Posts

“Is anyone Listening?!”

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Doctors are tired of  hearing  about wellness – we need to do something about it instead **I originally wrote this post for Canadian Healthcare Network**  ‘We’re all just tired of being tired’.   Have you heard one of your colleague physicians say something similar to that lately? Better yet, have you ever had one of these thoughts?   “They [the government, the organization, my boss, etc.] are just saying that they care about our wellness. But they really don’t care , it’s all about politics. They are just trying to check a box”    “I am overworked and hardly have enough time for myself and my family – the last thing I want to do is an online module that’s supposed to teach me about ‘wellness’”   “We would all be a lot less exhausted of medicine if we got paid more, or at least recognized for the work that we do that no one sees”      We’ve all heard it since we were younger: actions speak louder than words. When it comes to addressing physician burnout and promoting wellness, this is
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Resolutions, goals, or priorities ... ? Part 1

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Another New Year is upon us! It is always interesting to me that as we go through the year, Christmas seems so far away. But then, out of nowhere - December is here, and then January - the New Year! Once a new year arrives, the 'resolution-making' begins. I can discuss ends on ends about resolutions and why they are helpful - and when they are not. To be brief, resolutions can be helpful when they encourage us to make goals and take steps to achieve them. However, the major issue with resolutions is that we often fall into the trap of making 'bold and big' resolutions. These can 'work' for us for a temporary time, and then we fall back into our previous habits. Or, we might set resolutions that are 'trendy' because we want to be like others, we perceive a benefit from certain 'goals' (ex. 'drink more water! Get 10, 000 steps a day!', etc)., or because of certain external factors (ex. a sale on certain products, a promotion, etc).  The c
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Lessons from children: Babbling

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This is a continuation of the series on 'lessons from infants/children'. If you have not already ready the previous posts, please take a look here and here . When you first read the title of this post, you may be wondering how on earth adults are supposed to learn from infant 'babbling'. Have you heard an infant babble? It's a jumble of sounds that seem to be halfway between humming and speaking. It really is quite amusing when you watch a child babble - they do so without any fear of judgment, simply moving their mouths and enjoying the fact that sounds are emerging! First, let's briefly talk about the value in babbling. Infants babble before they are able to produce 'real' words and sentences. Babbling, hence. is a form of early communication. Apart from the fact that babies are learning to produce vocalizations, babbling also allows them to learn to make eye contact with others, hear changes in sounds, and see 'how communication' works in rea
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Lessons from Children: Play!

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 Continuing in the series around 'Lessons from Children', let's talk about the power and importance of 'play'.  What exactly IS play? When was the last time you allowed yourself to 'play'? Why is play important - or is it? (I suppose you can assume that if I am asking this question, it is important!) There is a great deal of literature on the importance of play. We will definitely have another post about technology and the pros/cons of this, but for this post, let's focus on the importance of taking time to 'play' and be 'a child' again.  What are some activities that you enjoy doing that involves 'playing'? Let's brainstorm a few; here are some ideas to get started! -arts and crafts (painting, colouring, drawing, doodling) -puzzles (jigsaw, number, etc) -sports -listening to a podcast -singing and dancing -fixing things for fun -cooking, baking -organizing a room or space -gardening and planting  -reading a story/book; writ
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