Doctors at Work

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All of us work in teams, but what makes one team great and another less so? In this episode, I discuss teams with Simon Craig who has written a book called From hurting to healing in which he explores how we need to change medicine for the better. He tells me about the importance of belonging, leadership, and cake! His top tip for doctors would be to really invest in high quality connections.

Dr Simon Craig has been a medical doctor for over 30 years, specialising in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and working in both the private and public systems. Over his career, Dr Craig has created and led many teams, supervised multiple junior staff, and participated in regulatory groups and activities. His experience is further informed by qualifications in conflict resolution, and he has a Masters in Applied Positive Psychology. He has written a book called From hurting to healing, and he writes a blog.

His founded his company PosMed based upon a need. Our institutions and those within them have struggled for too long with systems that require improvement. PosMed has a focus on building individual flourishing and high performing organisations. All in healthcare have a right to desire the best systems possible – those that allow for well-being and achievement within a culture of kindness, openness, and excellence. Dr Craig’s vision is that PosMed can be part of the process leading to optimal outcomes.

You can also watch on www.youtube.com/@dr-coach/videos.
Production: shot by polachek

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Patients are at the centre of what we do, yet  they are also at risk of harm from adverse events related to their healthcare needs. And when errors happen, doctors are affected too. In this episode, Gordon Caldwell shares his experiences of managing and preventing adverse events. He stresses the importance of creating a culture that encourages everyone to speak up. His top tips for preventing errors is to create systems, checklists, and routines that ensure a focus on all aspects of care not just the obvious and urgent.

Dr Gordon Caldwell was a medical student at Oxford and Kings. He trained in General Medicine, Diabetes and Endocrinology at King's, Brighton, Edinburgh, RPMS London and Newcastle upon Tyne. He was a Consultant in Worthing from 1993 to 2018 and Oban Hospital 2018-2022. His particular interests are in the use of IT at the patients' side, medical training and quality and safety at the point of care. He now lives in Ballachulish on the west coast of Scotland.

You can also watch on www.youtube.com/@dr-coach/videos.

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Most of us will remember role models (good and bad) that have heavily influenced who we are today. Sue Carr tells me that actually everyone of us is a role model to someone, we need to remember that and be aware of the shadow that we cast. Her top tips are to know yourself, and to show up day after and display consistently good values and behaviours such as compassion, listening and generosity.

Professor Sue Carr is the Deputy Medical Director of the General Medical Council. She continues to practice as a Consultant Nephrologist in Leicester where she is also an Honorary Professor of Medical Education at University of Leicester. She was previously, Director of Clinical Education and an Associate Medical Director at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust for 9 years and prior to that Associate Postgraduate Dean & Foundation School Director in the East Midlands Deanery. She is a Senior Fellow of the Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management and a Fellow of the UK Academy of Medical Educators. She has previously held several national roles in medical education including as Chair of the UK Renal Association Education and Training committee, member of National Association of Clinical Tutors Council, and she was an elected Councillor of the Royal College of Physicians.

Role modelling is important for us all, and GMC's Good Medical Practice document makes specific reference to it. You may also be interested in reading the Caring for Doctors - Caring for Patients report, or look at the King's Fund and Health Foundation's work on compassionate leadership. The Stoneygate Empathy Centre also has a number of publications / courses.

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We all face stressful moments in our careers, when we have to perform under pressure. This isn't just limited to clinical challenges, there are frequent pressures related to time, resources, learning, exams, and interviews. How do you set yourself up for success? In this episode, Adam Nicholls tells me that success starts well ahead of the moment of performance itself. It is wise to think and plan in advance, so that you have already considered possible challenges and obstacles, and have a plan in place for dealing with them. Visualising events in advance can be useful, and visualisation can focus on touch, sound, smell, as well as what you see. When it comes to training others, there needs to be a focus on strengths as well as on development areas, and over time the stressfulness of the situation should be increased in a supportive learning environment. And in the moment of performance itself, a threat mindset when people worry about threats can cause sabotage, but a mindset of challenge focused on what needs to happen is better.

Adam is a professor of psychology within the Department of Sport, Exercise, and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Hull, UK. The main focus of his research relates to the psycho-social factors that predict doping among adolescent athletes, along with coping and emotions among athletes.

His research is supported by more than £1.1 million as a principal investigator and £1.5 million including all projects. He has published more than 90 journal articles and written three books. His book, Psychology for Coaches: Theory and Practice has also been translated into Arabic and Hungarian. https://www.routledge.com/Psychology-in-Sports-Coaching-Theory-and-Practice/Nicholls/p/book/9781032062600

In addition to pursuing his own research interests, Adam is the Director of research for the school and also the Research Excellence Framework (REF) lead. 

 You can also watch our conversation at www.youtube.com/@dr-coach/videos 

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Have you ever found yourself worrying about possible disastrous outcomes, even though in reality they would be most unlikely? Thoughts going round and round? Emotions taking over rational thinking? Worried about the next on call, or feeling unable to progress certain practical procedures? Then you might have been catastrophising. Harry Glasstone tells me that in catastrophising emotions take over, and instead of being rational and considered, we obsessively focus on the worst possible outcomes. But whilst considering a range of outcomes is no bad thing, in catastrophising emotions take over control our actions more than rational thinking. He tells me how to identify when you might be catastrophising, and that the key to getting out of it is to convert emotional responses into logical approaches.

You can also watch the show at https://youtu.be/ktHaL3zrg8Q?feature=shared.

Harry Glasstone is an accountant and life & business coach.  He has run his own business for the past 20 years and more recently has developed his coaching practice to support clients in achieving their goals and objectives, acting as an accountability coach or supporting their future planning.  He is also a presenter on Virgin Radio Pride. You can find him on Twitter  @hglasstone, Insta  @harryglasstone, Linkedin  https://www.linkedin.com/in/hglasstone, or his website harryglasstone.co.uk. His Virgin Radio Podcast (Matt & Harry) is at https://play.acast.com/s/virgin-radio-pridecast

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Are you an introvert or an extrovert? In this episode, Charity Hix tells me that introverts tend to like time to think and reflect, and dislike constant disturbance. But being an introvert isn't about liking or disliking people, it's about where your energy comes from. We are all of course individuals and no two people are alike! If you are an early career doctor making career decisions, then knowing that you lean towards being an introvert can be useful when choosing your specialty and the workplace context. And for introverts in senior doctor roles, having some quiet time and boundaries can replenish energy in busy clinical settings.

Charity is a physician coach helping ambitious introverts in healthcare escape feelings of apathy, irritability, and resentment brought on by the increasing demands, and decreasing rewards, of their career. After 20 years in clinical medicine, she’s helping introverts continue to show up as the diligent, thoughtful clinicians they want to be while prioritizing their needs and protecting their energy. She firmly believes you don’t have to feel guilty for wanting a thriving life in AND outside of medicine. You can get her free workbook with tips on how to create mini-retreats during the busy workday at https://charityhix.ck.page/quickieretreat.

Website: www.charityhix.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/charityhix
Email:  [email protected]

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Our careers are always busy, and finding time to do anything other than clinical practice can be tricky. But Natalie tells me that far from hobbies being something that takes time away from clinical work, hobbies actually give us energy that supports us in the clinical practice. There will never be enough time, so we need to make time. It doesn't have to be many hours for a major new achievement, just doing something small is a start.

Natalie Lee is a junior doctor working in Sydney, Australia. She graduated from the University of New South Wales, where her passion for creativity in medicine was born. Natalie was classically trained in violin and piano, and is also a singer-songwriter, with her music available on numerous platforms including Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube. She loves bringing music and medicine together for de-stressing, teaching and having fun. Her original song “Short Sighted” won the International Sounds of Physiology Competition in 2021. As a doctor, she continues to produce music and perform, and aims to inspire others to pursue their creative goals despite the constant rush of work and life.

You can find her on youtube, spotify, or instagram.

You can also watch our conversation on youtube.

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Medicine is an incredibly rewarding profession, yet we also work at a time of constant change and uncertainty. We are all likely to face adversity at least sometimes. In this episode, Will Mangar tells me about the idea of the psychological survival kit. When faced with difficulties, we first need to have self awareness to recognise that something is amis, and then put in some circuit breakers that would take us towards wellbeing rather than away. This means proactively building the sorts of behaviours that are nourishing and sustaining for the long term, such as relationships, exercise and creativity. You can also watch us talk on youtube.

Spanning three decades, Will Mangar has worked as a family physician in general practice within the UK National Health Service. He has spent many of these years leading organisations within primary care. He has a special interest in men’s psychological health and wellbeing, and specifically with principles of meaningful purpose and its relationship with personal fulfilment and happiness in life. He devotes his professional time to his practice and raising awareness of men's mental health with the perspective of meaningful purpose through speaking, writing and broadcasting. You can find him on LinkedIn.

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Rachel Cooper tells me that clinical oncology is an exciting and ever changing career. There is much teamwork, varied ways of working, and plenty of research-based advances. Clinical oncologists have multiple treatment options at their disposal, and overall are able to make a difference to many patients and their families. Her top tip for anyone interested is to go and find local consultants working in clinical oncology, and spend some time in their clinics to experience what the specialty is like.

You can find out more here.

Rachel is a consultant clinical oncologist in Leeds Cancer Centre (LCC) specialising in the management of gynaecological and lower GI cancers. Rachel obtained her medical degree from Birmingham University and then completed her clinical oncology training at The Christie Hospital, Manchester and Cookridge Hospital Leeds. She obtained an MD during her training at The Christie, investigating measurement of tumour hypoxia in cervical cancer under the supervision of Professor Catherine West and Dr John Logue. Before taking up her current post she worked in Dokuz Eylul University, Izmir, Turkey as a Visiting Associate Professor where amongst other things she continued her interest in gynaecological brachytherapy. She has a special interest in cervical cancer, in particular image guided brachytherapy and anal cancer.

Rachel has previously held several positions including in LCC training programme director and lead clinician and nationally Medical Director, Education and Training for the UK at the Royal College of Radiologists. Prior to this she was an examiner and then chaired the First FRCR exam board as well as sitting on a number of committees in the RCR and nationally such as the Radiotherapy Reference Group.

She is married to Mehmet, a Professor in Radiation Oncology and clinical oncologist at LCC and has one son, Emre. Outside of medicine she is Chair of Governors for a federation of three primary schools and loves, amongst many things playing tennis, swimming, all arts but especially reading and a good night out with family and friends!

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As doctors, we all want to help patients and make a difference. We all want to serve others. But this attitude may not be without problems. In this episode, James tells me that sometimes the focus on others means that we neglect ourselves, and end up resentful, burnt out, or exhausted. If we are to be of service to others, we first need to be at our best. This means that in order to help others, we also need a focus on our own wellbeing. So this is not about sacrificing ourselves to help others, it's about looking after ourselves so that we can be of service to others.

James Williams is a Certified High Performance coach who's primary focus is to support leaders, teams and high achievers to serve without self sacrifice. Before going full time as a coach James had a 12 year career in live television for British Sky Broadcasting and left in 2015 to peruse his coaching career. Since 2015 James has supported his wife and her team in building a 7 figure coaching and lifestyle business - I Heart My Life.  He has worked within various serviced based companies, to teach and coach their communities, their teams and leaders to thrive internally so they can succeed in realising their lofty goals. You can find him at https://thegrowthedge.com/,  LinkedIn, or Instagram.

You can watch the discussion on youtube if you prefer.