P.A.C.E. Yourself A Practice Honoring 

Healthcare Workers

P.A.C.E. Yourself A Practice Honoring Healthcare Workers

P.A.C.E. Yourself: A Practice Honoring Healthcare Workers 👶

When the pandemic broke out in early 2020, the population was divided into two groups: one group of basic workers who were required to work actively on the front line, and the other group who were required to stay indoors and work from home. Health professionals mainly fall into the first category. The pandemic is still a challenging time for everyone, but perhaps even more so for medical staff. 

The way I understand these current healthcare challenges is based on my experience as a doctor, especially my expertise in mindfulness and compassion science. And emotional intelligence training. After experiencing burnout on the front lines, I discovered the therapeutic potential of mindfulness and self-compassion exercises, and in doing so, realized the necessity of these exercises in medicine. 

This led to the creation of the Mindful Medics program: Healthcare starts with self-care programs. Although I have been committed to optimizing the health and well-being of healthcare workers through Mindful Medics for the past five years, during the COVID crisis, I paid more attention to supporting those in the workforce, and I observed and dealt with a series of painful Emotional changes have been experienced by people engaged in health work during this period.

Withstanding the emotional storm of COVID: 😷

At the beginning of the pandemic, despite the shortage of personal protective equipment, employees were still working hard, which created potential fears for their own and their colleagues; safety. Some people decide to move from their homes to hotels and continue to serve the people while protecting their families. In the overcrowded hospital wards, the rationing of vital equipment such as ventilators, and the pain of losing patients and/or colleagues, healthcare professionals have to respond quickly to this new virus.

The employees I work with report that in the hours before the shift, they feel intense anticipation anxiety. A doctor said that he has been very nervous, has not been able to relax, and cannot sleep.

In the early stages, many doctors and nurses understood that the collective surge in adrenaline took advantage of the intrinsic motivation of healthcare professionals to serve. But as we are very clear, the state of stress allows us to play our best role only in the brief and violent outbreaks. A few months after the pandemic, it is clear that COVID will not go away. The employees I work with report that in the hours before the shift, they feel intense anticipation anxiety. A doctor said that he has been very nervous, has been unable to relax, and can not sleep. For many people, even in their spare time, there is no real rest or recovery. I have worked as an emergency doctor before, and I know directly that even under the best of circumstances, downtime and work interruptions are an indispensable part of clinical efficacy.

😷 As the pandemic progresses, people not only feel anxious and exhausted but also worry about putting family and friends at risk. An intensive care nurse expressed guilt for having to leave her children again to go to the night shift. She knew well that when she returned home to hug them, she might put them at risk of contracting the virus. . Even if it doesn’t work, the guilt continues. Many clinical staff has to take time to isolate themselves from symptoms. In the words of a medical staff member, they feel sad that they are not there to support teams at their limits.

 Limited travel measures and corridors will be opened in mid-2020, and many people outside the medical industry have felt the hope that the situation will begin to improve, even in hospitals and clinics. In fact, this is far from the truth. Much medical staff who were previously reassigned to the COVID ward once again encountered delays, missed operations, missed outpatient appointments, and carefully examined patient complications for those patients whose diagnosis or treatment of problems not related to COVID have been delayed a few months ago management. 

In all this context, the promise of vaccines has put additional pressure on health managers, who need to create enough capacity to inject the entire population in a safe and organized manner.

 Just as health workers began to consider the possibility of “maybe we will get a proper rest soon,” many countries began to see the success of a positive new variant of COVID😷. Many workers have been transferred to " black shifts", which means their annual leave has been canceled in an attempt to obtain sufficient ground coverage to deal with another wave of infections.

💕Prioritizing Provider Well-Being💕

P.A.C.E. Yourself A Practice Honoring Healthcare Workers

The medical staff has opened up this turbulent path during the COVID😷 storm, doing their best to ensure the safety of patients, making this even more obvious even when there are few resources to protect us. This is already true: a pandemic even before the outbreak. , The health and well-being of healthcare professionals is neglected. Our growth period focused on patient-centered care. Although this is very important, I believe this model of care is incomplete. Employee well-being is the key to employee involvement, which in turn can optimize the health system’s capacity to meet the needs and challenges they face in 2021 and beyond. In order for the healthcare environment to be sustainable and consistent in the quality of care and services provided, it must shift to the patient and employee-centered care.

The changes that mindfulness and self-compassion have brought to my life and many other providers have reaffirmed my belief and mission that healthcare begins with self-care.

During my years of training health care workers in mindfulness 😃and self-compassion practices through Mindful Medics, I have witnessed the positive impact of mindfulness and compassion practices on provider stress levels. Even in a harsh and fast-developing environment, mindfulness practice can help protect us from burnout and foster greater flexibility, teamwork, and efficiency in the workplace. The changes that mindfulness and self-compassion have brought to my life and many other providers have reaffirmed my belief and mission that healthcare begins with self-care.

Take Time for Self-Care with the P.A.C.E. Yourself Practice👌

A.Permission:

In particular, if you are a health care provider, I would first take a moment to admit that we are all safer because of the work you do, and in the meantime, I express my deep respect for your service to humans. Secondly, I would like to invite you to take a moment to prioritize your self-care. I hope P.A.C.E. Your own practice💛 will help you do this.

B. Awareness and Anchor: 

Then bring your consciousness into the experience of the moment. Pay attention to stiff or tense parts of the body. Many of you wear personal protective equipment during shifts, which may leave some residual contractions in your body. Observe any of your physical sensations, as well as your thoughts and thinking patterns here and now. If this is unpleasant, I ask you to focus on breathing and take a deep breath while maintaining your experience.

C. Compassion: 

Now that you are aware of your current physical and mental state, consider turning to yourself gently💛. What can you do now to offer yourself kindness, just as you offer kindness to a friend or colleague who worked tirelessly as a healthcare professional during the pandemic? Can you give me a hug and calm down? If you want, you can put your hands on top of your heart and feel the care flowing from your fingertips. When you do this, can you say a few words of kindness or encouragement to yourself?

D. Envision: 

When you are ready to do this, consider entering the next moment and all future moments with happiness, seeing and feeling that you have energy and vitality, exploring for as long as possible, and observing if there is. Changes in your mental and/or physical state? Remember, health is an ongoing exploration. We can always try and test the moment of self-care. When you are ready to exit the Envision phase, please consider what can be inherited from this P.A.C.E. Practice all day.💚

👉Follow a guided P.A.C.E. Yourself practice recorded by Dr. Reena Kotecha here.