The Mind Full Medic Podcast

Leading organisational change in clinician wellbeing with Dr Joanna Sinclair.

July 05, 2022 Season 3 Episode 6
The Mind Full Medic Podcast
Leading organisational change in clinician wellbeing with Dr Joanna Sinclair.
Show Notes

  Welcome back to S3 E6.  Returning further inspired, motivated and equipped with more knowledge, tools and specific training from my trip to California for Stanford's Chief Wellness Officer Course last month, I am delighted to speak to Dr Joanna Sinclair, a clinician leading the change and charge in organisational wellbeing in healthcare on this side of the planet.
        Dr Sinclair is an Anaesthetist living and working in New Zealand with a career-long interest in doctors’ health and wellbeing. Since early 2020 she has been the Senior Medical Officer Wellbeing Lead at Counties Manukau Health, working with the Organisational Development Team, and is the hospital lead for the Health Roundtable Workforce Wellbeing Improvement Group. She works to improve the wellbeing of healthcare workers at an organisational level, and has been instrumental in bringing Schwartz Rounds to her organisation to further support staff and promote compassion in healthcare.   Jo has undertaken additional training in coaching and mentoring, critical incident stress management, and communication. She is co-chair of the ANZCA Wellbeing Special Interest Group.
      In this conversation we discuss why investing her time and energy in improving  her colleagues' wellbeing has become a professional mission.   Specifically we discuss :
        - The role, scope and purpose of a wellbeing organisational clinical lead
        - Building the business case and "buy in" to appoint this leadership role.
        - The importance of local data to drive local solutions
        - Bridging silos, "asking, listening and empowering" and building coalitions of colleagues
        already doing great wellbeing work

     Jo tells us about some of the initiatives, in their overarching strategy, which have worked well  including Schwartz rounds, an initiative with focus on building community and cultivating self-compassion for all healthcare staff.  I hope that much of her important work is no longer viewed as novel in the coming years as we embed these roles into our healthcare systems of the future.  Clinician wellbeing is a key strategic priority and ultimately patient safety and care demands it.
Links/References/Further Reading:
Dr Joanna Sinclair
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joanna-sinclair-92a8bb1b3
https://twitter.com/josinclanz
Books
https://www.harpercollins.com/products/we-are-all-perfectly-fine-jillian-horton?variant=39325418586146
Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare
https://www.theschwartzcenter.org/programs/schwartz-rounds/
Health Round Table /Beamtree White Paper on Burnout
https://beamtree.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Inaugural-White-Paper-Addressing-Burnout.-Bringing-data-driven-solutions-care-and-hope-to-the-health-workforce.pdf
Stanford WellMD/PhD
https://wellmd.stanford.edu

The Mind Full Medic Podcast is proudly sponsored by the MBA NSW-ACT Find out more about their service or donate today at www.mbansw.org.au

Disclaimer: The content in this podcast is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care professional. Moreover views expressed here are our own and do not necessarily reflect those of our employers or other official organisations.