A Series by Kathryn Lawson, PhD
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Conflict Resolution In Medicine
Conflicts are an inevitable part of human interaction. Whether the conflicts are addressed or hidden, acknowledged or denied, they are present in both our personal and professional lives. Although conflicts can be distressing, there is nothing inherently wrong with them. Conflict is not the same thing as bullying (bullying is bullying). Conflict by itself is…
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Using Emotional Regulation for Effective De-Escalation
For many physicians and other healthcare professionals, the threat of workplace violence is something that they feel underprepared to manage. Statistics consistently show that there is an epidemic of violence in hospital and healthcare settings. In fact, if you use the metric of nonfatal illnesses and injuries, healthcare is the most dangerous profession there is.…
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Reducing Risk of Violence with Situational Awareness
Back in 2016, the New England Journal of Medicine published an article referring to violence in healthcare settings as “ubiquitous” (Phillips, 2016). In 2018, healthcare workers accounted for 73% of all nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses due to violence, more than prison staff, police officers, and other occupations that may typically be considered more “dangerous”…
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The Weight of Error
Suicide risk for physicians is elevated when facing a malpractice case or licensure restriction, or dealing with other career concerns. These are obviously significant stressors, and they deserve attention and intervention. But what about the distress associated with making a mistake, even if that mistake doesn’t lead to external consequences? The weight of error can…
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Suicidality and Hope for Physicians
September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month and September 17th is National Physician Suicide Awareness Day. Every suicide is an unspeakable tragedy, a loss that ripples outward in waves of pain and grief. The Council of Residency Directors in Emergency Medicine estimates that up to 400 physicians take their own lives every year. While estimates of…
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Grief Myths That Impede Healing
Dealing with grief is a natural, but difficult, part of life. Unfortunately, there are some widespread myths that can make the process even more difficult. We explore a couple of these below: Myth #1: You will progress through stages of grief in a linear fashion. Reality: You may be familiar with the stages of grief…
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Disenfranchised Grief
Have you ever felt guilty for feeling grief? We’ve talked before about ways to cope with loss and access appropriate social support in difficult times. But what happens when you don’t think you have the right to feel the way you do? Disenfranchised grief refers to grief that is unacknowledged or invalidated by others or…
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Techniques to Improve Focus
It is an ugly reality that sometimes our learning environments are incompatible with learning. Sleep deprivation and stress can both lead to impaired cognitive performance. Low self-efficacy can reduce motivation and perseverance. Internal and external distractions can hinder concentration. Fortunately, there are evidence-based techniques to improve your focus and performance even in difficult circumstances. Keep…
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Strategies for Better Sleep as a Healthcare Worker
You may have seen the recent news article about an exhausted Boston nurse who accidentally drove off the top level of the hospital parking garage at the conclusion of her shift. For many of us, our empathy for her may be accompanied by a fear for ourselves, a knowledge that we too are so fatigued…
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Combatting Learned Helplessness
“The loneliest moment in someone’s life is when they are watching their whole world fall apart, and all they can do is stare blankly.”-Unknown, but frequently attributed to F. Scott Fitzgerald A debilitating thing happens when we begin to feel like our efforts don’t make any difference. At first, we might try even harder to…
