7 Proven Stress Release Techniques for Doctors

As doctors in the field, we all know that the job can get stressful. Hospitals have you running from one hospital wing to the next with people’s lives in your hands. If you work in a practice, you’re dealing with a long list of sick patients with no end in sight.

A doctor’s health is just as important as the health of their patients. If stress is dictating your work ethic, it’s a good idea to consider using these seven stress release techniques to keep you healthy on the job.

1.    Meditate

A few minutes of meditation is an excellent way to get your mind back on track and to centre yourself. The best part is that you can do it anywhere. You can do it sitting, standing, or lying down - whichever is most comfortable.

It’s best to conduct a full body scan when you meditate to have a full sense of how your body and mind is handling everything. To do this, you need to shut out everything around you and focus on each part of your body starting from your toes all the way up to your head. It’ll take a while to get used to at first, so no worries if you have trouble focusing the first couple times.

2.    Don’t Eat at Your Desk

Take breaks away from where you work. That includes your desk, the office, the department or the reception area. This doesn’t mean you have to eat out at a cafe every day. However, you can go off and eat your lunch someplace where you’re least likely to think about work. It’s even better if you can manage to eat with a close co-worker or friend, and talk about non-work-related subjects.

3.    Exercise

When you’re at work, it can be hard to get in a moment of serious exercise. But when you can, it’s perfect for getting your thoughts focused on something else and re-energizing your body and mind.

It doesn’t have to be anything crazy. You could do a quick walk outside or even dance to some music in your office during a break (make sure you close the blinds first!). Any simple activity is all you need release some built-up tension.

4.    Be Positive (Laugh)

Staying positive is another great stress reliever for doctors, especially in an environment of sick patients who already aren’t in high spirits. The best way to keep a positive mindset is with humour and laughing. We advise only using humour as the situation dictates it, but if you are just with colleagues, a good laugh will bring everyone’s moods up.

5.    Eat Healthy Snacks

The stress makes it tempting to go for comfort foods, but it’s better if you can stay away from the doughnuts and sweets. Instead, eat high energy foods like fruits and nuts that you know will keep you healthy and active.

6.    Say “No” More Often

Learn your limits and say “no” when you know you aren’t at your best. Depending on your colleagues, you might be able to ask for help. Overwork does not make the best work.

7.    Leave Work at the Workplace

And finally, keep all the stress and worries of work at the workplace. This isn’t easy, especially after a hard and potentially traumatic day at work. So take it one day at a time and try to spend off-time engaged in fun activities with the people you love.

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About James Hill

James Hill is the Founder of Prescript Recruitment and recruits for locum and permanent positions across regional Australia.

James is the author of the soon to be published book 'Full Roster - The Essential 7 Step Guide To Recruiting Doctors In Regional Australia'. He is also a writer of blogs for LinkedIn and the Prescript Recruitment website where he draws on his experience to share opinions on current health staffing issues.

There are three ways to contact James:

1. Call James on 0410 792 310

2. Email james@prescript.com.au 

3. Click 'Candidate Contact' to ask a question online (with the option to upload your CV)

“I believe for you to partner with the right agency, that reflects your wishes and lifestyle choices, is so important. Prescript’s focus is on what matters most to you, whatever stage of your career, your location or your future plans.”

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“Prescript are medical recruitment specialists.”

At Prescript we’re known for helping solve the regional doctor shortage in Australia.

Every day we’re focused on two clear outcomes - Helping hospitals find doctors that create departments and clinics that run better, have more capacity and less stress. And placing Doctors in jobs that leave them feeling highly valued, rewarded and, most importantly, enjoying what they do.

We believe that when we get these two crucial things right, it has a huge impact on the regional doctor shortage and the healthcare of communities across Australia.

There are three ways to contact us:

1. Call 1300 755 498

2. Email contact@prescript.com.au

3. Click 'Connect with Prescript' to ask a question online (with option to upload your CV)

We’d love to hear from you!

“We’re known for helping solve the regional doctor shortage, leaving doctors loving what they do and regional communities feeling like they have the best doctors in town.”

Jungle or Space Theme? Making MRI Scans Child Friendly

Calming & Friendly - Child-Centric Care

I always remember visits to my childhood doctor because of the large jar of sweets he had on his desk.  I can't remember the reasons for the different visits, but I remember the reward for being 'good' (for good, read compliant!).  

I also had an extended hospital stay on a children's ward when I was young. Even though there were sad times, for the most part I remember the love and care provided by the nurses.  They and the hospital created the best possible environment for recovery - over 30 years later I can still describe to you a lot of the little details that helped.

Making a visit to a dentist, a clinic or a hospital can be bewildering for a child. Finding methods to make their experience calming and friendly is so important.  I loved reading these two separate articles from different parts of the word on how they have tried to make traditional radiology rooms more child-friendly.

'Making Imaging Centers Child Friendly' // Location: USA

"Movie goggles. Basketball stars. Images of fish swimming through the room. Monkeys on the scanner. A room bathed in color. Not only do these distraction techniques in children’s radiology units make kids and parents happier, they’re often decreasing the need for sedation during the studies."- See more at: http://www.diagnosticimaging.com/

'Child-Friendly MRI Suites Reduce Need for Sedation' // Location: Singapore

One MRI scan room has a spaceship theme done up by staff in 2008. The jungle- themed room was set up in 2012 but only decorated last year. A professional artist was commissioned to create the vinyl decals of zebras, pandas and macaws in a bid to make the room more child-friendly.' - See more at https://www.healthxchange.com.sg

What's been your experience?  Does your workplace have an imaging department that is child-friendly?

Wellbeing for Radiologists

HEALTHY RADIOLOGISTS

For those working in healthcare, specifically in this instance, radiologists, there can be a concerning contrast, or disconnect, between looking after other people whilst you’re at work; and looking after yourself and your family at home.

The term 'work-life balance' is regularly heard but what does it mean? And more specifically, what does it mean to you?

We are exploring this subject further at Prescript through talking to radiologists and other professionals in the field of wellbeing. From this, we will bring you inspirational examples of healthy work-life balance being demonstrated.  Our facilitation of open discussion is to capture and promote ideas on how we can all create and maintain a healthy, happy workplace and home.

Prescript Radiology Recruitment was founded on the principles of health and wellbeing.  This encompasses our radiologists; the imaging centres we partner with and by association, the patients you are caring for. Building our services around health and wellbeing was intuitive to us because it aligned with our own personal priorities too. When exploring this concept, it opened further thoughts on how we can have a positive influence on and provide assistance to radiologists. What are the markers for people for living at their best?

What seems logical but appears to be often overlooked is the following concept:

“‘When an individual feels valued, balanced, satisfied and inspired, they will bring the best of themselves into their world, seamlessly – into all their interactions in the workplace, home, community and their natural environment.’”

If we take each of these principles in turn, we are able to look at how, in the world of radiology, they can be applied and improved.

FEELING VALUED

Appreciation, thanks, gratitude shown for efforts made, all help to build a harmonious workplace where radiologists and other staff feel good about being there. A simple concept. Small actions make a big difference. Action? What about consciously voicing thanks to others for the likes of: stepping up to a challenging situation; for working with care; for a friendly face and a smile; for a positive attitude that brings a good energy to the room?

FEELING BALANCED

Knowing that you have your own best mix of variety and interesting challenges in life is important. When we are out of balance, feelings of insecurity, fear, overwhelm and discontent are commonly noted. Having time to relax, time to learn and time to contribute fully at work and home can give us that sense of purpose and balance which greatly contributes to wellbeing.

FEELING SATISFIED

When you do what you love, in the right environment, it’s remarkable how alive you feel, how you don’t feel tired, how content you feel, and generally just happy to be there - even with the normal difficult challenges, disappointments and things that happen in all our lives. Cultivating a good, resilient attitude can contribute incredibly to your feelings of satisfaction - Appreciating and building on the parts of life you want to grow is a concept we can all put into practice.

FEELING INSPIRED

What lights you up? What puts you in a state of being that feels your best self?  How does it feel when you’re engaged with someone or something where time passes in that “timeless” way? Connecting with things you’re passionate about feeds us. Do you find aspects of this in your work place and personal life to enjoy?

Our personal health, encompassing mental, emotional and physical wellbeing, must surely be a priority for us as individuals, as family members, as work and community teams and as employers. 

We look forward to bringing you inspiring accounts of people who have learned to thrive in their professional and personal environment and can so help others to do the same.  

Please contact us, Nicola Speer or James Hill at Prescript Radiology Recruitment. We would love to hear your views, advice and experiences in the greater radiology world.

Green Goodness Smoothie Recipe

WELLBEING

HEALTH

HAPPINESS

Green Smoothie... Mmmmm the Goodness!

GREEN GOODNESS SMOOTHIE

The energising boost of a green smoothie is great for breakfast, a mid morning or afternoon snack. Beware however of some commercially produced smoothies or home recipes that are loaded so heavily with fruits and other forms of sugar that they become less than healthy after all!

Choices for healthy green smoothies are really unlimited. The easiest and best is to choose what is local, seasonal and fresh right now and chances are, it will cater for your needs since your body is naturally in tune with the seasons.

There are countless choices for additions to your smoothies as well. It’s good to mix it up, learn what benefits there are of different ingredients – and most importantly, find out what you really enjoy the taste of.

It’s easy to get a balance that tastes good without putting too much sweetness. Bananas and other fruit are very high in fructose so just be aware and load up on vegetables instead. "Superfoods" such as green algae – spirulina & chlorella are great. Avocado adds essential, healthy fats and a lovely creaminess. Energy boosters like macca give a great taste, and flavours from fresh herbs lift the drinks, as does a good dash of fresh lemon or lime juice.

Health benefits of a good green smoothie include an Alkalising effect on the body and cleansing.

It’s a good idea to give the body a break from coffee and alcohol or cut down at least and upping the greens supports you even more.

Here is one smoothie recipe to try:

GREEN GOODNESS SMOOTHIE

Ingredients

• BIG HANDFUL OF ORGANIC KALE AND SILVERBEET, CHOPPED OR TORN INTO SMALLER BITS
• PARSLEY, CORIANDER AND MINT – I USE LOTS – A BIG HANDFUL ROUGHLY TORN OR CHOPPED
• 1 ORGANIC KIWIFRUIT, SKIN ON – REMOVE THE HARD BUTTON FROM THE STALK END
• JUICE OF 1 LEMON FOR FRESHNESS
• 1/2 AN AVOCADO – FOR CREAMINESS AND GOOD FATS
• 1 1/2 CUPS OF FILTERED WATER OR COCONUT WATER
• 1 TEASPOON OF SPIRULINA or CHLORELLA POWDER – (OPTIONAL)

Blend greens and herbs until fine, add rest of ingredients and blend until really smooth. A high speed blender is the best but others are fine as well – it just may not be quite as smooth.

Pour into a glass and enjoy the clean, green feeling!

Serves 1.

Fresh, seasonal ingredients are the key

Fresh coriander, mint and parsley - Great taste, fantastic health benefits