Managing your stress is as important as managing your physical health. Taking care of yourself and encouraging others to practice self-care will sustain and extend your ability to care for patients in need.
To help you successfully navigate your wellness practice, SMLMA has been addressing how physicians can best care for themselves while they care for others. We hope you find these free resources helpful in supporting you along your wellness journey.
Frontline Workers Counseling Project
Working on the front line during the COVID-19 crisis can take a toll on you in many ways. You may be experiencing feelings of anxiety, depression, sadness, anger, confusion and much more. But help is at hand. Free mental health counseling is available to all Bay Area frontline workers through the Frontline Workers Counseling Project.
The Frontline Workers Counseling Project (FWCP), formerly called the COVID-19 Pro Bono Counseling Project, is an initiative that helps connect frontline workers with free, confidential psychotherapy and counseling. Over 450 licensed and insured professional psychotherapists in the Bay Area have volunteered to offer free services through the FWCP, representing a wide range of personal and professional backgrounds, including psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, psychiatrists, and marriage and family therapists.
https://www.fwcp.org/
Physicians’ and Dentists’ Confidential Support Lines
Physician Support Line: (888) 409-0141 or CMA's Confidential Hotline (213) 383-2691
About CMA's hotline: We are a confidential service dedicated to assisting physicians and dentists who may feel overwhelmed by aspects of their personal or professional lives. Our goal is to help our colleagues before their lives and practices are in jeopardy.
How it works: All calls are completely confidential. Callers are quickly connected to a physician or dentist with extensive experience in helping health professionals having problems with stress, substance abuse or mental health issues. Callers receive the support and referrals needed to better manage whatever issues with which they may be struggling.
Who should call: If you’re a physician or dentist looking for help with substance abuse or a psychological or emotional problem, we’re here to help. If you’re a colleague, family member or friend of a physician or dentist in need of assistance, please don’t hesitate to call.
Finding Solutions and Boosting Resilience
Join the SMLMA and the Physician Wellness Committee for a monthly solution-oriented wellness series, Resilient MD.
Each one-hour session begins with a grounding, wellness exercise so participants may be fully present and experience a moment of self-care. This is followed by a brief thematic presentation and engaging discussion aimed at envisioning a future where issues that negatively impact the practice of medicine and physician resilience can be successfully addressed. The session will close with a wellness bite - an action-oriented takeaway you can use personally, with colleagues, and within your practice setting to find joy and meaning in medicine.
Watch live seminars and webinars concerning issues and topics surrounding physician wellness, COVID19 stress, and practice management stress. To view a full list of upcoming events, click here.
Join the SMLMA and the Physician Wellness Committee for a quarterly solution-oriented wellness series, Wellness Matters (previously Resilient MD).
Attend to Mind, Body and Spirit
Nourish yourself with breath and movement by participating in free online mindful yoga for healers with Dr. Jessie Mahoney. Sessions are held most Saturdays at 9:00am PT.
Participants will replenish, heal, and grow while practicing presence, self-compassion, and acceptance. During this virtual yoga session, discover the power of the pause, the meaning of presence, and the peace, joy, connection, and beauty that emerge when you learn to live with mindful intention.
Sign up to receive the Zoom link and weekly email with any schedule changes.
Making Healthcare Professionals Happier and Healthier
Headspace is the most science-backed meditation app in the world. Just sitting and meditating with us has been shown to increase happiness and reduce stress and burnout. SMLMA Physicians enjoy a one-year free subscription. When signing up, you will simply need to provide your CMA Membership ID.
What is meditation? Meditation isn’t about becoming a different person, a new person, or even a better person. It’s about training in awareness and getting a healthy sense of perspective. You’re not trying to turn off your thoughts or feelings. You’re learning to observe them without judgment. And eventually, you may start to better understand them as well.
https://www.headspace.com/
SMLMA has curated the following list of articles, websites, studies, videos and podcasts discussing physician burnout, techniques for combatting burnout, stress-reduction tactics, and general wellness information.
WEBSITES
ARTICLES AND BOOKS
VIDEOS AND PODCASTS
PRESENTATIONS AND SLIDES
- Nutrition and Wellness by Allison Collins, MD, Director of Lifestyle/Culinary Medicine at Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara
Emergency Medical Services Fund
The Emergency Medical Uncompensated Care Fund allows for a percentage of tobacco tax and traffic fines levied in each County to be earmarked to pay physicians for uncompensated care rendered in emergency rooms and OB or Pediatric services rendered in-patient and out-patient settings.
Click here for more information.
POLST
Legally recognized in California in 2009, POLST is a standardized physician order specifying the types of medical treatment a patient wishes to receive towards the end of life.
Click here for more information.