Lifestyle

In recognizing the importance of exercise on her physical and mental health, Shannon Burke, senior vice president and general manager of Health Systems, Synchrony Health & Wellness, maintains an active lifestyle through yoga, biking, and other sports that she loves. On today’s After Hours, Shannon speaks with The American Journal of Managed Care® on the health benefits she’s gained through fitness, how its translated to her productivity both during and away from work, and why having fun and enjoying yourself is key in exercise.

Jason Dinger, SVP of Strategy and Innovation at AmerisourceBergen, joins After Hours to discuss seeing the world one trail at a time.

How can we support our loved ones in active addiction? In this installment of Wellbeing Checkup, Alex Colyer, founder and president of The Albertus Project, discusses how we can help and empower our loved ones through their addiction and sobriety journey with compassion and support.

Publishing cartoons since his college days, Orthodontist Grant Snider balances caring for patients and publishing insightful cartoons online and collected in books. His web series Incidental Comics is the hub of his creative efforts, but he’s also written and illustrated children’s books and had his work published in The New Yorker, The New York Times Book Review, The Kansas City Star, and more. With his most recent book The Art of Living, Snider showcases the introspective nature and overall positive outlook that underpins his work.

Marc Bernstein, MD, discusses how baking became his go-to hobby outside of work and how it became a family activity.

Heather Saunders, MPH, RN, CIC, infection preventionist, registered nurse, and mother to 2 young boys is busy…and sometimes very stressed, especially the last couple of years with the COVID-19 pandemic. So how does she save herself from burnout, practice self-care, find herself again? She tells Infection Control Today®.

Along with managing the social and health care needs of Medicaid beneficiaries, Traci Thompson, MD, MBA, chief medical officer of Humana Healthy Horizons of Florida, recently launched a nonprofit charity clinic named “Dr Traci’s House,” that seeks to improve health equity in a historically underserved area of east Tampa. On today’s After Hours, Dr Thompson speaks with The American Journal of Managed Care® on the social, physical, and mental health care services the clinic provides, how care needs have shifted since COVID-19, and what community stakeholders should consider in prioritizing the health of individuals with limited income and resources.

Mackenzie Andrews is a co-founder and chief commercial officer of Nanodropper. In addition to being a neurobiologist and bioengineer, she also is a powerlifting champion and competitive cheerleader. In this segment of After Hours, she shares a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the world of competitive cheerleading.

Dr. Christopher Fly, and emergency department physician for 19 years at the Medical College of Georgia, started his beekeeping hobby when his son brought home the idea from high school. The 2 took classes, bought the gear, suited up, and started a hive. His son soon aged out of the interest, but Dr. Fly is still keeping bees and even has a wildflower honey brand—I’ll Fly Away.

Raj Chovatiya, MD, PhD, discusses the burnout associated with always saying yes. As a busy medical professional and a family man, he stresses the importance of deciding what is most important to you for your own wellbeing. The power of saying no gives Dr. Chovatiya more time with his kids and family and helps prioritize what is most important.

Kelly L. Stratton, MD, FACS, shares how he developed his interest in NASCAR racing and how this can help him connect with patients.

“Perhaps the most important thing in our lives is really our relationships with the people we care about.” In this installment of After Hours, Rif El-Mallakh, MD, discusses how card writing helps him feel connected to his friends and family.

Betsy Charles, DVM, highlights a 3-pronged approach to improving veterinary wellness including personal responsibility coupled with community support that leads to change in broken systems. She shares what recently inspired her to approach wellbeing this way, how each component works together and is strong on their own, plus more.

Margaret T. Kasner, MD, explains her plethora of after-hours hobbies, including knitting and cooking.

Jan Bonhoeffer, MD, PhD, a global expert on infectious diseases and vaccine safety and a thought leader on efforts to transform how medical professionals care for their patients and themselves, discusses rates of burnout, divorce, and suicide rates among health care workers—particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic—and strategies clinicians can use to tend to their own mental health.

Every year in a partnership with Nike, Oregon Health & Science University Doernbecher Children's Hospital has pediatric patients with cancer and other illnesses help design a collection of sneakers called the Nike Doernbecher Freestyle Collection to help raise funds for the hospital. The 2022 collection, which featured 7 different shoes including LeBron models and Jordan 5s, was released in April. The program has been ongoing for more than 20 years, raising more than $30 million for the hospital.

Eleonora Teplinsky, MD, garnered an interest in fitness starting in high school where she ran in track. During her time in medical school, running helped to provide her with a sense of stress relief and freedom, allowing her time to clear her thoughts. It was upon moving to New York for her fellowship that she began training for races and half marathons. In addition to detailing how exercise has positively impacted her life, she explains how her fitness regimen needed to change in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For early career clinicians, balancing responsibilities between personal life and a blossoming career can prove difficult. In this Wellbeing Check-up, Muthiah Vaduganathan, MD, MPH, a trialist and co-director of Center for Implementation Science and staff cardiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, discusses what mental wellbeing means to him and how he makes it a priority to maintain his own.

Veterinarian and animal consultant for Netflix Kwane Stewart explains how he started providing free veterinary care to homeless animals, leading him to co-found Project Street Vet.

With the summer months finally upon us, the time has come for fun and frivolity. But, all that recreation also comes with its own risks. Ike Devji, founder and managing attorney at Pro Asset Protection, walks us through ways to limit your liability during these “100 deadly days.”

Rebecca Feagle, RN, BSN, a Clinical Nurse Manager with the Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute, talks about her experience as an oncology nurse and her passion for cake decorating.

Matt Parker, vice president of products at Kyruus and HealthSparq, shares with MHE how he manages his wellbeing each day through activity like walks through nature with his dog, an Australian Shephard, Remy, before and after work. Parker added that making time to separate work with his personal life is crucial to his mental health as these walks really help him clear his head and remember what’s important in life.

Dan Mikesell, DO, spent 37 years practicing as a pediatrician in Muskegon, Michigan. In 2010, he became Dr. Dan, creator of the food and recipe blog 101cookingfortwo.com, and his hobby has continued since he retired in 2016. His blog began as a way to share recipes with his family while blending his loves of food, cameras and computers. It has had mentions and collaborations with a number of nationally recognized culinary sources. Spoiler alert: Dr. Dan reveals his favorite food and his favorite recipe.

Having sailed previously in her adolescent years, Crystal Denlinger, MD, FACP, chief scientific officer of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), joined a local sailing club during the pandemic that reignited her love for the sport. On today’s After Hours, Dr Denlinger speaks with The American Journal of Managed Care® on the experiences she’s had sailing the Delaware river, how the sport has benefitted her general health and career as an oncologist, and general tips for novice sailors.

Working in palliative cancer care can be incredibly rewarding, but also lead to burnout and anxiety. However, getting an inside look at patient resiliency, as well as setting up appropriate professional boundaries and leaning on the right institutional support can all help clinicians maintain a positive attitude and fulfilling career, explained Kimberly Curseen, MD, director of supportive and palliative care outpatient services and associate professor at the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University.

Heidi Finnes, the President-elect of Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association, discusses her experience of burnout among medical colleagues in the field of oncology and ways health care organizations and institutes can implement metrics to support the assessment of burnout in the field.

Albert S. Jun, MD, PhD, is the Walter J. Stark, MD, Professor of Ophthalmology and chief of the Division of Cornea, Cataract and External Eye Diseases at the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. When he unwinds, he enjoys a nice glass of Scotch, and has become an expert on the drink. He is joined by Peter J. McDonnell, MD, director of the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, and chief medical editor of Ophthalmology Times.

Dr. Alexandra Peters has enjoyed music and songwriting her entire life. Thirteen years ago, she was asked to write English lyrics for a French composer. This led to her writing and performing music within the healthcare industry, including a writing a song for World Hygiene Day. After a chance horseback ride at a fair at age 3, Dr. Peters was instantly hooked. As a teenager, she started focusing on dressage and eventually earned her teaching degree in 3 disciplines.

Julia Miller, DVM, DACVD, professor at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, touches upon her love and talent for singing opera. In fact, before pursuing veterinary medicine, she tried her hand at vocal performance (opera) during undergrad at Indiana University.

With poetry, I can write about what I’m feeling and what I see almost from a distance, and then it helps me get a little bit closer to those emotions that I’m trying to feel and gets them off my chest.” In this installment of After Hours, medical student Madeleine Mendelow discusses how poetry can be a powerful tool for processing our emotions as clinicians and exploring our personalities outside of medicine.