First Do No Harm: Being a Resilient Doctor in the 21st Century

Rediscover the joy of being a great doctor!

"All would gain from reading this timely and thoughtful book from two of the acknowledged intellectual leaders of the profession."--Professor Trisha Greenhalgh OBE, University College London.

Advance praise for First Do No Harm:

"… medical practice can make for a stressful life and most doctors tend to dodge, rather than confront this impact. First Do No Harm starts with the preliminary 'do no harm to your own health as doctor'."--Professor Chris van Weel, President, World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA)

"This is a wonderful resource that will make a real difference to the health and effectiveness of medical practitioners. Finding balance and building resilience are challenges for us all in our busy lives and this is just what the doctor ordered."--Chris Mitchell, President of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners

"The perfect personal prescription for the busy doctor."-- Professor Deborah Saltman, AM, Brighton and Sussex Medical School.

"This inspiring book calls for a more supportive medical culture to assist us to become more resilient doctors."--Dr. Gabrielle Casper, immediate past chair of the Medical Women's International Association

First Do No Harm provides medical practitioners with information and resources on strategies for self care as an essential element of their professional life. It aims to encourage medical practitioners to recognize and discuss the challenges facing them, promote self care as an integral and accepted part of the professional life of medical practitioners, and assists medical practitioners to develop useful strategies for self care.

Rowe and Kidd explore the too often ignored issue of physician self-care and highlight the dangers of ignoring this problem. It is a timely examination of the troubles doctors the world over face regarding their work-life balance and receiving mental health care.

The statistics surrounding physician self harm are alarming and even as early as 1858, physicians in England noticed that a higher suicide rate occured among physicians when compared to the general population. This trend has certainly persisted to the present day, with female doctors at particular risk. This excessive risk of suicide among female doctors illuminates the need to tackle issues of stress and mental health experienced by doctors.

With their extensive medical and professional experience, the authors have created a legacy to be shared with doctors worldwide, at all stages of their careers. In responding to the new challenges of 21st-century medicine and the medical workforce shortage, they advocate for a new meaning of the doctors' ancient creed.

They propose eight essential principles towards being a resilient doctor:

• Make home a sanctuary
• Value strong relationships
• Have an annual preventive health assessment
• Control stress, not people
• Recognize conflict as a opportunity
• Manage bullying and violence assertively
• Make our medical organizations work for us
• Create a legacy

Leanne Rowe, AM, is a general practitioner and runs a medical practice for medical practitioners in Melbourne, Australia. A past Chairman of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, she is currently Deputy Chancellor of Monash University and serves on the boards of beyondblue and Medibank Private.
Michael Kidd, MD, is a general practitioner and the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia. He is a member of the board of the World Organization of Family Doctors (Wonca) and an adviser to the World Health Organization on primary care and mental health.