Dr. Mike Krasner
Mick Krasner, MD, FACP, co-founder of Mindful Practice and a Professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, is holding a six-part virtual peer discussion support group: Flourishing at Work: Cultivating an Undivided Life in Medicine | Practicing within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This webinar series is offered by Physicians’ Reciprocal Insurers (PRI), an admitted medical malpractice insurer in New York State, for their insured physicians and the broader community of physicians as part of their peer support programs. Physicians who are not currently insured by PRI are welcome and encouraged to participate, and all participation is anonymous.
Learn more about Dr. Krasner and Mindful Practice: Flourishing at Work for Clinicians and Leaders programs.
Flourishing at Work: Cultivating an Undivided Life in Medicine
Practicing within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic
Mondays, 8 to 9 p.m. EDT through June 22, 2020
Overview:
This is a unique, unprecedented and difficult time in medicine. Facing unparalleled challenges on the front lines of health-care delivery in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, with full knowledge of the risks to ourselves as physicians and healthcare providers and to our patients, our families and our communities, our resources are deeply stressed. It is clear now that we are all connected in inextricable ways, and even with the physical isolation and separation required at this time, we remain linked in our mission to be present to this crisis and to provide real help. It is important for physicians and health providers to be able to reflect on this experience together, as professionals, as it unfolds, and to cultivate our inner and interpersonal resources so that we may not only survive but thrive in these uncertain times.
This series of 6 linked webinar sessions builds on the previous series that was facilitated March-May 2020 and is designed to allow for us to deepen the learning of the content areas in the previous program coupled with greater skills development for dialogue, narrative and contemplative practice that will help us on the front lines, and deepen the connections within our professional community so that we may continue to face this uncertain, sometimes dangerous, and life-changing period, all with the goal of being of greater service to our patients and to our communities.
This series is open to those who have attended the first series as well as those who have not attended. The content areas and learning objectives remain the same, however the experience will include more time for reflective practice, interpersonal and group dialogue and less on the didactic content, although all the key points will be covered similarly.
Technical notes: Anyone interested in attending should attend on their computers, preferably with Zoom client (Zoom app) installed. Much less optimal is Zoom on a smart phone. It is not advisable to call in by telephone only, as the webinar includes visuals. A participant may attend any one or all of the sessions. For example, if they can only attend session #5, that is OK.
All sessions are Monday evenings, 8 to 9 p.m. EDT
Session 1: Uncertainty and Compassion in Medicine | May 11
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the definitions of empathy and compassion and how they differ
- Examine the neuroscience of empathy and the various ways it plays out in challenging circumstances
- Explore how uncertainty is a common experience in medicine and working with uncertainty a useful skill
- Experience the usefulness of Insight Dialogue as a way of improving meaning in conversation with patients and colleagues
Session 2: Being with Suffering: Finding Beauty Within Brokenness | May 18
Learning Objectives:
- Describe ‘domains of suffering’
- Gain insight into helpful and unhelpful responses to suffering
- Adopt a wider palette of helpful responses to suffering and ways to apply them in clinical settings
- Identify and practice strategies to cultivate the mental stability and presence needed to respond effectively to patients’ suffering in situations when one might otherwise turn away from it.
Session 3: Working with Health Professional Grief | June 1
Learning Objectives:
- Describe positive and negative effects of promoting empathy and compassion towards patients on the professional and personal lives of clinicians
- Develop ways to promote/enhance compassion both towards one’s patients in clinical care, and towards oneself
- Understand how health care professionals experience grief and loss during clinical care.
- Investigate the impact this grief has on the professional and personal lives of the clinician.
- Explore healthy approaches to working with grief and loss.
Session 4: Building Resilience: Discovering Inner Resources | June 8
Learning Objectives:
- Understand a definition of resilience that addresses the professional experience of clinicians.
- Experience a mindful practice designed to enhance resilience by building awareness that is linked with self-compassion.
- Commit to incorporating one of the mindful practices into everyday work and life.
- Explore healthcare institutional culture and responsibility toward building work environments that promote human flourishing
Session 5: Noticing: The Power of Presence Amidst Chaos and Challenges | June 15
Learning Objectives:
- Experience how perception is conditioned by our own mental models, assumptions, judgments, interpretations and embellishments and awareness of these allows us to set them aside and be more attentive and present in the face of suffering.
- Understand the power of and barriers to attentive observation and critical curiosity in clinical practice
- Understand how formal practice, informal practice, narrative, Appreciative Inquiry and other approaches can enrich self-awareness and mindfulness.
- Explore meaningful experiences in clinical practice and how our attention, intentions and attitudes affect our experiences at work
- Understand how narrative approaches can enrich self-awareness and mindfulness
Session 6: Teamwork: Creating Safety Among Peers and Colleagues | June 22
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the variety of teams that exist within the health care institutions
- Explore teamwork enhancing behaviors and processes
- Examine the causes and impact of ineffective or harmful team behaviors and processes
- Develop ways to promote healthy “teamfulness”
To receive the Zoom link to access these free peer-support webinars, please fill out your email here. Please check your spam/junk folder if you do not receive an automated reply with the link within 5 minutes.
