Reimagining Health Care

The healthcare system as we know it has been under strain for a number of years.

This is only set to get worse as our population continues to age, more people present with a variety of complex health needs, while we continue to drown in a sea of chronic disease and mental illness.

Finding a solution is increasingly urgent. Which is why the theme of this year’s RACGP Annual GP Conference – GP24 held in Perth “Reimagining Health Care,” was very timely.

It was a huge honour to be invited to provide a plenary at the conference on the topic of Practitioner (GP) Wellbeing.

This is absolutely vital because without a healthy primary care workforce there would be no healthcare system.

As a workplace health and wellbeing consultant, former GP and lifestyle medicine physician I presented three key components to reimagine practitioner wellbeing.

1. Be self-aware to your own need for self-care.

Press pause to reflect “how am I going?” and be honest in your appraisal. Many doctors are highly driven, dedicated and care deeply for their patients but are often rubbish at looking after their own needs to stay healthy.

This is where implementing rituals, setting boundaries and allocating sufficient time for rest works to alleviate stress and boost energy.

2. Add more HAW (happiness at work) to your day.

Being unhappy at work, feeling frustrated or angry with ‘the system’ for making it hard to deliver the best health outcomes you know your patients deserve is demoralising and damaging. This is where tapping into what give you joy, realising what makes your work feel worthwhile is so important.

When you have a strong sense of purpose, feel grateful for the workplace opportunities you have available and a strong social network of support from your colleagues, everything not only feel better, but you’re also more resilient, you cope better and are at lower risk of developing a stress-related illness, mental mood disorder or experiencing burnout.

3. Upgrade your operating system.

Working in a setting that enables you to support your patient to better health today and for their future is enormously rewarding. It’s good for our patients and good for practitioners too. This is where taking a proactive stance, putting prevention first and working to mitigate existing illness or disease is achievable using lifestyle medicine principles. These are evidence-based, patient-centred and highly effective.

What’s not to love about doing your job so well that your patients don’t need to see you so much, don’t require as much medication and enjoy a far higher level of health literacy that keeps them and their families well?

This is the future of health care, and we as primary care specialists and lifestyle medicine practitioners are ready to deliver.

If you are a health care practitioner, what’s your level of wellbeing like?

Are you doing well? If so, bravo!

If there’s room for improvement, what one small thing can you do for yourself regarding your physical, mental and psychosocial care?

I’d love to hear your thoughts.