July 24th is International Self-Care Day, a day dedicated to highlighting the importance of self-care for everyone, including our healthcare heroes. For doctors working in the NHS, self-care is not just important but necessary. The challenging nature of their job requires them to be at their best physically and mentally. This blog explores the significance of self-care for NHS doctors and offers practical self-care tips for NHS doctors tips to help them maintain their well-being.
The Challenges NHS Doctors Face
Medical practitioners are thought to be among the healthiest people in our community, and doctors certainly have better understanding of physical health. However, many doctors suffer from emotional problems, which can severely impact their quality of life and the quality of service they offer their patients. The need to better equip medical practitioners to deal with the emotional stresses of their work has long been recognised but needs to be addressed more.
Doctors generally report high levels of stress and symptoms of burnout. Emotional strain may show in the form of family or marital difficulties, substance abuse, self-prescribing, psychiatric illness, and even suicide. Research conducted by the BMA has reported significantly higher levels of psychiatric disturbance, substance abuse, and suicide among medical practitioners and their families than among the general population.
The Importance of Self-Care
Self-care is about making sure you look after yourself. It involves taking care not just of our physical health, but also our mental, emotional, and spiritual health. Also, includes eating, sleeping, and living well. And, setting priorities and achievable goals, enjoying work and leisure, and having enough time for both. Self-care ensures that our own and our families needs are not being neglected. It means making sure we have professional and independent medical advice about our own physical and emotional health. Sometimes, doctors need to take their own advice and practice self-care.
Practical Self-Care Tips for NHS Doctors
Here are some practical self-care tips for NHS doctors that can help maintain their well-being:
- Establish Work-Home Boundaries: This may sound like a tall order, but you need time away from work, physically and mentally, to relax and recharge. One strategy to try is to put your phone away for a few hours and let your colleagues or partners know that you won’t be reachable unless there’s an emergency. Try to limit how often you check your email away from the office.
- Get Enough Sleep: Adults, including medical professionals, need 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night. Start by making small changes, and eventually, you’ll form a good habit.
- Exercise: Exercise every day, whether it’s running, weightlifting, cycling, CrossFit, yoga, or playing a sport, just find a way to spend 30 minutes in physical activity every day. Exercise can help your state of mind too.
- Stay Healthy: Are you following the same advice that you might give to a patient about eating right? Think about the food you’re consuming and see where you could improve. Whether it’s your physical, mental, or emotional health, nurture your own wellness as often as possible. Don’t be ashamed to ask for professional help or to lean on family, friends, or colleagues for support.
- Stay Connected: Strong relationships with family, friends, and colleagues offer a sense of belonging and support. They provide a vital outlet in the midst of demanding, sometimes emotionally draining shifts. Consider peer support groups and explore wellness offerings within your medical community.
- Stay Focused: Always remind yourself why you practise medicine and what keeps you motivated. Consider your professional and personal satisfaction levels and find ways to improve both to stay fulfilled.
- Stay Organised: Make an effort to better systemise your personal and professional responsibilities to avoid becoming overwhelmed. Set aside time to unload everything you need and want to do in a schedule.
When your focus is often on patient care, it’s easy to ignore your own health and well-being. However, self-care is not a luxury. it’s an important part of maintaining the high level of commitment, decision-making, and compassionate care that the medical profession demands. Neglecting self-care can lead to physical and mental burnout, compassion fatigue, reduced quality of patient care, and personal wellness issues.
Taking care of yourself doesn’t just set a positive example for your patients or act as an example when you provide health advice. Health practitioners who are mentally and physically well may, in fact, provide better healthcare.
At Remedium, we understand the significant challenges faced by doctors. As part of our commitment to supporting healthcare professionals via the “Healing Our Healers” campaign, we have organised events and webinars focused on mental health and stress management for doctors. Our campaign also encompasses insightful blog posts like “NHS Doctors: Managing Your Mental Health When Relocating to the UK” and guest insights such as “How to Manage Stress and Anxiety as a Hospital Doctor.” These resources are essential to our mission of providing doctors with the tools and support they need to succeed while providing exceptional patient care. If you’re interested in joining the NHS and want to explore the possibilities of working with us closely, register your details with us.
