Looking after yourself
If you feel physically and mentally well, you will enjoy your work and
will work to the best of your ability, which helps your patients!
Stress is a normal part of everyone’s life. Those in the caring
professions have to cope with stressful situations every day and usually
have high expectations of their abilities. It is acceptable to be
stressed: it is the way in which each of us handles stress that is
important.
If you can identify specific sources of stress in your job, it is worth
approaching your educational supervisor for your SHO post. He or she will
lend a listening ear and may be able to help resolve some of the sources
of stress or help you manage them better.
An alternative is the
GP SHO
Programme Organiser who oversees the ST1/2 part of the Vocational Training
Scheme.
If you require greater confidentiality, contact the Occupational Health
department at the hospital. It can provide contact with the dedicated
staff counselling service.
An independent, confidential source of support is your General
Practitioner, who can signpost you to local services and co-ordinate
support for you. This is particularly important where different services
are involved or sick certification is needed.
Other sources of support include:
- BMA Stress Counselling Service: 0645 200169 (24 hour counsellor
at local rates).
- National Counselling Service for Sick Doctors: 0870 241 0535
(Information, advice and counselling)
- Sick Doctors Trust: 0870 444 5163 (Advice and treatment for alcohol
and drug dependency)
Lifestyle patterns that help handling stress include: exercise, time out
in a different setting or hobby, and talking to others.
If you find stress is becoming a problem, the broad options are sick
leave, counselling and, under supervision, medication. The main thing is
to talk to someone about how you feel.
Personal Finances
Most doctors do not have time or enthusiasm for looking after
themselves financially. There are a few useful tips in the BMJ Career
focus series and the article “Personal financial hygiene for junior
doctors” published 19th April 1997, which are relevant today.
- Involve an accountant and build your relationship with them over
the years
- Do a tax return and claim for tax allowances on equipment and
books
- Arrange direct debits for bills and a higher interest account
for savings
- Look at tax-free saving accounts
- Plan and build on your pension. Make the most of NHS pension
opportunities if they are suitable for you.
- Make a will
- Avoid expensive credit card debts. Pre-arranged loans are
preferable if you wish to run a debt.
- Get good financial advice (ideally independent) on property purchasing
and investments
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