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Fit your own mask first: GPs and self-care


Morgan Liotta


25/06/2024 4:29:42 PM

GPs are often well equipped to recognise the signs of burnout and compassion fatigue before their ‘capacity to cope crumbles’.

Shawn Goldberg and Dr Aadhil Aziz
L–R: Psychologist Shawn Goldberg and GP Dr Aadhil Aziz are presenting on compassion fatigue and self-care for GPs at an upcoming RACGP conference.

Burnout can often creep up on healthcare providers, and compassion fatigue can be a slow burn, according to Melbourne psychologist Shawn Goldberg.
 
‘All of a sudden it confronts us, when “the straw that breaks the camel’s back” occurs with a particular patient or a scenario where our capacity to cope just crumbles,’ Mr Goldberg told newsGP.
 
‘If we can catch what’s happening to us prior to that, we could do a lot more about it rather than being reactive to it after the fact that it’s hit us.
 
‘It’s about really understanding the awareness of what the signs are.’
 
Director and Principal Psychologist at Mind Up, Mr Goldberg will be discussing how to identify the signs of burnout and compassion fatigue among healthcare providers in a special session at the RACGP’s upcoming General Practice in Addiction (GPADD) conference.
 
When burnout occurs, he believes many people might feel trapped and immobile.
 
‘They can’t do another job, they’re stuck with what they do but they’re feeling wretched and exhausted from it,’ Mr Goldberg said.
 
‘At that point there’s a mindset game that’s being played between, “I’ve studied all my life for this, it’s been my career choice of career, but I don’t want to be here right now, I’m too tired”.
 
‘So it’s about making sure your day is filled with time away to look forward to, it’s about having enough other things outside of work that you’re excited about, and also understanding that you might not be as challenged in your career at that point as you used to be.
 
‘When we flatline in our growth, we flatline in our learning, and when we flatline in our learning, things become less meaningful.’
 
The GPADD conference session, ‘First, put your own mask on: Burnout, compassion fatigue, and self-care’, is designed to help attendees develop effective self-care strategies to maintain wellbeing and resilience in their daily practice.
 
Dr Aadhil Aziz, Melbourne GP and Co-Deputy Chair of RACGP Victoria, is co-presenter of the session. He told newsGP that compassion fatigue can be common for GPs caring for patients experiencing substance use.
 
‘Our presentation will focus on the little things you can change while seeing patients to dramatically change outcomes of burnout prevention and compassion fatigue,’ he said.
 
‘This along with other lifestyle modifications including diet, exercise, breathing techniques, social media and sleep hygiene, is part of the holistic approach that we are hoping more GPs will use to ensure they never put themselves in a situation where they do not seek help for their own mental health.’
 
With the recent uptick in GP suicides around Australia, and the impacts of mandatory reporting on healthcare professionals, Dr Aziz believes that GP self-care is ‘now more important than ever’.
 
‘We need to strongly change not just the law of mandatory reporting, but also the mindset and fear that it causes GPs to admit to their own GP that they need help,’ he said.
 
‘We are trusting that they will “look after themselves” with a “physician heal thyself” mindset, but this is exactly the problem with the current system.’
 
However, with reviews into the way complaints are responded to and handling of mandatory reporting still ongoing, applying self-care can sometimes be ‘easier said than done’, according to Mr Goldberg.
 
‘Self-care is self-explanatory in terms of the benefits – we know the balanced lifestyle of what you eat, how much you sleep, how you take care of your life outside of work, how you live to your values is really important,’ he said.
 
‘But self-care is [also] like the fantastic diet that everyone knows is good for you … but then you feel like you’re too tired and the easiest thing is to have a drink, eat cake, go to bed late and look at your phone … and we all do it.
 
‘So it’s about really breaching that type of self-care where it seems as nearly a chore. If we see self-care as a chore, we’re failing already, versus if we just live intentionally.
 
‘Intentionally doing the things that you do already that you see it as a self-care activity, rather than adding something that you don’t normally do, or feeling like you should do.’
 
Hosted by RACGP Victoria’s Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) Committee, the 2024 GPADD conference theme, ‘Vulnerable Populations’, focuses on treating communities facing additional challenges that impact substance use, including the LGBTIQA+ community, refugees and asylum seekers, people experiencing homelessness, and those in custody.
 
Recognising all that GPs do for their patients, Mr Goldberg is looking forward to attending and hopes his insights will provide some guidance around focusing on self-care.
 
‘I feel really passionate about helping GPs, I feel really passionate about having people that I can speak to and also learn from their experience of resilience or what they’ve done to overcome their burnout at times of their life,’ he said.
 
‘Generating a conversation within a short period of time is really valuable to me. And hearing and learning from others, feeling their passion for the work they do, always stands out for me.’
 
The GPADD conference is on Saturday 27 July at the Pullman Albert Park, Melbourne, from 9.00 am – 7.00 pm (AEDT). For more information and to register visit RACGP website.
 
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