Flashback Friday: Building Resiliency Through Writing

<p><strong>Host:</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">   </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Alex Kaminsky, MD PGY-3<br /> UCSF-Fresno (</span><span style= "font-weight: 400;">@Alex_KamskyEM)</span></p> <p><strong>Guest:</strong><span style= "font-weight: 400;"> </span><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Stephanie Benjamin, MD (@</span><span style= "font-weight: 400;">StephBenjaminMD)<br /></span><span style= "font-weight: 400;">EMS/Disaster Fellow, UC-Davis<br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Author:</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">“Love, Sanity, or Medical School”</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">-</span> <a href= "https://www.thirdyear.org/"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">https://www.thirdyear.org/</span></a></p> <p><strong>Overview: </strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In this episode Dr. Kaminsky sits down with veteran journal writer, award winning author, lecturer and current EMS/disaster fellow Dr. Stephanie Benjamin to discuss tangible ways to combat burnout: beyond the buzzwords and by actively building resiliency via personal or medical journaling. Dr. Benjamin discusses the strong medical origins to journaling, her own path and experiences into writing, the evidence-based physical and mental benefits of writing and how residents can delve into combating burn-out in a meaningful and realistic way. What we do is HARD. What we see is difficult. We need outlets to cognitively offload and unpack. Journaling is one way to actively (or passively) practice mindfulness outside of meditation and yoga.</span></p> <p><strong>Key Points:</strong></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style= "font-weight: 400;"> Journaling has deep roots in medicine. From Queen Victoria’s personal physician, to modern day</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Medical culture and education have deep roots in separating emotion from patient interactions and experiences. Journaling and having meaningful and purposeful reflection go against the way we are t