Four months into the COVID-19 pandemic and its seems more real than even a month ago that the world and the way we live our lives will never be the same.
The impacts of the virus are many – both to individuals and the community as a whole. Illness and death, job loss, business closure, change in work practice, quarantine and isolation, home schooling.
Life and work has changed – and we are all dealing with it in different ways. Fear, sadness, anger. Concern for ourselves and concerns for the future.
Health care workers have particular challenges – as individuals they are dealing with the same losses as changes as the general community – with the addition of (for example):
- Feeling unsafe at work due to lack of adequate PPE
- Facing the very real risk they may contract the illness themselves. And while this is associated with fear of dying – there is the secondary fear of spreading it to those they are committed to helping and spreading it to their families
- Needing to provide emotional support to others when their own emotional capacity is strained – and feeling overburdened by the weight of everyone else’s concerns on top of their own
- Needing to rapidly learn and utilise telehealth – which itself may represent a deficiency in health care standards
- Facing the existential crisis that many health care workers are unable to do that which they have been trained for – whether they are immunosuppressed, or patient numbers have suddenly and drastically dropped, or whether their routine work (eg surgery) has been suddenly cancelled
- Exacerbation of pre-existing issues such as burnout and imposter syndrome
This is not to provide a comparison or scale of challenge and suffering – such an activity makes no sense as every person’s experience is unique. But recognising that unique challenges may require unique solutions.
Coaching is well placed to help doctors manage the unique challenges they are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Individual coaching
During COVID-19, doctors are seeking individual coaching for the following issues:
- Support with career direction
- Transition to telehealth
- Managing difficult patients
- Building confidence and managing imposter syndrome.
See more about individual coaching in the resources listed below:
Podcast: Professional coaching in health care
Group coaching
Group coaching is conducted on a pro bono basis as a community service.
Groups meet weekly to discuss issues such as:
- Deliberately looking for the positive
- Connecting to purpose and meaning
- Seeking merits not mistakes
- Gratitude
- Thinking, speaking and doing good
- Finding opportunities in unexpected places
- Building skills in reframing and defusing
Contact me if you would like to organise group coaching
See here for more Coach GP videos
Other resources to support doctors during COVID-19 include:
