We Don’t Need Self-Care; We Need Boundaries
This op-ed from a female physician talks about the “faux self care” advice that women in medicine receive when they are burnt out. Women in medicine are often told to just get lunch, get a manicure, or do yoga but it ends up as an item on their to-do list that guilt trips them and doesn’t seem to solve any problems. This is because it is not actually self care. Self care is defined as the internal hard work of making decisions for yourself. However, for women in medicine, making these decisions is difficult, especially in a hyper-productivity oriented medical culture. She discusses the broken system that places the burden of improving resilience onto the individual and exonerates the system. She encourages setting boundaries as a form of self-care to counteract a system that will make doctors feel ashamed for reaching their limit.
Topics:
Personal Factors, Society and Culture