AMA (NSW) President: stay home, save lives this Easter
April 9, 2020
A Turbulent Start to 2020
April 9, 2020
PRESIDENT’S WORD
Drought, bushfires, coronavirus – while medical professionals have gone above and beyond during these crises, it’s important to mind your own mental health.
If bad things come in threes, then perhaps NSW is due for a reprieve. With no substantial rain since mid-2017, NSW was already in a state of major drought heading into the 2019 bushfire season. The fires have been ongoing since October 2019, burning at least 7.7m hectares in all states and territories, excluding tropical savannah in northern parts of Australia (according to The Guardian, as reported on 24 January).
The unprecedented fires of 2019/2020 have killed at least 32 people and destroyed 2000 homes in NSW, Victoria and South Australia.
The most recent threat to humans, of course, has been the spread of coronavirus.
For doctors on the front lines, particularly those in drought and bushfire affected communities, the compounding effect of disaster after disaster is demoralising.
General practitioners report that in the days, weeks and months following these crises, consultations with patients often turn into counselling sessions.
For patients who’ve lost loved ones, homes, possessions or livelihoods, or those that feared for their safety as flames came close, there can be huge and long-lasting mental health impacts.
For medical professionals, the stress associated with these events can be heightened – not only are they dealing with significant numbers of patients who have been through traumatic experiences, but they have their own story to tell.
Ongoing exposure to patient experiences of trauma can result in vicarious trauma for medical professionals. While living through similar situations can make you more empathic to patients, it’s important to recognise that because you have experienced trauma, it makes you more at risk of being affected by the trauma of others.
There are several signs practitioners should be aware of, including feelings of anger, rage and sadness about patient’s experience. Other signs to watch for are:
- experiencing feelings of self-doubt
- preoccupied with thoughts of patients out of clinic hours
- loss of hope, cynicism, pessimism
- Feelings of detachment, distancing
- Overextending yourself to help patients outside of your role
If you are experiencing these symptoms, there are several coping strategies you can employ. These include engaging in self-care and wellbeing activities, looking after your own physical health, maintaining a work-life balance, taking breaks and seeking support.
One of the most important things you can do is to take yourself completely away from the practice, even for a day, to put some emotional and physical distance from the current situation.
And lastly, there are several resources available to support you. The NSW Rural Doctors Network offers support through its #RuralHealthTogether initiative, providing rural health professionals with self-care support and access to mental health-related information (ruralhealthtogether.info). In addition, the Medical Benevolent Association of NSW provides confidential counselling and financial assistance at no cost during crisis, illness, impairment, accident, loss and grief to support medical professionals. The MBA NSW can be reached on 02 9987 0504 and via email: support@mbansw.org.au.