Resources and Feedback
Journal Articles
This paper reports the results of a survey of UK Medical School Attitudes to Self-care Training. Whilst there is a definite appetite for and recognition of the need for self-care training there are some conflicting views regarding the importance and primacy of caring for self in order to provide high quality care for others without being detrimentally affected by that work. It exposes a lack of understanding of the importance of personal responsibility for health through daily life choices and the need for education of medical educators regarding the impact self-care can have on personal wellbeing and the consequent impact on patients and the system alike. Self-care sits at the heart of care for all – but it has to be lived and applied to be effective. By Eunice J Minford and Christopher L Manning.
Eunice has presented a number of posters on self-care, some in collaboration with colleagues.
Healthy Doctor, Healthy Patient
This poster won first prize at the College of Medicine Conference in 2013.
Self-care as Surgeons: Walking the Talk
Two surgeons share how they used to live and the changes they made with photos showing the beneficial effects of a self-caring way of life.
Self-care for Medical Students
Poster outlining the proposed self-care module for medical students.
Self-care and New Technology
Use of the Our-cycles app to assist with self-care.
Self-care for Medical Students – restoring love back to medicine
This poster was presented at the AMEE conference on medical education in Milan in 2014.
1) The Body Talks: Empowering Medical Students to be Self-caring by Listening to their own Bodies. Association Medical Humanities Conference London July 2016.
2) The Soulful Foundations of Self-care for Medical Students at the ‘Sowing the Seeds’ Spirituality in Healthcare conference in Dublin June 2015.
Feedback from Self-Care Programmes
Medical students:
- “Before you can provide quality care to another person you must be providing quality care to yourself. This is something we are not taught at medical school but is vitally important.”
- “We can’t be expected to look after patients if we can’t look after ourselves.”
- “Good to become more aware of ourselves and how our actions are affecting our bodies and what we can do to change this.”
- “It offers what medical students need most, a way to care for themselves and not more medical knowledge. Only true self-care can equip us further to become better doctors”
- “I think the module is what a lot of people need. We forget we are human too, this module allows you to reflect on your life and choices. I wouldn’t recommend it to those I think need it most, they are too driven and would see it as a loss of ‘learning medicine’ time – ironic”
- “I found it an invaluable medium to discuss very real and pertinent issues about ourselves and our future careers that we are never given an opportunity to discuss (or admit to feeling) in other attachments.”
The Public:
- “I enjoyed the course immensely – I would recommend it”
- “Really enjoyable course – pitched at the right level”
- “I loved this course and found it very stimulating and beneficial in many ways”
- “Thank you – it has been a wonderful course and I have loved it – totally inspirational”
- “I enjoyed everything and found it all relevant”
- “I thought it was a very balanced and well proportioned for a 6-week course”
- “Thank-you for a truly wonderful course”
Contact
If you are interested in having a self-care program for your business, or group or would like to have a workshop or talk on self-care just contact Eunice via the contact form or telephone on 00 44 (0)7770414758.