Wellbeing Checkup - Season 8

During the 2022 American Society for Radiation Oncology Annual Meeting, experts in oncology gave presentation on working hours, increased patient volume and contact, decreased autonomy at work, and increased professional expectations in radiation oncology. Bridget Koontz, MD of GenesisCare provide key takeaways.

In this episode of Wellbeing Checkup, Lawrence Steinman, MD, joins the show to share his inspiration for getting up in the morning to work and the secret to keeping a spark of creativity throughout the workday.

Recognized among the top-performing primary care practices by CDPHP’s 2022 Top Doctors Report, Ronald Musto, MD, MPH, MBA, CIME, internist at Capital Healthcare Associates, and executive vice president and medical director for Community Care Physicians, spoke on his organization’s multidisciplinary approach to ensuring a value-based care environment is provided to meet the care needs of new and returning patients. Musto also provides advice to other medical practices in striving for effective, equitable care.

Ariana Pelosci, assistant editor with CancerNetwork sat down with Jun J. Mao, MD, MSCE, chief of the Integrative Medicine Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and past president of the Society for Integrative Oncology, to discuss how he focuses on his health. In the interview, Mao spoke about using meditation and other mind-body therapies to help center him and help to create a life-work balance.

At the American Heart Association’s 2022 Scientific Sessions, a pair of studies leveraging data from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis described the impact of work-related and financial stress on cardiovascular disease risk. While on-site at AHA 2022, Practical Cardiology sat down with study investigator Erin Michos, MD, of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, to learn more about the results of this study and how they underline the importance of mental wellbeing in holistic health.

Audrey Friedman, MSN, RN, CLNC, Oncology nurse at UC Health University of Colorado Hospital, shares how she found her techniques to destress after a shift at the hospital. She also gives her advice to other health care workers to find their own methods to settle and find their center again.

Katie Huffling, executive director of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments in Mount Rainier, Maryland, shares some advice on ways you can help your patients (and yourself!) become a more educated consumer and reduce the levels of toxic chemicals in your everyday products. The Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments is the only national nursing organization who focuses primarily on the intersection of health and the environment.

On this episode of “Wellbeing Checkup,” Angie Arora, MSW, RSW, veterinary wellness coach, educator & advocate from Toronto, Canada, explains that veterinary professionals experience especially high exposure to secondary traumatic stress as they work with both patients and clients. Arora describes that there is a gap on how to process the effects of such trauma and delves into the importance of self-regulation and how this can address this problem and promote well-being.

Bridget A Oppong, MD, discusses how racial disparities play a role in the screening, care, and outcomes of patients with breast cancer.

Sabine Hazan, MD, Founder and CEO of Progenabiome, is an expert on the gut. Her lab led groundbreaking research on the relationship between COVID-19 and the gut, but she also believes that health, more specifically gut health, can be impacted by our relationship with nature and one another. Tune in as Dr. Hazan offers wisdom about holistic gut health and wellbeing.

Vamsidhar Velcheti, MD, speaks on Lung Cancer Health Equity SU2C Catalyst® Research Team (with support from Bristol Myers Squibb): The team will investigate whether mobile technology services can improve patient outcomes for underserved, underrepresented diverse patients. Specifically, the team will study whether Black, Hispanic and Asian non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients across NYC using the ApricityRx™ digital platform, as well as the on-demand ApricityRx™ Cancer Adverse event Rapid Evaluation (C.A.R.E.) service to see if their long-term outcomes can be improved and whether technology-enabled monitoring can close gaps in clinical care for underrepresented populations.

Featured in this wellbeing segment are five up-and-coming healthcare leaders who were recently featured in Managed Healthcare Executive’s annual Emerging Industry Leaders series. In it, each healthcare leader was asked a number of questions with one in particular on how to avoid burnout. Respondents shared similar responses that tied to their wellbeing. For example, respondents avoided burnout by making time for self-care, spending time with family and friends, making time for their hobbies like tennis and more.

The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) has created a Well-Being Ambassador Program. The program is “a curriculum-based, virtual learning community that will empower local action, particularly in tribal, rural, and underserved areas, to mitigate occupational burnout and create cultures of well-being in healthcare organizations.” In this video, Anna Legreid Dopp, Senior Director, Clinical Guidelines and Quality Improvement at ASHP, explains the details of the program.

Tabby Khan, MD, MPH joins to share how she stays physically fit and mentally well while balancing her busy work life schedule.

On this episode of “Wellbeing Checkup,” Donny W. Suh, MD, finds his love for practicing pediatric ophthalmology grows stronger with each passing year. Suh credits his passion to finding purpose. He offers two tips to fellow physicians and his residents and fellows for managing the stressors of daily practice and for getting a good night’s sleep. He also shares his journey in a book called “Catching A Star,” with all proceeds going to a medical mission program.

Dr. Tammie Chang reached a very low point in her career and then in her life. She wanted to leave medicine, leave everything. But she did the very hard work of reimagining both her job as a physician and her life beyond work as she needed them to be, not as they “should” be. Then she put the imaginings into practice. She talks in this segment of Wellbeing Checkup about being a champion for clinician wellbeing, about her coaching practice for other clinicians who want to quit, about the steps she recommends especially to women who experience burnout, and more.

Physician Coach Support is a free resource that provides confidential, one-on-one peer support for clinicians. In this video, Physician Coach Support founder Diana Londoño, MD, discusses why she created this resource and explains how it can help clinicians.

Abdelaziz Mohamed, MD, discusses how meditation allows him to stay aware of his thoughts and helps him understand himself better. He also notes how the practice may benefit patients with chronic diseases, including autoimmune diseases, regarding fatigue, pain, and general discomfort.

“Community involvement is really key to a sense of belonging and really feeding our soul as we think about maintaining our mental health.” In this installment of After Hours, Lauren Zuchman discusses BeWellPBC, as well as how maintaining our mental health is good both for individual mental health and for overall community wellness.