A transcript is available online

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The COVID pandemic showed us how critical the problem of professional fatigue is in healthcare. It has led to early retirement, reduced staffing, and increased costs throughout healthcare systems. But the syndrome that's commonly called "burnout" existed long before the pandemic and it will ��� undoubtedly ��� exist after it.��

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Our guests today believe that healthcare burnout is a systems problem that is manifest in individuals: a symptom of a disease that is often not apparent until a talented professional resigns and leaves the clinical setting altogether.��

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On today's program, we hear from a number of front-line healthcare professionals about their experiences with a pilot program that connects certified coach-physicians with medical staff who are feeling some degree of professional dissatisfaction and are concerned about their well-being.��

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Could physicians-coaching-physicians bypass the cultural stigma against receiving help, provide much needed professional development, offer refinement of personal mission, and optimize mental health and personal resilience? ��Happily we can report that the answer appears to be yes.

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Chrissie Ott, M.D.

Internal Medicine & Pediatrics

Medical Director

Center for Medically Fragile Children

Providence Regional Medical Director of Well-being

Portland, Ore.

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Tricia James, M.D.

Internal Medicine Residency Faculty

Medical Director, Wellness��

Providence Portland Medical Center

Portland, Ore.

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To read an executive summary of the Medical Staff Coaching Initiative, a partnership between Providence and Coaching for Institutions, please click here. (.pdf) ��

To read the presentation slides from the 2022 International Conference on Physician Health, click here. (.pdf)

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Hans Moller, M.D.

Orthopedic Surgery

Providence Seaside Clinic

Seaside, Ore.

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Kimi Powers, PA-C

Family Medicine

Providence Center for Weight Management

Portland, Ore.

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Maneesha Ahluwalia, M.D.

Infectious Diseases

Certified Life Coach

Baltimore, Md.

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To hear more of Dr. Ahluwalia and Ms. Powers' conversation, click here.

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Christina Rothans, LCSW

Palliative Care Social Worker

Santa Monica, Calif.

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Zahra Esmail, DO

Paliative Medicine

Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center

Torrance, Calif

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Today's program begins with an excerpt from COVID-19 Realities, an episode of our podcast that featured the stories of two palliative caregivers describing the stresses of working through the pandemic surge in Southern California, in January 2021. You can listen to the rest of their remarkable story, here.

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