Clinician Self-care Research Articles

Strengthening the Clinician's Self-Care and Resilience Based on the Catholic Christian Meta-Model of the Person

This article asks how the Catholic Christian Meta-Model of the Person might identify the personal capacities and interpersonal resources needed to strengthen clinicians’ self-care practices and build up their resilience. The Meta-Model provides 11 comprehensive principles, or premises, to better understand the person, by integrating a theological, philosophical, and psychological vision of the person (anthropology). It serves as a framework to contextualize therapeutic modalities, formulate case studies, interpret empirical studies, and make clinical applications. The article argues that the Meta-Model's interpersonal approach can help build up the self-care and resilience of clinicians (and clients) through attention to the resources available in their personal vocations, character strengths, and practice of virtues. Empirical evidence and clinical examples are provided to support the theoretical implications of the Meta-Model's principles.

Self-care for clinicians during remote sessions: Adapting to the new world

ABSTRACT The transition to remote work and telehealth for mental health clinicians has created a set of structural and individual considerations that previously had not needed to be considered in self-care plans. Recognizing the origins of discomfort and uncertainty clinicians may have experienced as human beings living and working during a pandemic informs an effective self-care plan. Changes to organization practice and the therapeutic relationship and milieu, and the resultant challenges, are also considerations for a revised plan. A supportive organization is one that has clear and consistent guardrails, a supportive environment, training opportunities, resources that allow clinicians to do their work remotely, and provides regular clinical supervision. Setting boundaries with oneself, limiting screen time and exposure to news outlets, and maintaining a clear work schedule works toward the well-being of clinicians.

Clinician Wellness—Self-Care for Staying Healthy: Implementation of a Wellness Calendar and Programming for Health Care Workers in Response to COVID-19

Clinician Wellness—Self-Care for Staying Healthy: Implementation of a Wellness Calendar and Programming for Health Care Workers in Response to COVID-19

Experience of Community Neurologists Providing Care for Patients With Neurodegenerative Illness During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Health care delivery systems transformed rapidly at the beginning of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic to slow the spread of the virus while identifying novel methods for providing care. In many ways, the pandemic affected both persons with neurologic illness and neurologists. This study describes the perspectives and experiences of community neurologists providing care for patients with neurodegenerative illnesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted a qualitative study with 20 community neurologists from a multisite comparative-effectiveness trial of outpatient palliative care from July 23, 2020, to November 11, 2020. Participants were interviewed individually about the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on their professional and personal lives. Interviews were analyzed with matrix analysis to identify key themes. Four main themes illustrated the impact of the pandemic on community neurologists: (1) challenges of the current political climate, (2) lack of support for new models of care, (3) being on the frontline of suffering, and (4) clinician self-care. Taken together, the themes capture the unusual environment in which community neurologists practice, the lack of clinician trust among some patients, patient and professional isolation, and opportunities to support quality care delivery. The COVID-19 pandemic and pandemic politics created an environment that made care provision challenging for community neurologists. Efforts to improve care delivery should proactively work to reduce clinician burnout while incorporating support for new models of care adopted due to the pandemic. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03076671.

Clinician Self-Care: Doctors Who Adopt Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Help Themselves and Their Patients

Clinician Self-Care: Doctors Who Adopt Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Help Themselves <i>and</i> Their Patients

A448 From Type E to Me: Personalized, Holistic Self-Care for Clinicians

The majority of integrated and behavioral health clinicians wear multiple hats, with many lacking time or energy for adequate self-care. Although Type E is ultimately a figure of speech (neither DSM- nor ICD-classified), many clinicians feel pressured to be Everything to Everyone. This is especially true for clinicians in caretaking roles outside of work. Unfortunately, when clinicians do not practice self-care, the consumers of services –patients, clients, trainees, and consultees – also suffer. Likewise, low clinician self-care elevates risk for burnout and career dissatisfaction. This session will be spirited and pragmatic-designed to invigorate and inspire clinicians to integrate intentional, mindful, and simple self-care, daily, across life settings. An overview of research in the field of clinician self-care and patient outcomes will open the session. Holistic self-care will be defined and reviewed, and attendees will complete a validated self-care assessment. Participants will learn about the importance of defining, scheduling, documenting, incentivizing, and communicating about self-care across the settings of their lives. At work, for example, simple changes in one’s immediate environment can cue and enhance self-care. Those changes may also facilitate enriched rapport and connectedness with patients, clients, and consumers of clinician services. The session will conclude with participant discussion about simple, enjoyable, or playful self-care practices in their lives. This dialogue is designed to enhance attendee motivation and energy around developing personalized self-care micro-practices. Participants will be encouraged to implement at least one new micro-practice to improve holistic self-care and, ultimately, their own well-being and career satisfaction.

Implications of the American Psychological Association’s posttraumatic stress disorder treatment guideline for trauma education and training.

There is a shortage of clinicians who have been trained in treating traumatized clients, despite the high prevalence of trauma exposure and its frequent link with psychopathology. To address this need, professional guidelines and resources have been developed, including a core set of trauma competencies that professionals must develop to provide trauma-informed services to clients and several treatment guidelines. We discuss The New Haven Competencies for Trauma Training and Practice, then review recently developed clinical and professional practice guidelines, with an emphasis on the American Psychological Association (APA)'s Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD; "APA PTSD Guideline"). The APA PTSD Guideline was developed to guide clinicians in treatment planning for traumatized clients. However, numerous concerns about the Guideline and its limitations have been raised, and we present those that are relevant to training students and professionals about treating traumatized clients. We consider whether the APA Guideline is consistent with current trauma training needs, models, initiatives, and resources. We conclude that students and professionals who apply the treatments identified by the APA PTSD Guideline as "strongly supported" by empirical evidence may inadvertently overwhelm some clients with complex trauma presentations, which could result in poor outcomes or even harm. Furthermore, the Guideline does not adequately address aspects of treatment that are crucial to training about trauma, such as considering the client's cultural and individual needs and clinician self-care. We suggest training methods that take into consideration the limitations of the APA PTSD Guideline. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

"Remembrance": A Self-Care Tool for Clinicians.

Despite increasing attention in the medical and nursing literature about the importance of self-care for clinicians and the prevention of burnout, coping with the deaths of patients is an often-neglected component of clinical training. In this article, we describe the development of "Remembrance," an interdisciplinary approach to acknowledge and process the deaths of patients on our inpatient palliative care service, paying particular attention to how patients and their families affect us as clinicians. We believe that such a practice is an important component of both quality end-of-life care and clinician self-care, which should be routinely taught and incorporated into clinical services. We provide a template that summarizes our approach, which can be easily adapted by other hospitals to use.

Relationship Power in Health Care: Science of Behavior Change, Decision Making, and Clinician Self-Care

Relationship Power in Health Care: Science of Behavior Change, Decision Making, and Clinician Self-Care

Leigh A. Carter and Jeffrey E. Barnett, Self-care for Clinicians in Training: A Guide to Psychological Wellness for Graduate Students in Psychology

Review of book: Self-care for Clinicians in Training: A Guide to Psychological Wellness for Graduate Students in Psychology

Spirituality and religion in oncology

Despite the difficulty in clearly defining and measuring spirituality, a growing literature describes its importance in oncology and survivorship. Religious/spiritual beliefs influence patients' decision-making with respect to both complementary therapies and aggressive care at the end of life. Measures of spirituality and spiritual well-being correlate with quality of life in cancer patients, cancer survivors, and caregivers. Spiritual needs, reflective of existential concerns in several domains, are a source of significant distress, and care for these needs has been correlated with better psychological and spiritual adjustment as well as with less aggressive care at the end of life. Studies show that while clinicians such as nurses and physicians regard some spiritual care as an appropriate aspect of their role, patients report that they provide it infrequently. Many clinicians report that their religious/spiritual beliefs influence their practice, and practices such as mindfulness have been shown to enhance clinician self-care and equanimity. Challenges remain in the areas of conceptualizing and measuring spirituality, developing and implementing training for spiritual care, and coordinating and partnering with chaplains and religious communities.

Clinician Burnout: How Do Clinicians Take Care of Themselves?

There is a biblical proverb, “physician health thyself,” which means that people should take care of their own defects and not just correct the faults of others. As clinicians, we are committed to helping our patients achieve the best possible health. But are we doing the same for ourselves? Emerging research shows that clinician stress, fatigue, and burnout (characterized by loss of enthusiasm for work) is affecting health care systems and the quality of patient care.1–3 It is also affecting clinicians' own health and well-being in addition to their job satisfaction.2,4 It is hard to measure the extent of burnout across all clinician disciplines, but for physicians specifically, it is estimated that one in three experience burnout at any given time.5 I recently had the opportunity to attend a prevention conference that focused on patient health and clinician self-care. Although the information itself was not that new, …

Clinician Self-Care: The Applications of Mindfulness-Based Approaches in Preventing Professional Burnout and Compassion Fatigue (336)

communication strategies (Ask-Tell-Ask and NURSE) and what makes them successful, and two to three role play demonstrations. For the role plays, we will invite audience members to pose their own communication challenges from such topics as eliciting goals of care, transitioning to comfort care, managing uncertainty, finding the balance of living while dying, or responding to requests for help with hastening death. We will enact the same conversation two to three times using different communication strategies to show how the process changes when any one of the four components (words, attitude, body language, and timing) shifts. Our work is based on ethnographic research observing expert clinicians conducting consults and our experience translating this research into practical education strategies for medical students and residents. This session is designed for less experienced practitioners who want to improve their skills as well as educators seeking effective teaching strategies.

Practitioner Review: Assessment and treatment of refugee children and adolescents who have experienced war‐related trauma

Increasingly clinicians are being asked to assess and treat young refugees, who have experienced traumatic events due to war and organised violence. However, evidence-based guidance remains scarce. Published studies on the mental health difficulties of refugee children and adolescents, associated risk and protective factors, as well as effective interventions, particularly those designed to reduce war-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, were identified and reviewed. The findings are summarised. Young refugees are frequently subjected to multiple traumatic events and severe losses, as well as ongoing stressors within the host country. Although young refugees are often resilient, many experience mental health difficulties, including PTSD, depression, anxiety and grief. An awareness of relevant risk and protective factors is important. A phased model of intervention is often useful and the need for a holistic approach crucial. Promising treatments for alleviating symptoms of war-related PTSD include cognitive behavioural treatment (CBT), testimonial psychotherapy, narrative exposure therapy (NET) and eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR). Knowledge of the particular needs of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC), working with interpreters, cross-cultural differences, medico-legal report writing and the importance of clinician self-care is also necessary. More research is required in order to expand our limited knowledge base.