Apr 15, 2008

HEALTH MATTERS: Doctor helps others regain an enthusiasm for their work

By LJ Anderson / Daily News Columnist

Even the most dedicated professional may have trouble sustaining enthusiasm for work in the face of ongoing demands. Those in the health professions not only deal with a fast and unrelenting pace, but with responsibility for the very lives of their patients. The needs of patients seem to come first with those of the caregiver running a distant second, but the result of that imbalance may require a periodic timeout. To help restore a sense of excitement, it helps to take stock of one's life purpose, connect with others who face similar challenges, and if necessary, make changes.

Physician Linda Hawes Clever, MD, an internist and occupational health specialist, founded RENEW (www.renewnow.org) in 1998, a nonprofit organization designed to help people regain their enthusiasm and purpose in the workplace and at home. Clever is also chief of occupational health at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco.

Q: How would you describe many of the health professionals that you work with?

A: They are devoted, smart and well-educated, care deeply about what they're doing, and a fair number of them are exhausted and concerned about how best to take care of patients with fewer resources. And, every now and then, they wonder "What about me?" You can get exhausted doing good and because I am a physician, I looked around and saw the drained and haunted looks. These are people committed to caring for others who want to be excellent, stay on the top of the wave, and have a life full of meaning and joy.

More than a decade ago, all the wheels came off my life. I lost two jobs, my mother died, our house was burglarized, my father died and my husband was diagnosed with prostate cancer - all within 18 months. Once I was able to raise my head from the ground, it gave me an opportunity to look around at my colleagues who were also looking pretty peaked. I've always been interested in how lives, health and work interact, and since there will always be setbacks in our lives, I saw this additional dimension of needing to be refreshed, and regain purpose, creativity, and excitement about moving ahead.
Q: What do you recommend to people to regain enthusiasm?
A: This experience of diminished capacity - of feeling that we juggle too many balls - can happen to anyone. We are taught to have high goals and to sacrifice, but taking care of ourselves is not selfish. It is self-preservation so we can accomplish what we want to accomplish. But how do we stay on top of relentless pressure and change and still have pleasure? We recommend that people first reconnect with personal and professional values. Values are the bases of our meaning and joy, and once we are aware of them, we can ask, for example, "Am I spending as much time as I want to being creative or with family and friends?" Step two is reflecting - how did I get here? How does it feel? Step three is to have conversations - we don't have many important conversations with people who are near and dear to us. RENEW wants to relaunch the idea of conversations that bring people together. The last step is to go into the planning and action mode, and make changes if they are needed. One fellow wrote that he now leaves the office at 6 p.m., instead of 8 p.m., and added "Thanks for the kick in the butt." A physician wrote that "I started to remember what I loved about medicine, going into a room with a patient, shutting the door and taking care of the patient with the patient. Once I realized that, I got off some committees and I did one more thing - I started thinking of something wonderful that happens every day. I'm a new man."
Q: What are the pressures unique to practicing medicine and nursing?

A: In the health world, what is different is the pressure of contending with death and dying. It doesn't get any more basic or existential than that. We're involved with all of the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual elements of our patients. The physical part - laying hands on people who are suffering and sometimes doing painful procedures, plus being aware of anxiety, depression and spiritual elements of facing death for patients and families - is very, very big. We are privileged to be involved in the parade of life, but we also need to keep functioning, be fulfilled, and have a life ourselves.

Q: Are many unaware that they have lost their enthusiasm or perspective?

A: I think people have an inkling but may not be fully aware of their loss of perspective and joy. We all have an enormous capacity for keeping on, and often what we don't know is that putting our nose to a perpetual grindstone saps our enthusiasm and ability to generate new ideas and solve problems. Many of us haven't taken the step from awareness, reflection and conversation to doing something about it. With a small investment in ourselves, we can feel refreshed, invigorated and laugh again. We have a Renew-o-Meter in which we ask, "When was the last time that you laughed, encouraged somebody, or took a risk?" What we're doing is trying to sustain the sustainers. The sustainers are the ones who are out there doing work on the front lines of fields such as health and teaching. When sustainers get exhausted, our whole society is diminished.


LJ Anderson writes on health matters every Tuesday. She can be reached at lj.anderson@yahoo.com.