Page 45 - Delaware Medical Journal - July/August 2020
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PRACTICE MANAGEMENT
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gyms are offering all these web-based practices. Physical activity is great for mental health,” says Vasagar.
One app Vasagar recommends is called Headspace: “It’s very relaxing. It guides you through a very short meditation, which is really all I have time for.”
Hang on to cherished traditions. Have a special occasion to mark? If it can be done in line with your safety protocols, do it. Staff members at Pillsbury’s practice recently celebrated a birthday together over lunch. “We do little things like that to take the stress away,” she says.
Acknowledge staff concerns and lead by example. David M. Krasner, DO, a family medicine physician
with Family Practice Associates in Wilmington, let his staff know that they would be able to stay home on PTO if they were concerned about exposure, “but I will be here, by myself if I have to, seeing patients. That changed the attitude from ‘I’m not sure I want to be here’ to ‘I will be here.’”
Take on a side project. If your schedule allows, find something unrelated to your medical practice that can occupy your mind during your free hours. For Pillsbury, that side project has been running for Insurance
Commissioner of Delaware. “That
has been a self-care strategy for me, because it allows me to focus on things that are health-related but not directly in the spotlight with patients,” she says.
Remember the importance
of maintaining social connections. “Patients miss their normal rituals,” says Vasagar. “But it’s so easy to forget as the caretakers that we need those same things. We’ve been emphasizing using Facetime or Zoom to schedule some social time for friends and family, and make sure we’re allowing that time to help those relationships continue. Using these strategies ourselves creates empathy with our patients too.”
We’re always here.
Helping to supplement your care while improving quality of life.
Our care helps alleviate symptoms, relieve anxiety and gives families confidence. We work around the clock to support patients coping with serious illness in the home and reduce hospital readmissions.
800.838.9800 delawarehospice.org
Del Med J | July/August 2020 | Vol. 92 | No. 4
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