Wellbeing Special Interest Group
The aim of the Wellbeing Special Interest Group (SIG) is to promote the personal and psychological wellbeing and to heighten awareness of wellbeing issues in anaesthetists and pain medicine specialists. The group is an informative, educative and referral group; it has no therapeutic role.
The Wellbeing SIG runs sessions at various annual meetings including the Combined SIG meeting, ANZCA Annual Scientific Meeting and Australian Society of Anaesthetists National Scientific Congress. This provides an opportunity to share new research and data on Australian and New Zealand anaesthetists, discuss important and topical issues and to network with peers. In addition, members of the executive will often present at other wellbeing-related events and liaison with other professional bodies.
WELLBEING SIG RESOURCE DOCUMENTS
Please visit the Wellbeing SIG LibGuide to access the resource documents. In the Wellbeing SIG LibGuide you can also access a wide range of wellbeing resources, including COVID-19 wellbeing resources, the Peer Group Guide, ASA articles, journal articles, apps, publications, and podcasts.
The resource documents, developed by the Wellbeing SIG, provide brief comment, give references, and identify strategies for use in dealing with the more common professional and personal stresses. If you are a member of the SIG but not a FANZCA please contact the Senior Events Officer for access to these documents.
If you would like to create a resource document, please view the resource document submission guidelines.
DOCTORS HEALTH AND WELLBEING
Find out what ANZCA is doing to support your health and wellbeing, and the services and resources available to you and your family.
COVID19 - LOOKING AFTER YOUR WELLBEING
During our response to COVID19, many of us will be feeling anxious, uncertain or overwhelmed. Remember we are all in this together. The Wellbeing Special Interest Group has some tips to help you carry on and to look after yourself. Please see attached document.
AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY OF ANAESTHETISTS ARTICLES
The articles below are "produced by the Australian Society of Anaesthetists and reproduced with permission"
Please visit the Wellbeing SIG LibGuide to access more articles.
Australian Society of Anaesthetist’s Podcast
Episode 29: The Trainee Returning to Work.
Dr Suzi Nou chats with Drs Emilia Reece, Anna Pietszch and Georgie Cameron who took periods of leave from their anaesthetic training and written a resource document to help others through this process.
Episode 28: Happy International Women's Day!
Dr Suzi Nou chats with Drs Rosmarin Zacher and Isabelle Cooper, authors of the Pregnancy and the Anaesthetist resource document.
Episode 23: Everything you need to know about forming a Peer Group those hard to earn CPD points!
Dr Suzi Nou chats with Dr Kushlani Stevenson, Executive Committee Member of the ANZCA/ASA/NZSA Wellbeing Special Interest Group and author of the Peer Group document.
A MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR
Dear
colleague,
On
Tuesday 17 March 2020, I was part of a training SIM in preparation for
intubation and management of COVID-19 patients. I thought it was pretty
routine.... until I passed a close colleague on his way to intubate one of the
real COVID patients in our ICU. It felt a bit like watching the first soldier
going over the top.
It may be
stating the bleeding obvious, but all predictions point to a major crisis in
our lives for the foreseeable future
Many in
the general community will become ill. Some will die. There will likely be
business failures, job losses and financial suffering.
We in
medicine will see our friends and family, and our colleagues experiencing this.
And in anaesthesia we will be in the front line, along with our ED and ICU
colleagues, in caring directly with these patients. We are at increased risk of
contracting the virus with all its consequences, of finding ourselves isolated
from our families, working outside our comfort zones, and experiencing concern
for our own safety and for our co-workers.
What can
we do?
- Be informed. Keep up to date about the virus, transmission and pathogenesis. Know your hospital protocols and practice them.
- Be aware that as time goes on, you and your colleagues will become fatigued, stressed and at risk of error. Have compassion for yourself and others when stress becomes overt.
- Take care of one another. Ask about each other’s wellbeing and concerns, about family and friends, about plans unfulfilled. Your interest in others will make a huge difference to their wellbeing and the team.
- Maintain a sense of humour. Any sort of humour boosts morale
- Be aware of your supports and talk to them, be they family, colleagues, your department wellbeing officer or counsellors. Talk to your mentor(s) now and frequently. Keeping your worries to yourself is a sure way to see them fester and become irrational.
Life may
not be the same when this is all over, whether in regards to the health of our
community or financially. But at present we have a job to do, and focusing on
what’s in front of us rather than potential future scenarios, will help us to
manage. And hopefully in the future we will look back at this episode in our
lives and recognise that we did well under difficult circumstances.
As
always, if anything in the above has caused you mental health issues, please
contact your general practitioner or alternatively, if you are in Australia or
New Zealand:
Best
wishes,
Greg
Downey
Chair, Wellbeing SIG
FUTURE ACTIVITIES
2021 Combined Communication, Education, Welfare, and Leadership and Management SIG Meeting
For further information on this meeting, please click here.
PAST EVENTS
2019 Combined Communication, Education, Welfare, and Leadership and Management SIG Meeting
"Developing leaders with 20:20 vision", convened by the Leadership and Management SIG.
Held July 26-28, Novotel Sydney Manly Pacific, NSW.
Please visit the meeting website to view the presentation slides.
NEWSLETTERS
NEWSLETTERS
Please see below for the latest and past newsletters
August 2018
December 2017
December 2016
February 2016
July 2015
January 2015
August 2014
January 2014
July 2013
ARTICLE OF THE MONTH
Recommendations for future articles of the month are welcome. Please contact Events
MEMBERSHIP
If you would like to join the Wellbeing SIG, please download an application form or contact the ANZCA events team.
EXECUTIVE
The executive of the Wellbeing SIG meets regularly, usually via teleconference to discuss matters related to the group's area of interest.
|
Position
|
Name
|
Region
|
|
Chair
|
Dr Greg Downey
|
NSW
|
|
Member
|
Dr Robert Fry
|
NZ
|
| Member | Dr Anna Hallett | Qld |
|
Member
|
Dr Tim Porter
|
SA
|
|
Member
|
Dr Kushlani Stevenson
|
Vic |
|
Member
|
Dr Tracey Tay |
NSW |
|
Member
|
Dr Heman Tse |
ACT |
|
Member
|
Dr Jo Sinclair
|
NZ
|
Member
| Dr Divya Sharma | WA |
| Member | Dr Wendy Falloon | Tas |
|
ASA representative
|
Dr Antonio Grossi
|
Vic
|
| NZSA representative | Dr Emma Patrick | NZ |
| RANZCP representative | Dr Shirley Prager | Vic |
| Trainee representative | Dr Claire Maxwell | Qld |
OTHER ACTIVITIES
- Articles in ANZCA Bulletin, ASA newsletters and other publications.
- Doctors’ health advisory services numbers in ANZCA Bulletin and ASA newsletter.
- Liaison with ANZCA, ASA, NZSA, doctors health advisory services, regional medical boards.