Bundaberg Hospital doctors get behind Crazy Socks for Docs.
Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service (WBHHS) is proudly supporting "Crazy Socks 4 Docs Day" which encourages doctors to look after their mental health.
Initiated in Australia, "Crazy Socks 4 Docs Day" is held on June 2 each year and raises awareness of the mental health struggles faced by doctors and other healthcare professionals.
WBHHS medical education and wellbeing principal house officer Dr Emma Hodge said it was an important cause which doctors across Wide Bay were getting behind.
“Our WBHHS doctor community is showing its support for mental wellbeing and solidarity with our colleagues by wearing their craziest socks on Friday,” Dr Hodge said.
“We are handing out socks to our junior doctors this week, so they can wear them on Friday and promote this important cause."
“On the day we will also be hosting lunch events at Hervey Bay and Bundaberg thanks to the sponsorship of the University of Queensland Regional Training Hub - which will be an opportunity for doctors to speak about mental health and how we can support our own and our colleagues’ wellbeing.”
Each year, the Australian Medical Association conducts a national survey of doctors-in-training and since the pandemic this has seen a rise in rates of clinician burnout to 60% among those doctors who respond. Reasons for this include excessive workload, overtime and fatigue. Burnout can affect doctors at any stage of their career and is a risk factor for psychological stress in the medical profession.
WBHHS Chief Executive Debbie Carroll said supporting the Crazy Socks for Docs initiative was part of an overall effort to nurture its workforce, which included the appointment of Dr Hodge as one of the first medical education and wellbeing positions in Queensland.
“The wellbeing of our workforce is essential to its long-term sustainability - which is why WBHHS created a medical education and wellbeing position,” Ms Carroll said.
“By having a fellow doctor filling this role, our medical workforce is supported by someone who understands their work environment and the pressures involved with the role. It provides them with a peer to encourage and support them, and to advocate on their behalf.”
Dr Hodge added that “Crazy Socks for Docs Day” built on and reaffirmed WBHHS’ commitment to the wellbeing of its staff.
“In my job I have the privilege of working with my fellow doctors to integrate wellbeing into our everyday work and medical education,” Dr Hodge said.
"As a junior doctor I found the need to prioritise patient care and the demands of shift work made it difficult to dedicate time to look after your own wellbeing."
"This inspired me to work in this role which has a positive impact on the challenges in the hospital system and events like today are important reminders for doctors to take care of their own health so they can provide the best possible care to patients."
“WBHHS is also uniquely positioned in its approach to the wellbeing of its medical team thanks to the recently implemented Regional Medical Pathway which has workforce nurturing as central in its end-to-end training.
“That approach is embedding wellbeing into the practice of future doctors from the very start of the training pathway and is a positive step for the future mental health of the medical community.”