Episode 8: When the Going Gets Tough — Recalibrate — Les Schwab, MD

Les and Marie take stock of their first 6 conversations with well-being experts, and they reflect on Marie’s ability to effectively incorporate the torrent of new information, skills and techniques into the everyday flow of a busy life at work and home.  Marie acknowledges how difficult it is to translate knowledge into habit formation, and they discuss the importance of accountability, consistency and practice, all of which support positive behavior change. In a demonstration of mentorship and coaching, Les inspires Marie to attempt to make one consistent positive change, and to monitor her own progress just as she would monitor the progress of a patient. He models a client-centered, positive psychology approach that allows for experimentation and learning, alleviating the kind of self-criticism and pressure that many physicians inflict upon themselves.  Les helps Marie identify a potentially helpful accountability partner at work. Les and Marie acknowledge that because physician burnout is a byproduct of factors beyond the control of individual physicians, many future MedPEP episodes will focus on interventions that are team-based, organizational or systemic. As an individual who aspires to become more empowered and personally effective, Marie is interested in applying what she is learning at the level of her team, work-group and organization.