How residents are beating burnout with help from the theatre

Residents want work-life balance, but finding time to preserve your own wellness while successfully caring for your patients requires self-awareness and boundaries, two things many residents struggle to establish amid pressures in training. That’s why one physician created a play as a wellness solution that helps residents tackle tough conversations about balancing family, personal identity and practice.  When Bill Thomas (right), MD, sat down to pen the first scene of his play, a blaring trumpet is all that came to mind. He planned to start the play with a brassy trill but didn’t know what would come next. He imagined how one horn would help him capture the physician who hasn’t spoken to his spouse in days, the resident who stopped playing cello or the intern dreaming of a full night’s sleep. He knew he wanted to write an honest play that followed familiar physician stories and a theatrical format any medical team could perform. After a year of rewrites, what started as a looping sound boomed into Play What’s Not There, a one-act play exploring honest life challenges physicians confront while juggling practice, self-fulfillment and family. AMA Wire® spoke to Dr. Thomas about the play and how the arts can help young physicians discover new ways to boost wellness. Plus a bonus: AMA Wire readers can host their own free production of the show. Read on for details. AMA Wire: What prompted you to create Play What’s Not There? Dr. Thomas: It started after ...
Source: AMA Wire - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Source Type: news