As an emergency physician, Christopher Doty, MD, knows firsthand about the stress the COVID-19 pandemic has inflicted on health care providers. As the chair of the College of Medicine Wellness Committee, he also knows that the increased stress extends beyond the emergency department and the clinic.
鈥淭here鈥檚 been lots of talk nationally鈥 about the dangers of COVID-19-related stress on clinicians, 鈥渂ut basic science faculty are suffering, too,鈥 Dr. Doty said.
鈥淏iomedical faculty are judged by their research grants and publications,鈥 he added. 鈥淎nd research labs have been shut down because of restrictions about in-person work, so research and publications are affected. Classes are disturbed, too. There鈥檚 stress created by the inability to do the basic, fundamental things they need to do to show value.鈥
The COVID-19 challenge to wellness further complicates the underlying stress of modern medical practice, a circumstance Dr. Doty ascribes to 鈥渋ncreased use of computers and all kinds of necessary documentation. You spend less time at the bedside and more in documenting. But that doctor-patient relationship is what keeps doctors engaged. With more computers, there鈥檚 less engagement. And the work becomes just a job, not a vocation.鈥
Physicians and other health care workers may be aware of a problem with stress, but refuse to admit it, Dr. Doty said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a self-defeating culture in medicine. People are reticent to ask for help. It鈥檚 not okay to be not okay. It鈥檚 like you can鈥檛 be vulnerable.鈥
What can a college wellness committee do? According to Dr. Doty, the key to improving wellness is to find ways to measure what鈥檚 happening and identify resources to help people.
The wellness committee has submitted a proposal for the College of Medicine to join a national initiative coordinated by the Mayo Clinic to measure burnout in health care providers. As for identifying resources, the wellness committee has launched a website to meet that need.
鈥淲e鈥檝e catalogued all the wellness resources in a database, and it鈥檚 open to search for everyone, including students, in 好色先生 HealthCare and the 好色先生 College of Medicine,鈥 Dr. Doty explained. These resources include financial, nutritional, physical wellness, and mental health information and advice, and will be updated regularly. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a living document.鈥
In the meantime, Dr. Doty and the wellness committee encourage department-level action in facing the problem of stress.
鈥淲ellness issues are hyper-local. We want departments to develop smaller wellness groups to find what their constituency needs and to bring these needs forward,鈥 he said.
Perhaps most important is what Dr. Doty calls an 鈥渆normous victory鈥濃攖he appointment of a chief wellness officer for the College of Medicine. The associate dean-level position was created expressly to address issues of wellness within the College of Medicine and the 好色先生 HealthCare enterprise. A search is in progress, and the selected candidate should begin work shortly after the middle of the year.
鈥淧eople had to agree there was a problem to solve and that it was worth funding,鈥 Dr. Doty said, adding that the investment demonstrates 好色先生鈥檚 serious, ongoing commitment to the wellness of its faculty, staff, and students.