Resilience

Resilience is the capacity to respond to stress in a healthy way to achieve goals at a minimal physical and psychological cost. It relates to the ability to bounce back after challenges while also becoming stronger.

Individual Resilience
There are a variety of factors that can improve and strengthen individual resilience. Examples of these include the following:

• Maintaining adequate sleep, nutrition, and exercise
• Finding a sanctuary outside of medicine (including hobbies)
• Addressing spirituality
• Addressing physical, emotional, and/or substance abuse issues
• Seeking professional counseling and mental health care

Here are some practical everyday tips to enhance individual resilience in medical practice:

• Rediscover the reason(s) for going into healthcare
• Record at least one thing you are grateful for at the end of each workday
• Embrace the positive elements of an electronic health record and/or billing service
• Focus on the psychosocial aspects of patients and support staff
• Have more patience in daily workflow activities
• Delegate nonclinical workload tasks
• Take breaks during the workday, including breaks from electronic devices
• Meet with members of the healthcare team regularly to discuss and resolve potentially stressful situations
• Maintain a sense of humor

References and Additional Resources:
American Medical Association STEPS Forward Program

Bingemann T, Khan D, Markovics S, Weinstein A, Sharma H. Feeling burned out? Half of us are. The urgent need to address provider health and wellness in allergy and immunology. J Allergy Clin Immunol: In Pract 2017; 5:1549-50.

Nanda A, Wasan A, Sussman J. Provider health and wellness. J Allergy Clin Immunol: In Pract 2017; 5:1543-8.

Nedrow A, Steckler N, Hardman J. Physician resilience and burnout: Can you make the switch? Fam Pract Manag 2013; 20: 25-30.