‘Top Docs’ highlights ways to promote resilience during a pandemic
The latest Medical Association of Georgia (MAG) ‘Top Docs’ show is a special edition that is sponsored by MAG’s Physician Resilience Task Force – and it highlights steps that health care facilities and medical practices can take to improve the well-being and resilience of their workforces during a pandemic or other crisis.
This episode features Florence LeCraw, M.D., who is a member of the MAG Physician Resilience Task Force and an adjunct professor at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University, and Suja Mathew, M.D., who is a senior physician advisor for the American Medical Association (AMA) in its efforts to advance professional satisfaction and the chair of medicine at the Cook County [Illinois] Health Department.
Drs. LeCraw and Mathew discuss…
– The mission and goals of the MAG Physician Resilience Task Force
– The wellness and resiliency resources that the MAG task force and AMA have developed
– The task force’s recommendations for health care facilities and medical practices
– The wellness and resiliency resources that AMA has developed
– How hospitals and practices can solicit the input of their physicians and other staff
– The results of a recent AMA physician survey that addresses COVID-19 issues
– The best ways to get hospital and practice leadership to adopt the task force recommendations
– Why “social networks” are important during a pandemic
– How organizations like MAG, AMA and the Georgia Nurses Association are helping
Dr. LeCraw specializes in health economics. One of her research projects is focused on physician and nurse burnout.
In an article that she and some of her colleagues wrote to “address efforts to support the health care workforce in Georgia and other states” that appeared in the August edition of the Journal of Patient Safety and Risk Management, Dr. LeCraw noted that, “A high priority has been placed on supporting the safety and well-being of health care workers…[however] Physicians and other clinicians have an entrenched resistance to seeking help.”
She also pointed out that “when everyone around you is worried about contracting COVID-19, anxiety seems the norm rather than a sign of weakness. The current crisis has mitigated that sense of shame associated with getting support.”
And she reported that, “The formal offer of psychological first aid and support for trauma is new in most settings, but it has been hailed by hospitals for promoting resilience and supporting the pandemic response.”
Dr. Mathew “directs internal medicine service delivery throughout the public hospital system in Chicago and surrounding suburbs and oversees the work life of hundreds of physicians and advanced practice providers including trainees.” And at AMA, she “works directly with health system leaders to create meaning-filled, resilient, and productive work environments.”
Between downloads and live listeners, ‘Top Docs’ has now reached more than 1.7 million listeners and viewers – which includes people in all 50 states and more than 80 countries. MAG has won three awards for the show, including an American Association of Medical Society Executives Profiles of Excellence Award, an American Society of Association Executives Silver Award, and a Health Information Resource Center Digital Health Award.
‘Top Docs’ is supported with a grant from Alliant Health Solutions in memory of Tom Williams, its former CEO.
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The views of the guests who appear on ‘Top Docs’ are theirs and are not necessarily consistent with MAG’s policies or positions. Contact Tom Kornegay at tkornegay@mag.org with questions about MAG’s ‘Top Docs’ show.
