Imagine a deep valley surrounded by mountains. And imagine a hiker who becomes just a dot in that environment, wandering through a vast landscape that seems endless.
It bears no resemblance to our health care system, says Dr. Tambetta Ojong, a fellow with the American Physician Family and adjunct assistant professor at Campbell University College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Ojon is also an advocate for physician health, lifestyle medicine, health literacy, as well as maternity and women’s health. Navigating and accepting your place in a rocky environment can also be the first step on your personal journey to wellness.
“Sometimes I feel like that’s what the journey to happiness and health is all about,” Ojong told students at a recent Grand Rounds lecture at the Campbell University College of Osteopathic Medicine. Regular lectures are a mandatory part of the curriculum.
“It’s like you’re up against a big health care system and you have no idea where to start, where to start. You’re one point, but that one point makes a difference, Especially when you (add) multiple individuals seeking health,” she said as part of an interactive discussion.
She projected the slides.
“One pill a day is a multivitamin equivalent to the approximate number of physicians who die by suicide each day in the United States,” says Dr. Katherine Pipas, a prominent health consultant, speaker, and author.
Citing information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Ojong said one in five adults in the United States has a mental illness and one adult commits suicide every 11 minutes.
The six important components of health are divided into physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, social, and environmental categories.
People in demanding and stressful jobs, such as doctors, often struggle with one or more of these aspects of health, which can lead to burnout. “Burnout syndrome” is “a condition caused by a chronic inability to recover emotionally from the pain of work.” Downtime,” she said in the slide.
For example, doctors often focus on the needs of others at the expense of their own health. Ojong shares her own journey with burnout, and regularly lectures and educates colleagues on the topic and process.
“The absence of stressors is not the goal of happiness, because we know that stressors will come at some point. But it is important that individuals have the toolkit to cope with the stresses of daily life and be productive. To have the ability to work and contribute to my community.”
Ojong related his battle to burnout. She talked about her first year as a practitioner. She graduated from medical school, her white coat is the reality of her career, and she has the ability to make her own decisions.
Great success and sense of accomplishment.
“But for me, the first year wasn’t all of those things,” she said. “In fact, I felt like I was burnt out. I was extremely frustrated and overwhelmed by the administrative burden, the never-ending in-basket, and not meeting various metrics.”
The sign was there, like the ubiquitous billboards along lonely highways.
Being late, having a bad temper, not exercising. I stay at work until late.
I’m ready to quit.
“Obviously we’ve had a change of heart.”
According to her presentation, Ms. Ojong became involved with the North Carolina State Medical Association and subsequently gave MediTalk about the leadership role, personal characteristics and practices of physicians as they transition into the role of attending physician. She also participated in the Physician’s Health Program and continued her work teaching students and physicians about health. At work she started a “Wellness Watch Committee.”
Set boundaries, set goals, learn how to play and say “no.”
“I think in the medical world, we’re very serious, we’re very studious, and that’s a good thing,” Ojong said. “But you’re interacting with people. So that playfulness, that creativity…I feel like we don’t explore those things as much.”
Doctors are not superheroes.
“There are things we can control and things we cannot control,” Ojon said.
“First and foremost, we are human beings, and I think recognizing that will help us make great strides forward.
Burnout in the medical field is a crisis and the symptoms need to be recognized, Ojong said. “Once you recognize it in yourself, you’ll be able to recognize it in your co-workers. You may be the person who can get them the help they need or provide them with the resources they need before they fall.” not.”
Encourage exercise, good nutrition, and sleep. Set up time for meditation and reflection. I offer praise and affirmation.
“Our tendency is to remember things we shouldn’t remember and forget things we should do,” Ojong said. “Many of us, when we receive criticism or negative feedback, we will think about it for days. It doesn’t matter. If I tell you three positive things and one negative Once you tell them that…that’s what you focus on.”
At the beginning of the lecture, Mr. Ojong asked the students to gauge their level of health based on the happy and gradually sad faces depicted in groups of comic speech bubbles.
So what’s the next step to health? she asked.
Start by setting SMART goals, she said, referring to the acronym: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely. Ojon adopted a daily gratitude practice, which she says allowed her to reframe her daily work experience and continue to cultivate a positive mindset. For example, Ojong keeps a diary in which he writes down one positive thing that happens to him every day.
First, take care of yourself, she said.
Mr. Ojong quoted author and speaker Mr. Pipas as saying: “You must fill your own cup before you can pour it to others. You cannot pour into an empty cup.”
