney-dr-ni-cheng/ id1542538851?i=1000610282388 or scan the QR Code with your smartphone.

The Key to Effective Culture Change in Medicine

A vibrant conversation about the win-win of bringing coaching to GME, how to get funding for coaching for your team, residents, and/or fellows. When trainees receive coaching as part of their training it normalizes a culture of getting help. And that carries forward. When attendings and faculty get coaching at the same time, the impact is profound.

To listen, visit: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ mindful-healers-podcast-dr-jessie-mahoney-dr-ni-cheng/ id1542538851?i=1000609164142 or scan the QR Code with your smartphone.

Why You Should Prioritize Sustainability

In the name of productivity and achievement, we often downplay and minimize the importance of sustainability. This is a mistake. Sustainability should be one of your highest life priorities if you want to be around, happy and healthy, and practice medicine for a long time.

To listen, visit: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ mindful-healers-podcast-dr-jessie-mahoney-dr-ni-cheng/ id1542538851?i=1000604841305 or scan the QR Code with your smartphone.