Page 44 - Delaware Medical Journal - July/August 2020

PHYSICIANS SHARE
TIPS FOR SELF-CARE
(AND STAFF CARE)
to Deal with Pandemic Stress
Tina Irgang Leaderman
The COVID-19 pandemic has been an exceptionally challenging time for health care workers. Anecdotes and front-line reports about providers suffering burnout or post-traumatic stress are making headlines across the country.
The emotional drain alone has been considerable, says Angela D. Brown,
MD, a family medicine physician with Total Care Physicians in Newark and
as a physician that an actual disease is polarized and politicized,” she says. “That is a new feeling for me and my staff; the aggression and anger that people have over wearing a mask or who they can or can’t see.”
Then, of course, there’s the heightened infection risk for health care workers and
their families, or the longer hours many providers are working these days.
“There was a lot of anxiety in the beginning, about how contagious the virus was going to be,” says Julia M. Pillsbury, DO, a pediatrician with Kids and Teens Pediatrics in Dover.
More than anything, health care workers need coping strategies so they can uphold a sense of normalcy and maintain their ability to care for patients.
In fact, that need just may be a silver lining for the future. “Physicians aren’t known for being great with self-care, so hopefully this forced focus on wellness can help us all do better,” says Brintha F. Vasagar, MD, a family medicine physician with Bayhealth Primary Care in Dover.
TIPS TO HELP YOU (AND YOUR STAFF) COPE
We asked physicians across the state how they care for themselves and their staff during these unprecedented times. Here is what they said:
Establish rituals that let
you decompress or check in with colleagues. “We all take walks together at lunch. It breaks the monotony of the day and keeps the drain from building,” says Brown. “We also make sure each of us gets to eat. I think we’re closer than ever because we take care of each other.”
Take advantage of free resources. “There’s meditation apps that are free for health care providers, and I’ve also been amazed at how
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Del Med J | July/August 2020 | Vol. 92 | No. 4