SPECIAL FEATURE
DOCTORS ’ MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES
Emergency numbers
Lifeline : 13 11 14 This is a 24-hour national hotline for people experiencing suicidal ideation , anxiety , depression , abuse , trauma or personal crisis .
Suicide Call Back Service : 1300 659 456
This 24-hour , 7-day-a-week service provides free counselling for anyone affected by suicide .
Beyondblue Support Service : 1300 22 4636
A 24 / 7 support service offered by mental health professionals .
Confidential advice
Doctors ’ Health Advisory Service
All state and territory services have a special helpline for calls relating to stress , mental illness , drug and alcohol problems , or personal and financial difficulties . The service guarantees privacy and confidentiality . The Medical Board of Australia funds these services , but the AMA administers the programs through its subsidiary company , Doctors ’ Health Services , to keep them at arms length from regulators .
The services also offer GPs training for treating colleagues . Workshops can be found at the website : www . drs4drs . com . au
NSW : 02 9437 6552
ACT : 02 9437 6552
NT : 08 8366 0250 Queensland : 07 3833 4352
SA : 08 8366 0250
Tasmania : 03 9495 6011
Victoria : 03 9495 6011 WA : 08 9321 3098
Awareness campaigns
Doctors Are Humans
This new blog is run by doctors in training . It wants to encourage doctors and medical students to share their struggles and triumphs in medicine to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health . The blog also aims to come up with ideas to improve workplace culture and safe hours . doctorsarehuman . wordpress . com
BPT-OK Program
The pilot program is being run at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney . It aims to teach doctor-trainees to recognise , prevent and manage stress . The program will include mentorship and workshops covering stress management , meditation and healthy exam preparation . http :// bit . ly / 2rP5FvY
Doctors ’ Mental Health Program
The mental health charity Beyondblue ’ s program aims to raise awareness of the issues affecting the mental health of doctors and medical students . It is currently working on a blueprint for change to help healthcare providers identify and reduce the barriers to help-seeking and to better protect the mental health of their employees . http :// bit . ly / 2dvmN7m
‘ Bullying , exam stress , burn-out . I still struggle to get up every day ’
THE FIGHTER
Dr Kate Johnson is a senior registrar in Sydney , NSW . In response to a recent spate of physician suicides , she set up the ‘ Doctors Are Human ’ website with three other doctors . It offers doctors a public space to share their experiences , and gain support and inspiration .
IT is hard for me to tell this story . A voice in me says , ‘ no one cares ’, ‘ what would you know anyway ?’ and ‘ you have no right to enter this discussion .’
I ’ m afraid of inciting personal criticism for my flaws and mistakes , of people recognising me , of being exposed as a failure and blacklisted by potential employers .
However , I have decided to share my story because I think this is important .
I want to open up the dialogue to people who are struggling in silence , because arguably , these are the people we need to listen to if things are to change .
To introduce myself , I am a female doctor , who works in Sydney , but did not grow up here . As a result , my current social network consists entirely of associates and a few friends , who I see infrequently .
There is no one to whom I tell my secrets , except my psychologist . Through my psychologist , I have become conscious of how my negative cognitive style and negative core beliefs influence my experiences .
I am also socially anxious and introverted . I struggle with confidence and am not a natural leader . So , stepping up to work as a registrar presented a challenge in itself , and these factors certainly coloured the experiences that follow .
I started as a registrar in 2015 , as a green and optimistic PGY3 . My first term was in a tertiary centre and went well . I hadn ’ t a clue what I was doing , but I felt supported .
In the second term , however , I was seconded to a rural centre and the story was very different .
Three days into the term , one of the trainees had to take time off due to family illness , throwing the roster into chaos .
It changed five times during the 13 weeks and I ended up with a disproportionate number of nights and a run of 11 long days , with little support from the consultants .
Needless to say , I remember reaching shift 8 or 9 in an emotionally labile state . My response to a question about a catheter was to burst into tears !
More serious incidents took place , too . Midway through the term , I tried to advance a nasogastric tube and perforated a patient ’ s diaphragm .
Another weekend , a patient died on my shift due to delayed identification of hypoglycaemia . Then , being tired after a night shift , I chose an unsatisfactory article for journal club .
All in all , I really wasn ’ t a favourite . A particular consultant felt so anyway when he decided to call the intern for all communications , not me . Then , when the intern broke down , I made the mistake of confronting him about it . This led to various meetings , discussing my lack of competence .
The final straw — with a 30-patient list — was that I was struggling to teach my JMO prioritisation skills and because of a delayed consult , another consultant started complaining about my competence .
My end-of-term feedback was ; if you don ’ t improve dramatically , you should seek a new career .
Shift-work meant I barely saw the other registrars . I remember feeling very isolated out there , and experienced none of those fables where friendly consultants invite you to their homes for dinner or take you to see their farm .
I coped , as always , by exercising , listening to audiobooks , retail therapy and ranting at my friends over text .
But I felt overwhelmed , hopeless and trapped .
I didn ’ t see any future worth having , yet I didn ’ t want to burden my hard-working parents with grief should I die .
‘ I WANT TO OPEN UP THE DIALOGUE TO PEOPLE WHO ARE STRUGGLING IN SILENCE .’
Instead I took several promethazine so I could sleep for a while , and forget .
When I confided in my more senior registrar friends , they nodded knowingly ; at least one term like this was to be expected .
I didn ’ t seek help from the program director till quite late in the term . I didn ’ t trust them and I was ashamed . And when I did , I received no substantive support .
To be fair , the supervisors at my home hospital were kind people , who were more overworked , burnt out and exhausted than me , and that is probably a large part of the problem .
Further challenges awaited me in the following year . Bullying . Exam stress . Burn out . I still struggle to get up everyday , to see a future , but I am learning to question my pervasive negativity and to seek opportunities , despite potential failure .
I hope by sharing this story I am able to help others who feel alone and unsupported . I also hope that by inspiring others to do the same , we might encourage those in power to embrace the multiplicity of reasons why suicide happens ( both individual and systematic ) instead of looking to a list of two or three tick-box solutions before moving on .
Getting rid of mandatory reporting and putting an exercise program in place is not enough .
Perhaps this way , THIS time , we will achieve change .
PHOTO : Steve Christo
4 | Australian Doctor | 2 June 2017 www . australiandoctor . com . au