Medical professionals are expected to be strong, confident individuals. But the reality is that being a medical practitioner can be stressful and overwhelming.
There’s no doubt about it: you’re working in an environment that requires intense concentration and focus, so it’s understandable if you find yourself feeling worn down after hours of seeing patients or spending time at work.
As a medical professional, it’s important to be aware of your stress level and how it affects your job. If you want to stay sane while dealing with a patient’s chronic pain or other health issues daily, here are some tips on coping with stress:
Find a healthy coping mechanism
If you’re feeling stressed, it can be hard to stop thinking about your work and start enjoying the day. However, this is not what a doctor should be doing.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by work-related stress, try taking a break from your desk for at least half an hour. Go for a walk around the block. This has been shown in studies to help people feel less anxious.
The best way to manage your stress as a medical professional is by finding a healthy coping mechanism. A good way to do this is by taking time for yourself and spending it with those who you care about most. If you need help finding a healthy coping mechanism, many ways can help with this process:
· Talk with your colleagues
· Go for a walk together
· Take up yoga or meditation classes
Practice mindfulness every day.
Mindfulness meditation is a practice that involves focusing on what’s happening right now while also being aware of your thoughts and feelings at all times. It is a form of meditation that involves paying attention to your thoughts, feelings, and body sensations. It’s a way to reduce stress and improve your health. Mindfulness can help you relax by getting rid of negative thoughts, but it doesn’t mean you should ignore them, you just acknowledge them without judging yourself for having them.
Mindfulness meditation may sound difficult at first because it requires concentration but once you get used to practicing it regularly then it’ll become easier over time until it eventually becomes second nature.
To practice mindfulness:
· Sit in a comfortable position with your eyes closed or look at a blank wall while breathing slowly and deeply into your belly (not shallowly).
· Focus on the feeling of air moving through the nose as you breathe in, then the feeling of air moving past each nostril as you breathe out; focus on this sensation until it feels natural and relaxed rather than forced or tense.
· If thoughts enter the mind during this time, acknowledge that they are there without judgment but don’t react emotionally or engage with them.
This is so easy that you can even do it on your office desk as you take a break from attending to a patient.
Focus on the present moment
There’s no doubt that dealing with the pressures of a job, as well as other responsibilities such as family and financial stability can be overwhelming and difficult to manage.
However, you can reduce your stress levels by focusing on the present moment instead of worrying about past events or worrying about what might happen in the future.
Learn to practice self-compassion.
Self-compassion is the ability to treat yourself with the same kindness and understanding that you would show to a friend, no matter what.
It’s not just an easy way out of guilt; it helps you be stronger and more resilient in your life. Self-compassion isn’t about indulging in self-pity or feeling sorry for yourself, it’s about recognizing how much work you still have ahead of you and being able to move forward peacefully at your pace.
Recognize that you’re not alone.
Stress is a normal part of life. It’s not something to be ashamed of, and it doesn’t make you a bad doctor or nurse. Stress can be good at times.
It motivates us to do our best work and helps us stay on top of the demands placed on us by our jobs. But too much stress has negative impacts on your health. It can lead to depression and anxiety disorders, sleep problems, and other physical ailments in addition to making you feel drained.
One of the best ways to manage stress is by working smart, not hard. This means doing what you can to make your job easier and being ready when help is needed.
Share and laugh with your co-workers
One of the best ways to relieve stress is by laughing. Laughter is a great way to release tension, reduce anxiety and boost your mood. When you laugh with others, it can help you feel better about yourself and even make relationships stronger.
If you don’t have co-workers yet, consider finding a support group where people share their problems and help each other cope with life’s challenges or even just talk about funny things at work.
Set boundaries between work and home.
One way to de-stress is by setting boundaries between work and home. This can be as simple as setting a schedule for yourself and using a calendar or planner to keep track of appointments and tasks.
You must make time for other things in life; family, friends, and hobbies!
It will help relieve stress if you have enough downtime at home where your mind can relax rather than being constantly pulled back into work mode.
Think about why you got into medicine in the first place.
You can ask yourself why you got into medicine in the first place. Was it because you wanted to help people? Or was it because of the money and prestige of being a doctor?
You may be surprised by what motivated you at first, but now that you have been doing this for years, maybe your reasons have changed.
Remembering that time when you decided to become a physician can help remind yourself why these things are important to YOU as an individual and not just something that happens “because” or “to”. When we set our goals high and achieve them, there’s no better feeling than knowing that we did something right.
Look for the good in each patient encounter.
De-stressing is a practice that can be learned, and it’s one of those things you have to start practicing even more. One way to de-stress is to look for the good in each patient encounter.
You’ll probably be surprised by how many patients have a positive story to tell or something they learned from their experience with you. Actively listening to them is imperative for you to understand their need, and it serves as a way for them to feel heard and understood. When a patient tells you something about themselves, take note and try your best to remember it. This will help you form a connection with them, which may ultimately lead to better treatment outcomes.
If you can do just this one thing, it will make your day go better, and make you feel fulfilled as you’ve already succeeded.
Know when to say “I have no idea.”
Doctors are well aware that there are times when you don’t know the answer. It’s not a big deal, and it’s not the end of the world. It just means that you need to find a solution.
When you are being asked a question that you have no answer to, try saying “I’m not sure how to answer this question but…,” followed by your best guess or educated opinion on what may have caused this issue.
Although there are instances where saying you have no idea isn’t the perfect thing to say. This is where you need your colleague’s help as you don’t always have to deal with struggles alone.
For example; If a patient asks you about their symptoms, instead of saying “I don’t know,” try saying something like: “let me talk with some of my colleagues first before we come up with any diagnosis.”
Do something outside your job
We are humans! We get tired of doing the same thing every day.
As a medical practitioner, repeating the same routine each day of the week might be tiring. This is why you have to live your life outside of the hospital as well.
Find an outlet to help others, volunteer at a non-profit organization. You can volunteer your time and talent to help others, whether it be through the hospital or by donating your services on the weekends.
If you’re looking for a new skill that will help de-stress, consider taking classes in something like dance or photography. This will not only give you something fun to do on weekends but will also make you happy.
Take control over career decisions.
The best way to de-stress is to take control of your career decisions. This means that you should not allow your boss, colleagues, patients, or the media to make any decisions for you.
Instead of letting others tell you what to do and how to live your life, take control and make decisions based on what feels right for YOU!
You can stop feeling stressed by taking control of your career and doing what you want to do.
Be realistic about what you can and can’t accomplish in a day.
The first step to becoming a better doctor is to acknowledge that you are not perfect. It’s easy to feel like your job is so demanding, and you’ve got no time for anything else, but the truth is that this mindset will only make things worse for yourself and your patients.
You can still do an excellent job at work even if it takes longer than usual. If there’s one thing I’ve learned during my time working as a physician: don’t try too hard!
Do not be too harsh on yourself. Instead of worrying about what other people think about how busy you are all day long; or worse yet, trying so hard not to let anything get in the way of your job.
It might be better to just embrace where you are at the moment instead of desperately trying everything possible under your belts while simultaneously feeling guilty about falling short somewhere else.
Never feel guilty
Don’t feel guilty about making time for yourself to exercise, relax or recharge in other ways, whether it’s dancing or hiking, or playing video games with your kids or friends. Work hard at balancing every aspect of your life.
Set up breaks so they are part of your routine instead of an occasional event that happens once every blue moon.
Conclusion
The stress of being a medical practitioner is real, but they don’t have to define your life. With a little effort and practice, you can find the healthy coping mechanism that works best for your lifestyle.
Don’t let your job define who you are as a person or what kind of role model you want to be for others.
Live your life! Save lives! And have fun whilst doing these.
We hope you learned some of the most important ways to manage your stress as a medical professional. It’s not easy, but YOU CAN DO IT!
We remain,
Yours sincerely,
Med Mentor.
