Congratulations!
ACP Award for Outstanding Contributions to Improving Well-being and Professional Fulfillment in Internal Medicine
Mukta Panda, MD, MACP
Chattanooga, Tennessee
WBC Emeritus
Submit Your Physician Well-being and Professional Fulfillment Abstract by November 23, 2023
North Dakota WBCs Leverage Social Gatherings to Implement Well-being Chapter Interventions
Dr. Ron Ottenbacher, the ACP North Dakota Chapter Well-being Champion, and Dr. Sid Singhal are emphasizing community building through statewide social gatherings. Through these gatherings, they are collecting qualitative data on the needs of their population. Based on their findings, they are publishing a newsletter and offering individual coaching and small group sessions to support members. Their ultimate goal is to bring joy back to medicine.
Read here in Dr. Ottenbacher's own words
Suggestions to Make & Nurture Connections
By Kerri Palamara, MD, MACP
Section Highlight from “Building Community, One Connection at a Time”
| Individuals | Organizations |
|---|---|
| Find a buddy to check in with regularly. | Examine the culture—ask about loneliness, connectivity. |
| Work in teams. | Educate leaders about loneliness. |
| Build mentoring relationships. | Connect new hires early, even before they start. |
| Don't eat alone. | Encourage mentoring and buddy programs. |
| Take breaks, and talk to someone! | Engage in frequent team-building activities. |
| Be present when connecting with others. | Sponsor lunches with no agenda. |
| Share with and listen to others. | Talk about loneliness; normalize it. |
| Perform random acts of kindness. | Look out for people who are isolating. |
| Express gratitude. | Build social/connectivity time into meetings; lead by example and share! |
| Check on someone. | Wherever possible, give the team a say in decision making that affects them. |
More Good Days
- Make time to pause and think about what is going well, what contributes to good days, and how to build more of that into our days.
- The goal is to have more good days and to know what good days look like for us.
- Identify tangible components of our days that contribute to our well-being.
- Build a sense of control, self-efficacy, and self-advocacy to construct environments in and outside of work that are supportive and sustainable.
What makes for a good day?
- What makes for a good day at work these days?
- What makes for a good day outside of work these days?
- Be specific! What about these things makes you feel good?
How do we get more of the good?
- What would it take to have more of that in each day?
- What do you need to have more good days?
- What can you tell yourself on the tougher days?
Next Steps
- Based on this, what do you want to ask for? This could be of yourself or of someone else.
- What commitment are you ready to make?
Back to the November 17, 2023 issue of ACP IM Thriving