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Dr. Kevin Mailo welcomes Dr. Susannah Ward back to the show to talk about physician self-care and working with personal compassion in mind. Dr. Ward is a Physician of Rehabilitation medicine in New South Wales, Australia, who also founded a company called Ataraxia Collective that runs doctor wellbeing retreats. Susannah has been on the show before and has a wealth of poignant advice. In this episode, she shares from her experience and knowledge about wellness, authentic self, and how physicians can avoid burnout by being in touch with their own needs for compassion and recovery.
Susannah and Kevin discuss the differences between having a high standard and quality of excellence versus being unrealistically perfectionistic. Self-awareness about our own blind spots is something that physicians need to avoid the single-minded productivity focus that leads to emotional numbing, siloed thinking, and a lack of overall well-being. They talk about people pleasing and recognizing our humanness, wellness habits, lifestyle practices that allow for reflection, and how to identify both skills and blind spots to achieve balance in our needs. The conversation delves into the often-overlooked need for physicians to care for their own wellness as much as they care for patients.
About Dr. Susannah Ward:
Dr Susannah Ward qualified as a rehabilitation physician in 2018 with the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) Australasian Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine (AFRM) Basmajian Award for best fellowship clinical exam performance. She has over 18 years of experience working in public and private hospitals across Australia. She has diverse clinical experience in general medical and surgical care, palliative care, geriatrics, and rehabilitation. She has rehabilitation experience working in brain injury, spinal cord injury, chronic pain, geriatrics, palliative care, orthopaedic rehabilitation, stroke, amputation and general rehabilitation. She has private clinics at The Wellness Place Blacksmiths. She also offers telehealth appointments and home visits. She has a special interest in acquired brain injury. She has an expert understanding of the behavioural, psychological and social challenges faced by people & the impact of environment, upbringing & social determinants of health.
Dr Ward is passionate about holistic health and lifestyle, behavioural and psychological rehabilitation. She likes incorporating evidence-based wellness tools like mindfulness, healthy eating, exercise and social/lifestyle prescription into her goal-directed and patient-centred care. She promotes the key message that living with illness or injury need not be a barrier to feeling well or living life to the full. Dr Ward’s therapeutic emphasis is to support clients to self-compassionately accept themselves and acquire self-mastery skills to maximize their functional ability and quality of life. She aims to help empower clients to independently self-care and optimally manage their circumstances using wellness tools and adopting a healthy lifestyle.
Dr Ward founded Ataraxia Collective in 2018 as a creative adjunct to her clinical practice. She hosts retreats and workshops that showcase powerful holistic tools like mindfulness and yoga. She also hosts doctor well-being and CPD retreats.
Dr Ward’s first self-care book, Mastering Real Wellness, is available to purchase on Amazon.
Website: AtaraxiaCollective.com.au
LinkedIn: DrSWardAXC
Book: “Mastering Real Wellness: A self-mastery framework to create holistic health and optimal living” by Dr. Susannah Ward
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