Understanding the Importance of Self-Care and Mental Health

Purpose: In this review, we use available literature and data to describe the current understanding of self-care in medical training and practice, discuss its relationship to academic performance, and review the landscape of existing self-care programs within academic surgery. Practical suggestions on how to best maintain mental health and resilience throughout surgical residency and a surgical career will be provided. Summary: Given the rigorous nature of academic surgery, it is crucial to anticipate stress and its overwhelming effects. Simultaneously, within medicine, burnout is becoming increasingly recognized as a growing workplace hazard that has negative impacts on physicians, patients, and the healthcare economy. While workplace systems and culture play a role in both stress and burnout, emerging evidence shows that individual actions and interventions are also important factors. Recent literature reveals that adopting self-care practices extends beyond stress reduction, impacting overall quality of life, career trajectory, and resilience. Therefore, learning to prioritize one’s well-being, both in theory and in individual practice, is essential for success in academic surgery. Self-care in medical training and practice is now recognized as a necessary and essential skill. Research involving current medical students, residents and practicing physicians has demonstrated that self-care is an integral part of healthy work-life balance, mitigating the repercussions of burnout which include reduced career longevity, clinical performance, and work satisfaction. Many institutions have made efforts to address these issues with initiatives that focus primarily on physical health (free gym access or increased access to healthy food) and social well-being (happy hours or outings). However, current offerings have been minimally effective to date, and few evidence-based self-care programs exist for residents or attendings. Some interventions, such as facilitated mentorship and peer support, are institutionally supported with growing evidence of benefit and increasing uptake. Nevertheless, individuals preparing for success in today’s academic landscape are wise to have a personal plan of self-care that includes (1) consistent basics like exercise, sleep, and healthy food; (2) periodic boosters like social contact outside of work if possible; and (3) prophylactic steps such as cognitive skills training, outside mental health support, and trusted confidantes. Practical suggestions are explored throughout this chapter. In summary, self-care practices are critical and require individual commitment and preparation, ideally against a back-drop of academic program support and healthy organizational culture.