On Saturday 21 May I was fortunate to attend the Victorian Rural Health Conference as a first-time presenter in my recently appointed role as ACRRM’s wellbeing coordinator. Fighting nerves and already humbled by the quality of previous presentations and activities, it was time to give it a go. The audience was made up of educators, supervisors, junior doctors, and medical students who had a real opportunity to explore their current wellbeing experience.  
 
So, we danced, upshifting our energy, and clearing our minds. A simple thing but with the power to lift energy and move into the moment, momentarily energising all of us. It may not have been what people were expecting but it certainly had an effect.  
 
The theme that resonated was the metaphor “doctors as elite athletes”. Attendees were challenged to consider the requirements of rest, recovery, and peak performance both daily and for long periods.  
 
This means self-care and wellbeing must become a personal and group priority to reduce the prevalence of doctors’ ill health and burnout.  
 
To achieve this, we need strategies that can “upshift” or stimulate the sympathetic nervous system and “downshift” to stimulate the para-sympathetic system.  

 

Upshift 

  • Heat 

  • Sauna 

  • Sunlight 

  • Upbeat music 

  • Social connections 

  • Power breathing 

  • Joy and fulfilment 

  • Movement 

  • Nutrition 

  • Elevated heartrate 

Downshift 

  • Lower heartrate 

  • Cold 

  • Non-sleep deep rest 

  • Darkness, dim lights 

  • Chilled music 

  • Relaxed breathing 

  • Quiet reflection 

  • Low cognitive load 

  • Sleep 

  • Yoga and stretching 

  • Fasting 

As you can see, the upbeat music and dance to settle in the presentation in a positive way makes sense. You can use this same practice to energise yourself before and during your workday. 

To finish off the training session, we moved into downshift mode. A guided forest visualisation providing the opportunity to breath and relax. This is a way to wind down after the busyness of your day …… 

Knowing and understanding that self-care and wellbeing need to be a priority is the start of recognising strategies are key to managing the physical, cognitive, and emotional demands of your daily life.  

Self-care promotes peak performance, and “doctors as elite athletes” needs to be your new mantra. 

Paul Townsley is the ACRRM wellness coordinator, supporting registrars, Fellows and staff. He can be contacted at p.townsley@acrrm.org.au