Prosperous Doc Podcast

Practicing Self-Care as a Physician Isn’t Selfish, It is a Requirement

Written by Dr. Jillian Bybee | Apr 16, 2021 9:00:00 AM

 

Episode Summary

Everyone has their breaking point, but doctors — especially in the era of COVID-19 — often feel like they have no choice but to push past their burnout. Dr. Jillian Bybee, however, decided to do something about it.

 “I was born and raised in a really hard-working family with a lot of perfectionism tendencies and some mental health issues like anxiety that probably were undiagnosed,” she says. “And I just achieved my way through school, through med school, through training. Kept going and didn't really pay attention to self-care. … It finally came to a head my second year [in residency] when I had a patient who ended up dying, and that derailed me.”

On this episode of the Prosperous Doc®, our host Shane Tenny, CFP® welcomes Dr. Bybee, Assistant Professor in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine and Director of Quality and Safety for Pediatric Critical Care Medicine at Spectrum Health, to discuss what it took to finally address her work-related depression. She details the experience that opened her eyes to needing help, and why overcoming her shame and confiding in her husband was the first step she needed to get professional help.

Through her own self-care journey, Dr. Bybee discovered all the cultural issues that cause medical professionals to avoid therapy — including the idea that they must be strong “superheroes” for everyone else. Dr. Bybee explains why this mentality is dangerous, and why hospital management doesn't always respond appropriately to its resulting burnout.

Dr. Bybee also offers suggestions for people seeking resources for themselves and loved ones, including several podcasts and apps that people can use to help calm their minds.

 

Featured Expert

Name: Dr. Jillian Bybee

What he does: Dr. Bybee is the Assistant Professor in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine and Director of Quality and Safety for Pediatric Critical Care Medicine at Spectrum Health, where she strives to help medical fellows become better physicians.

Company: Spectrum Health

Words of wisdom: “If you're a superhero, you're not supposed to need to sustain yourself — you're just supposed to keep going. And that's really the culture of medicine — this grin-and- bear-it or just move on and bury-your-feelings approach. There's also this feeling that somehow it's selfish. … [But] if you're not able to take care of yourself, you certainly can't take care of other people as effectively.”

 Connect: Twitter

 

On the Money

Top takeaways from this episode

 

  • It’s OK to not be OK. We often — especially throughout the COVID-19 pandemic — refer to healthcare workers as “heroes,” when in reality, they’re humans like the rest of us. That’s why Bybee says it’s especially important for these professionals to be self-aware and stop putting their mental health needs last.
  • Every physician has to figure out what works for them. Bybee acknowledges how everyone’s self-care journey is different. She notes, for example, that it’s OK if one person needs therapy but meditation alone is enough for someone else. There’s no one-size-fits-all method to overcoming burnout, which is why higher-ups saying “tell us if you need help” is often too vague to be effective.
  • Seek help from both professionals and loved ones. It can be difficult to confide in a stranger, which is why Bybee found it so cathartic to first confide in her husband about her depression — it gave her the validation and strength she needed to seek professional help. She suggests contacting friends, family, or another trusted loved one when you finally hit a wall.

 

 

Prosperous Insights

[02:15] Looking inward: Dr. Bybee explains the straw that broke the camel’s back in terms of burnout and the first steps she took on her self-care journey.

[06:28] Not everyone can be superhuman: Dr. Bybee discusses why the general population calling healthcare workers “heroes” during COVID-19 sort of backfired in her workplace, and how the hospital coped.

[09:59] Finding their own way: Healthcare professionals are often hesitant to take advantage of mental health resources offered to them. Dr. Bybee explains why this happens and what many of them do to cope instead.

[13:38] Coming out the other side: Going through depression and burnout — and then addressing it in therapy — has helped Dr. Bybee to anticipate when negative thoughts might creep back in.

[18:19] Sharing the knowledge: With the understanding that many of her peers face the same challenges in prioritizing self-care, Dr. Bybee discusses how her journey has inspired her to help other medical professionals.

[24:31] Adapting her approach: Women handle burnout and secondhand trauma differently from men, so Dr. Bybee explains how she alters her approach when talking to different genders. She shares how she learned even more about this gender disparity from the book “Burnout” by Emily Nagoski, Ph.D. and Amelia Nagoski, D.M.A.

[27:17] Fill your toolbox with what works for you: Asked about what resources she recommends, Dr. Bybee explains the importance of therapy in conjunction with reaching out to loved ones. She also advises meditating (which she does with the help of the Ten Percent Happier app and podcast) and listening to podcasts such as Unlocking Us with Brené Brown.

 

Financial Wellness Tip

Do you have a financial junk drawer? It’s full of things you don’t know where else to put — a 401(k) from an old job, an insurance policy from a college roommate, bank accounts you opened to get a car loan but never use, etc.

The more products, accounts and policies you have, the harder it is to create a centralized vision of — and make progress towards — your financial goals. If you need help organizing your finances, click below.

 

Disclaimer: Prosperous Doc podcast by Spaugh Dameron Tenny highlights real-life stories from doctors and dentists to encourage and inspire listeners through discussions of professional successes and failures in addition to personal stories and financial wellness advice. Spaugh Dameron Tenny is a comprehensive financial planning firm serving doctors and dentists in Charlotte, NC. To find out more about Spaugh Dameron Tenny, visit our website at www.sdtplanning.com. You can also connect with our host, Shane Tenny, CFP at shane@whitecoatwell.com or on Twitter.

Compliance code: CRN202303-280813

 

Top quotes from the episode: 

[13:02] “Mandatory sessions, where they force you to show up and talk about your feelings or talk about something really haven't been shown to be helpful. It's those sort of spontaneous things are the things that you seek out that are really the thing that does it.”

 [15:48] “I've noticed that it feels so much better once you're able to clear all of that out, you can really move on with the rest of your projects if you're intentional about it.”

 [18:59] “I really just try to be the person that I think I could have benefited from while I was in training."

 [20:06] “Self-care is not selfish, first of all. And also it's really self-preservation. I think all it is, is the things that help you put yourself back together so you can keep doing what you need to do.”

 [21:36] “I know what the attitudes and opinions are of that group and so tailoring the message to really stay the same thing, but using different language, I think, is important.”

 [29:45] “That is probably the number one thing I could say for people, and that's really something I teach my trainees in the ICU, is when you have a terrible situation and you can't fix it … things are inevitable, but you can show up as a human and give space for another human.”

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