Wellness Wednesdays was a structured, bi-monthly webinar series focused on enhancing professional and personal wellness through the joy of medicine that was offered for free to all participants and scheduled on a Wednesday during the typical lunch hour.
Participants started each session with a brief overview of the discussion topic and then had the opportunity to share their own insight and ask questions at the end of the 45-minute program. It provided a great way to make connections with peers who were interested in those valuable topics.
In 2019, session topics, speakers, and the audience were expanded thanks to a grant provided by the AAFP Foundation Family Medicine Philanthropic Consortium (FMPC) that was made possible through its Dues Check-Off Program. Each of those sessions brought a new topic and speaker to address themes within wellness and professional satisfaction that we hadn’t heard from previously. Members from all American Academy of Family Physicians chapters were invited to participate. In addition, we welcomed members from organizations in the Ohio Physician Wellness Coalition to participate and join the conversation.
Following are archived presentations and resources to help you combat burnout, strengthen resiliency, and discover strategies for lasting wellness. Access more great resources on the Professional Wellness page.
- Building Meaningful Connections in the Community for You and Your Patients
- Combating Isolation through Focused Socialization
- Coping with the Emotional Impact of Adverse Patient Outcomes
- Creating a Personal Vision for a Healthy, Happy You
- Creating Emotional Energy through Physical Exercise
- Exploring Tools and Resources for Overcoming Burnout
- Energizing Your Philanthropy
- How to Approach a Peer Who is in Need of Help
- How to Deal with Negative Criticism
- Lifestyle Medicine: Healthy Habits to Improve Your Well-Being
- Mastering the Art of Gratitude
- Meditation for Emotional Well-Being
- Mindfulness: Cultivating A Clearer Mind
- Precepting: Finding Joy in Teaching the Next Generation
- Reframing Perspective: Harnessing the Power of Giving Others the Benefit of the Doubt
- Setting Emotional Boundaries for Healthier Relationships
- Taking the Bull by the Horns: How to Advocate for Your Own Wellness
- Talking with Your Employers About Systems Changes that Address Administrative Burdens
- Therapeutic Benefits of Counseling
- Time Management Strategies for Busy Docs
- The Power of Vulnerability
- The Virtues of Grittiness and Resiliency
- You Are What You Eat
For more information about the webinar series, please contact Director of Foundation & Strategic Programs Kaitlin McGuffie or call 800.742.7327.
Mindfulness: Cultivating A Clearer Mind
February 15, 2017
Speaker Suggested Resources:
- Little Book of Mindfulness: 10 Minutes a Day to Less Stress, More Peace by Patricia Collard
- The Proactive Twelve Steps for Mindful Recovery by Serge Prengel
- Headspace (app)
Meditation for Emotional Well-Being
March 15, 2017
Speaker Suggested Resources:
- Creative Meditation and Manifestation: Using Your 21 Innate Powers to Create Your Life by Amara Honeck
- The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
- How Meditation Changes the Brian and Body (The New York Times, February 18, 2016)
- Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-Being (The JAMA Network, March 2014)
- Mindfulness Meditation May Ease Anxiety, Mental Stress (Harvard Medical School, December 14, 2016)
- Scientific Benefits of Meditation – 76 Things You Might be Missing Out On (Live and Dare)
- Calm (app)
Setting Emotional Boundaries for Healthier Relationships
April 19, 2017
Speaker Suggested Resources:
- At Personal Risk: Boundary Violations in Professional-Client Relationships by Marilyn Peterson
- Where to Draw the Line: How to Set Healthy Boundaries Every Day by Anne Katherine
- Professional Boundaries in the Physician-Patient Relationship (The JAMA Network, May 1995)
- When Healers Get Too Friendly (The New York Times, November 2013)
- The Practical Professional in Health Care
- Good Boundaries Free You
- Boundary Self-Assessment (Members’ Dialogue, 2004)
Time Management Strategies for Busy Docs
May 17, 2017
Speaker Suggested Resources:
- 15 Secrets Successful People Know about Time Management: The Productivity Habits of 7 Billionaires, 13 Olympic Athletes, 29 Straight-A Students, and 239 Entrepreneurs by Kevin Kruse
- Effective Time Management for Physicians (Physicians Practice, August 2012)
- Time Management for the Time-Challenged (Forbes, August 2013)
- Why Time Management is Ruining Our Lives (The Guardian, December 2016)
- How to Gain Control of Your Free Time
- How to Multiply Your Time
- Priority Matrix (app)
The Power of Vulnerability
June 21, 2017
Speaker Suggested Resources:
- Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brené Brown
- Being Vulnerable about Vulnerability: Q&A with Brené Brown (TedBlog, March 16, 2012)
- Seeing Our Patients’ Vulnerability—and Our Own (Harvard Medical School, May 30, 2007)
- Vulnerability is a Virtue in Medicine (KevinMD.com, September 26, 2014)
- Quick Wisdom from The Power of Vulnerability (app)
Combating Isolation through Focused Socialization
July 19, 2017
Speaker Suggested Resources:
- The Lethality of Loneliness (Tedx Talks, September 9, 2013)
- How Social Isolation is Killing Us (New York Times, December 22, 2016)
- Physician Resilience and Burnout: Can You Make the Switch? (Family Practice Management, January-February 2013)
- Why Do Doctors Commit Suicide? (New York Times, September 4, 2014)
- Why You Should Treat Loneliness as a Chronic Illness (Everyday Health, August 4, 2015)
- Physician Says Social Isolation is a Growing Epidemic (Wisconsin Public Radio Podcast, January 24, 2017)
Therapeutic Benefits of Counseling
August 16, 2017
Speaker Suggested Resources:
- 4 Ways Everyone Can Benefit from Therapy (Huffpost, August 7, 2014)
- Support Groups (WebMD)
- Online counselors verified by the Ohio Physicians Health Program:
- Jennifer Brumfield (330.400.3402)
- Gary Dittrich, LPC (513.275.1577)
- Steve Graef, PhD (844.646.3674)
- Karl Jackson, PhD (513.318.7120)
- Robyn Kelly, LISW (513.806.2029)
- Joseph Mangine, PhD (413.372.8263)
- George Schulz, PhD (614.763.6015)
The Virtues of Grittiness and Resiliency
September 20, 2017
Speaker Suggested Resources:
- 25 Ways to Boost Resilience (Psychology Today, May 21, 2013)
- Deconstructing the Neurobiology of Resilience (Psychology Today, September 6, 2016)
- Grit and How to Grow It (Psychology Today, November 23, 2016)
- The Truth About Grit (Psychology Today, June 29, 2016)
- Angela Duckworth and the Research on ‘Grit’ (American Public Media)
- How Gritty are You? (the grit test)
Creating Emotional Energy through Physical Exercise
October 18, 2017
Speaker Suggested Resources:
- 13 Mental Health Benefits of Exercise (Huffpost, March 27, 2013)
- The Exercise Effect (American Psychological Association, December 2011)
- Exercise and Anxiety
- Exercise and the Brain
- How Exercise Rewires Your Brain
- Sworkit (app)
You Are What You Eat
November 15, 2017
Speaker Suggested Resources:
- 2015–2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans
- Nutrient Recommendations: Dietary Reference Intakes (National Institutes of Health)
- Nutrition Guide for Physicians
- Web-Based Resources for Medical Nutrition Education (The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition)
- Healthy Out (Apple app)
- Nutrition Lookup (Google Play app)
Mastering the Art of Gratitude
December 13, 2017
Speaker Suggested Resources:
- 365 Days of Wonder: Mr. Browne’s Precepts by R.J. Palacio
- Choose Kind Journal: Do One Wonderful Thing Every Day by R. J. Palacio
- Tool: Writing for Happiness (Bounce Back Project, 2015)
- An Experiment in Gratitude: The Science of Happiness
- Five Minute Journal (app; iTunes/Android)
- Gratitude Journal 365 (app; iTunes/Android)
Creating a Personal Vision for a Healthy, Happy You
February 21, 2018
Speaker Suggested Resources:
- The Personal Vision Workbook by Tobin Burgess, Kevin Pugh, and Leo Sevigny
- Create a Personal Vision Statement That Can Guide Your Life (The Balance, November 11, 2017)
- Choose a Personal Vision Statement to Guide Your Important Life Decisions (Decision Innovation)
How to Approach a Peer Who is in Need of Help
April 18, 2018
Exploring Tools and Resources for Overcoming Burnout
June 20, 2018
Speaker Suggested Resources:
- A Team-Based Care Model That Improves Job Satisfaction (Family Practice Management, March-April 2018)
- IHI Framework for Improving Joy in Work (Institute for Healthcare Improvement)
- Physician Health First Wellness Planner (American Academy of Family Physicians)
- Clinician Well-Being Knowledge Hub (National Academy of Medicine)
- Steps Forward (American Medical Association)
- WellMD (Stanford Medicine)
How to Deal with Negative Criticism
August 22, 2018
Speaker Suggested Resources:
- How to Handle Criticism Like a Pro (Greatist, June 11, 2015)
- How to Deal with Negative Online Reviews (Physicians Practice, December 14, 2015)
- Brené Brown: Why Your Critics Aren’t The Ones Who Count
- Physicians: How to Manage Online Criticism
Coping with the Emotional Impact of Adverse Patient Outcomes
October 17, 2018
Speaker Suggested Resources:
- Coping with Adverse Patient Outcomes (WellMD Stanford Medicine, March 2011)
- Managing After Bad Outcomes (Susan M. Retzack, MD, Wilwaukee, WI)
- Coping with Stress After an Adverse Patient Outcome (MedProGroup)
- Photographer Captures Moment ER Doctor Steps Outside after Losing a 19-Year-Old Patient
- Peer Support for Caregivers in Distress
- Sidney Dekker on The Second Victim
- TRUST: The 5 Rights of the Second Victim
Reframing Perspective: Harnessing the Power of Giving Others the Benefit of the Doubt
December 12, 2018
Speaker Suggested Resources:
- How to Respond to Physician Burnout in a Colleague (KevinMD.com, June 25, 2017)
- Patients and Doctors should give each other the Benefit of the Doubt (KevinMD.com, September 1, 2017)
- I Changed my Perspective about Patient Participation in their Care (KevinMD.com, April 4, 2012)
Precepting: Finding Joy in Teaching the Next Generation
February 20, 2019
Speaker Suggested Resources:
Building Meaningful Connections in the Community for You and Your Patients
April 17, 2019
Speaker Suggested Resources:
- Presentation Slides
- American Academy of Family Physicians’ Member Interest Groups
- EveryONE Project Toolkit (American Academy of Family Physicians)
- Neighborhood Navigator (American Academy of Family Physicians)
- Social Determinants of Health: Family Physicians’ Leadership Role (American Academy of Family Physicians)
- What We’re Learning: Engaging Patients Improves Health and Health Care (Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative)
- WONCA Special Interest Group: Health Equity
Lifestyle Medicine: Healthy Habits to Improve Your Well-Being
June 19, 2019
Speaker Suggested Resources:
- Presentation Slides
- American Board of Lifestyle Medicine
- American College of Lifestyle Medicine
- This is Water!
- The Art Of Saying No: How To Stand Your Ground, Reclaim Your Time and Energy, and Refuse To Be Taken For Granted (Without Feeling Guilty!) by Damon Zahariades
- The Lifestyle Medicine Handbook: An Introduction to the Power of Healthy Habits by Beth Frates, MD; Jonathan P. Bonnet, MD; Richard Joseph, MD; and James A. Peterson, PhD
- Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker, PhD (podcast)
- The Daily Stoic Email
- Waking Up (app)
Talking with Your Employers About Systems Changes that Address Administrative Burdens
August 21, 2019
Speaker Suggested Resources:
Taking the Bull by the Horns: How to Advocate for Your Own Wellness
October 16, 2019
Speaker Suggested Resources:
Energizing Your Philanthropy
December 11, 2019