College hosts expert session on doctors’ wellbeing

11 May 2020

The wellbeing of healthcare professionals will be pushed to the top of the policy agenda when the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow holds its next webinar tomorrow at 6pm GMT (Tuesday 12th May 2020). The event takes place the day after the Scottish Government announced its new National Wellbeing Hub for health care professionals.

The college’s latest free online event, which will be chaired by college President Professor Jackie Taylor, will hear from three key speakers who will share their experiences of the practical ways that individuals and organisations can enhance wellbeing for healthcare professionals, and provide support both in the current pandemic and beyond.

Dr. Jo Shapiro, an Associate Professor of Otolaryngology at Harvard Medical School and the Director of the Centre for Professionalism and Peer Support, Dr Clare Gerada, Medical Director at NHS Practitioner Health and Dr Jennifer Megson-Gray, the Principal Clinical Psychologist at The Anchor, Glasgow’s Psychological Trauma Service will provide the expert insight at the online event, which is expected to draw more than a thousand online participants.

Speaking prior to the event, Professor Taylor said:

“The wellbeing of the health sector workforce has been at the top of my agenda since I took office in 2018. Now more than ever we need to take practical steps to ensure that we protect the physical and mental health of NHS workers. We can’t continue to provide a world-class service for our patients without a healthy workforce.

“We’re delighted to be joined at this event by three experts from across the world. I look forward to gaining an insight into the great work that’s already being done in this area, and how we can implement this learning in the NHS and beyond.”

The college is delighted to be able to welcome Dr Jo Shapiro, an Associate Professor of Otolaryngology at Harvard Medical School and the Director of the Centre for Professionalism and Peer Support, which was launched in 2008. Since that time, the Centre has become a model for institutions seeking methods to enhance teamwork and help mitigate the epidemic of burnout that is plaguing the medical profession.

Also speaking on the evening will be Dr Clare Gerada, Medical Director at NHS Practitioner Health. Practitioner Health is a free, confidential NHS service for doctors and dentists across England with mental illness and addiction problems, who are working or hoping to return to clinical practice.

Our third speaker will be Dr Jennifer Megson-Gray, the Principal Clinical Psychologist at The Anchor, Glasgow’s Psychological Trauma Service, who will be able to share insight into normal reactions during this pandemic, and ways to cope during this difficult time.

Tickets for this free event are available on the college’s website at https://rcpsg.ac.uk/events/CaringForTheWorkforceFocusOnWellbeing