Shaping Your Career to Maximize Personal Satisfaction in the Practice of Oncology

Tait Shanafelt, Harold Chung, Heather White, Laurie Jean Lyckholm

From the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology, Rochester, MN; Department of Hematology/Oncology & Palliative Care, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond, VA; and Physicians East Hematology Oncology, Greenville, NC. Address reprint requests to Tait Shanafelt, MD, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St, SW, Rochester, MN 55905; e-mail: Shanafelt.tait@mayo.edu

The practice of oncology can be a source of both great satisfaction and great stress. Although many oncologists experience burnout, depression, and dissatisfaction with work, others experience tremendous career satisfaction and achieve a high overall quality of life. Identifying professional goals, optimizing career fit, identifying and managing stressors specific to practice type, and achieving the optimal personal worklife balance can increase the likelihood of individual oncologists' achieving personal and professional satisfaction. In this article, we will explore how oncologists can accomplish these tasks and will examine several pervasive professional myths that often distort perspective. The article concludes in a conversation with four oncologists regarding what they find most meaningful about their work, how they manage career-specific stressors, and how they achieve balance between their personal and professional lives. Authors' disclosures of potential conflicts of interest and author contributions are found at the end of this article.
Sumber : http://jco.ascopubs.org/cgi/content/abstract/24/24/4020

Healthy Approaches to Physician Stress

Timothy E. Quill, MD; Penelope R. Williamson, ScD Arch Intern Med. 1990;150(9):1857-1861.

Abstract

Many studies demonstrate that physicians in training and in practice experience considerable distress, with a high incidence of dysfunction and dissatisfaction. Little is known about the strategies employed by practicing physicians who find enjoyment and satisfaction in their work. We conducted an openended survey about how a group of physicians cope with common dilemmas they face today such as mistakes, death, self-care,

uncertainty, patient demands, and time demands. We describe the techniques employed by those who felt they were effectively coping. Responses were organized into five general requirements for personal growth: (1) self-awareness, (2) sharing of feelings and responsibilities, (3) self-care, (4) developing a personal philosophy, and (5) nontraditional coping skills of reframing and limit setting. General descriptions of these requirements are followed by tables of specific examples from the survey. The application of these strategies to the dilemmas cited above are presented. These descriptive findings emphasize the need for training programs and governing bodies to incorporate strategies for physicians' personal growth into their priorities. The five basic areas described herein can provide a framework for formal attention to physicians' personal development. (Arch Intern Med. 1990;150:1857-1861)

Author Affiliations

From The Genesee Hospital and Strong Memorial Hospital, University of Rochester (NY) School of Medicine and Dentistry (Dr Quill); The Johns Hopkins University and Task Force on the Doctor and Patient, Society of General Internal Medicine, Baltimore, Md (Dr Williamson).

Footnotes

Accepted for publication March 20,1990. Reprint requests to the Department of Medicine, The Genesee Hospital, 224 Alexander St, Rochester, NY 14607 (Dr Quill).

Sumber http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/150/9/1857

Growth in the Shadow of War: The Case of Social Workers and Nurses Working in a Shared War Reality
Rachel Lev-Wiesel, Hadass Goldblatt, Zvi Eisikovits and Hanna Admi

Rachel Lev-Wiesel, PhD., is a professor at the School of Social Work, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, University of Haifa, Israel. Professor Lev-Wiesel main research areas are trauma, domestic violence, coping and posttraumatic growth. She serves as the Chairperson of the Israeli Association for Social and Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse.

Correspondence to Rachel Lev-Wiesel, Ph.D., School of Social Work, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel. Email: rlev@univ.haifa.ac.il

Abstract
This study aimed to assess post-traumatic stress symptoms and vicarious traumatization (VT) versus post-traumatic growth (PTG) among Israeli practitioners who shared war-related reality with their clients during the Second LebanonIsrael war (2006). In addition, the contribution of potency (one's personal resource) and the role of peri-traumatic dissociation (the emotional detachment activated during or immediately after a traumatic event) were examined. Two months after the war, a convenience sample of 204 practitioners (seventy-six nurses and 128 social workers), all residents and employees in the Haifa area, were administered a self-report questionnaire. Findings showed that nurses had higher post-traumatic growth (PTG) compared with social workers. Personal resource (potency) was found to contribute to the reduction of vicarious traumatization (VT), whereas peri-traumatic dissociation was found to contribute to both PTG and VT in the group of social workers. Keywords: Post-traumatic growth, vicarious traumatization, peri-traumatic dissociation, shared war reality, post-traumatic stress symptoms, trauma, practitioners, resilience

Sumber : http://bjsw.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/39/6/1154

The effect of postgraduate conferences on careers. Jo Postgrad University of Britain Area: Social Paper Presentation

The role of conferences aimed specifically at postgraduates is controversial; whilst some researchers claim they encourage diversity of research (Bright & Smart, 2004), others claim they are little more than social events (Biere & Vin, 2003). This study longitudinally investigated the career outcomes of researchers attending a PsyPAG annual conference, comparing those whose primary motivation for attendance was professional, those for whom it was social, and a control group who did not attend. The 180 psychology postgraduates, matched on age, gender and IQ, completed a questionnaire both prior to the conference, and at four subsequent time points. It was found that those who attended the conference were significantly more highly paid five years

later, and had greater job satisfaction, than those who did not attend. There were no significant differences in these outcomes between those motivated by professional or social aspects. Those who presented at the conference reported the highest levels of satisfaction; structural equation modeling indicates the friendly and supportive atmosphere contributed significantly. It is concluded that attendance at a postgraduate conference positively correlates with successful career indicators.
Sumber : http://psynet.ex.ac.uk:8200/research/pgconf2007/example_abstract