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COVID19 Coping

The pandemic is stretching everyone in multiple directions simultaneously.  It is terribly inconvenient and disruptive.  It is stressing mental health, threatening livelihoods, altering futures, and taking lives.  It is affecting everyone in so many various ways.


How are you coping?

 

There is no right or wrong way to deal with this unprecedented global stress.  The important thing is we find a way to endure it and remain mentally and physically intact.

 

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What do roller coasters, movies, and Justin Timberlake have in common? Emotions.

When I bring up feelings and emotions with residents, I can almost sense the suppressed cringe.  It’s actually very easy for me to imagine it, since I had that very same cringe whenever one of our didactics was on, let’s say, ‘softer topics.’  As a resident, I was there to learn straight up clinical medicine - not touchy-feely things. 

 

It’s actually really interesting that it’s common among physicians to equate emotions with...

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Shaming Feedback vs Growth feedback - take homes from Duolingo.

Can we talk about all things feedback? Feedback can be beneficial for doctors to gain awareness of strengths and opportunities for improvement.  As physicians who went through innumerable tests and critiques before and during medical school, we can fall into some unhealthy patterns around evaluations throughout training and in ongoing board certification and quality measures.  The impact of any feedback actually depends not only on the methods and the giver but on how it’s...

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Video: Committing to your health as you serve others regarding their health.

 

My latest Vlog on exercise and movement as busy physicians.

Pro tip: Don't add it to your "should do" list - add it to your "I get to list" and then commit to it but allow flexibility and self-compassion.  

Start low and build up slowly if it's been awhile.

 

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Self-care as a busy physician

Self-care can consist of many things.  Good nutrition, exercise/movement, mindfulness, meditation, prayer, reading, spiritual practice, connection with others, gratefulness, giving, setting boundaries, getting out in nature, relaxing, play, restorative sleep, pampering, goal setting/prioritizing, vacations, scheduled alone/downtime. Basically, self-care means taking time to improve and prioritize your physical, spiritual, and emotional/mental health.

 

Many of the...

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Wisdom comes from a multitude of teachers, and not always from expected sources

Looking back at the people who taught me throughout residency, a multitude of nurses, residents, faculty, ward clerks, and various techs all taught valuable lessons. I’m not forgetting how integral patients were to my education, but I’ll save them for a future blog.

 

My very first code was as the medicine intern on night call. When the code pager went off, I ran a short distance to the MICU and entered a room as the only physician.  The nurses looked at me and gave me a...

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The building of a home

My neighbor from my medical school and residency era, text me last week to tell me my old house was on the market.  The whole family linked to the MLS listing to reminisce over the photos. 

 

Wow! All the memories came flooding back. We purchased the 1896 historical home near downtown Mobile as medical students - talk about a fixer-upper! My husband, the main renovator and contractor, hired some key craftsmen who cared more about restoration than making money. Over 7 years,...

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Video: A perspective on family medicine residency training.

 

Your years in residency training can be hard, but what if they could also be the best years of your life? A perspective on family medicine residency training that you may not have considered, as offered by an Alaskan resident physician coach.  

 

Have a joy filled day - Tonya

Find out how your program can work with me.

 

 
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Trusting your gut, hand-off bias, and building your 'why's'

I was a second-year resident on my pediatric emergency medicine month. I had worked enough shifts to become comfortable with the duties, the nurses, and the attendings. I listened to the attending take a radio call and was told they were “bringing in an 8-year-old who is playing possum,” implying that the child was faking an unresponsive state. 

 

Though comfortable walking into any room by this point, I still experienced some anxiety while waiting for a patient arriving...

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