I returned to the airwaves after taking s me time off. The original reason for starting the podcast was trying to grapple with the profound loss of a fellow physician, a dear friend whose suicide opened my eyes to the silent struggles we endure as healers. Her passing was a harsh wake-up call that sparked this podcast, aiming to shed light on the mental health challenges and burnout that too often go unnamed in our profession. In this poignant episode, I lay bare my own journey through the dark corridors of burnout, reflecting on the personal tribulations that accompany the life-saving work we do every day.
As we navigate the year 2024, I invite you to connect with the raw, honest stories of being human from physicians who have teetered on the brink yet found solace and strength in their vulnerability. We're not just surviving; we're learning to thrive by embracing therapy, coaching, and the support networks that trailblazers like Dr. Londoño and Dr. Corrigan have put in place. Their initiatives, including Physician Coach Support and Physicians Anonymous, serve as lifelines, fostering a sanctuary for us to find camaraderie and the courage to seek help. This episode is more than a conversation; it's a call to reshape the culture of medicine, one heartfelt story at a time.
To help shape the episodes in 2024, click the link below and give your input! Survey for 2024 episodes!
Though I am a physician, this is not medical advice. This is only a tool that physicians can use to get ideas on how to deal with burnout and/or know they are not alone. If you are in need of medical assistance talk to your physician.
Welcome to another episode of the Worthy Physician. I'm your host, dr Sapna Shah-Haque, reigniting your humanity and passion for medicine. I've taken a bit of time off in January. If you're familiar with the term, dry January. It was not just dry from alcohol, but dry from things that maybe the soul needed to break from. Why? Because the holidays and the month of January were a bit turbulent Sick kids, the weather, our family had a loss as well, and, going back to that, I just had to take a pause.
Dr. Shah-Haque:
So thank you for understanding with that, but seeing that it is a new year, 2024, I'd like to get back to the root of why this podcast was started, and podcasts was started because I had no words really to describe what I had been feeling. What does that mean? I'd gone through times of burnout without really knowing what to call it. What it was. I just thought, okay, I was irritable, I was working too hard, or maybe I didn't have what it took to be a doctor, maybe I didn't have the grit that everybody else had because I was the only one feeling like this. The truth is that I really didn't reach out to anybody. I was in 2016 and then in 2019-2020.
Dr. Shah-Haque:
What gave me the words to describe burnout was when my best friend from medical school and residency was also a physician died from suicide in 2019 in her office, and a letter that she left described why she did it. And it was because she was afraid of seeking help professional help that she knew she needed because of professional repercussion. And I started reading why would a physician, why would they want to take their own life Without that status or a job title or an income is protective at all? We're in such a beautiful profession. Of course, yeah, it sucks because of the work hours. It sucks at times, but it wasn't until then that I started learning about how the suicide rate of physicians that's when I started reading and understanding the suicide rate, the fact that more women die from suicide than men in our profession but then also the burnout rate, and then I began to learn as to what burnout was. So that was the basis for this starting of this podcast. I now had words to describe what I had felt, but also what Dr Bicker on extreme case and we're going to get back to the root as to why the podcast was started.
Dr. Shah-Haque:
On 2024, you can expect more physician stories because it is through, I think, stories that we learn, that we understand, and this is one of the times that I think external validation is helpful because it understands that you're not the problem. There might be an issue, but you're not alone and you're not the problem. I've been there thinking I was the problem and I wasn't the problem. I had a problem I needed to deal with and over time I've been able to deal with that through therapy and coaching. So, yes, I'm a supporter of coaching and counseling or therapy. I'm also a big fan of other podcasters, speakers, writers in this space. They've been guests on the podcast.
Dr. Shah-Haque:
I appreciate what Dr Lundonio has done as far as starting physician coach support. I also appreciate Dr Corrigan for co-founding Physicians Anonymous. Why? Because when we have community and we have a safe space and that camaraderie, it matters. It gives us a sense of feeling like we're not alone, feeling like we're not the problem or a problem. We're not a problem to be solved, where a complex human being that happened to be physicians that might need a little bit of help and it's okay to ask for help, it's not a weakness and, in fact, asking for help can actually be your superpower. So in 2024, we're going to get back to the roots. We're going to get back to physician storytelling because, again, it's through the stories that are told that are powerful and we learn. This is also how we connect. This is how we bring out topics that need to be discussed, and that's one of the ways that we're going to be able to change medicine, if not at the top, but at least we can start at grassroots and change the culture, if not in a total organization, at least in that office, at least how we present ourselves and how we teach and interact with our patients and future physicians.
Dr. Shah-Haque:
I would also like you to go to my LinkedIn profile and there's a survey there about what other topics you would like to learn more about. Would it be mindfulness, and not to say mindfulness is going to cure burnout? This is about how to be a human being again, not just being a doctor. I want to preface mindfulness with that. Or would it be more of trauma or more of brief loss of self? The link will be down in the show notes and thanks for listening. We're going to have regular podcast episodes released every Wednesday.
Dr. Shah-Haque:
I want to say that I had a delayed Christmas present for my mom and I had a few minutes to just sit and talk with her without any interruptions. I only said mom, we're going to record this conversation. I asked her to give me one piece of advice that she would give to 15 year old Supna, and this is her piece of advice. If you could tell 15 year old Supna something, a piece of advice, what would it be? You know where, going in life, and kind of back calls what's your expectation of yourself? Have a little bit more diversity in your life. That's really good advice actually. So if you have found this helpful, share with a friend, because we could all use camaraderie.