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It’s okay not to be okay: CrazySocks4Docs Day kicks off
Healthcare professionals around Australia have taken to social media, donning their crazy socks to support workplace wellbeing.
The RACGP is encouraging members to wear their crazy socks and share photos on social media using the #CrazySocks4Docs hashtag.
Friday 5 June marks the 2020 CrazySocks4Docs Day, an opportunity to raise awareness of the mental health of medical practitioners around the world.
The now-global event was started by Victorian cardiologist Dr Geoff Toogood in 2017, prompted by his own mental health experience.
The RACGP is encouraging members to wear their crazy socks and share photos on social media using the #CrazySocks4Docs hashtag, and to have a conversation with their peers about their health and wellbeing.
Various events (including the wearing of unusual socks) are taking place across the country.
A free morning webinar hosted by GP Dr Sally Cockburn (AKA ‘Dr Feelgood’) and featuring top health officials covered key messages about doctors being vulnerable at certain times in their life.
Practitioners were reminded to not neglect their own health, an especially pertinent message in the current climate of COVID-19.
Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos featured on the webinar panel. She said on Twitter she was ‘honoured’ to be a part of the webinar and announce new funding for the Victorian Doctors’ Health Program.
RACGP SA&NT is partnering with
Breakthrough Mental Health Research Foundation and Doctors Health SA&NT for the CrazySocks4Docs campaign. Funds are being raised for ground-breaking mental health research to protect and enhance doctors’ mental health, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic when workplace stress and risk of burnout are of key concern.
The research will focus on the pandemic’s impact on the medical profession and explore positive impacts and interventions that can be built into a mental health recovery plan.
RACGP President Dr Harry Nespolon posted his footwear, saying on Twitter the initiative is to remind people that ‘it’s okay for a doctor not to be okay’.
The RACGP also launched its first pop-up shop, open throughout June, with a
new range of crazy socks to purchase in support of CrazySocks4Docs Day. All proceeds going to Beyond Blue.
RACGP resources
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