I was recently talking to a senior executive at a very big organization who was telling me about all the initiatives their company was rolling out for their senior staff, to ensure they were on the right track for health and longevity. He described to me regular check-ins to make sure they were staying as healthy as possible, and an upcoming long retreat to focus on this entirely (paid for by the organization). This mimics countless stories I’ve heard from people in a number of different industries—from information technology to financial services. It’s rightly becoming a core philosophy in many of the big name companies, even for the most junior staff. I’ve heard stories of encouraging friendly competition among staff with “steps walked” and bonuses for hitting certain lifestyle goals. Healthy delicious gourmet food delivered to office staff every day (when it’s in a healthcare setting, we get pizza and muffins!). It’s a subject I’ve written about previously and without sounding like a broken record, this point cannot be hammered home enough: healthcare is a huge employer with some of the biggest well-known corporate names generating vast sums of money. Yet why do we (ironically) put almost zero effort into employee wellness? I am baffled every time I think about this in depth, because it makes no sense.
I’ve worked in dozens of hospitals and observed the attitude that administrators take towards their frontline staffs’ well-being—doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals. I’m not talking about the odd “stay happy and well email” sent by the latest corporate C-suite wellness officer. But a real effort to address the physical and mental well-being of dedicated and seasoned frontline healthcare workers. If we’re going to live in this new corporate medicine world, we may as well be treated like other corporations treat their experienced professional staff. Why does an attending with 10 years experience not get to sit down regularly and discuss their own health, well-being and daily stress levels? And then get some great lifestyle tips on things they could change. Why does the nurse with 25 years experience not get taken on a yearly wellness retreat with other colleagues to recharge their batteries? Why does the senior pharmacist who has been managing the whole department for 20 years not get coached on a healthy lifestyle as he’s contemplating retirement? Is it just assumed that because someone works in healthcare, they already know all these things? Because I can tell you with certainty that medical professionals are often the worst at this! Time is always at a premium in any busy profession, but sometimes things just need to be made a priority. And absolutely nothing comes before your physical and mental well-being. Healthcare needs this more than ever for its own.
Suneel Dhand is a physician, writer and speaker. He is Co-Founder at DocsDox.
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Some times I wonder, Suneel ,whether there is so much emphasis in the training of doctors and nurses for illness care, they don’t learn about keeping people well. I worked as a RN in a major hospital for a year or so and decided as a young graduate that I didn’t want to do curative work, I wanted to do wellness work and that included learning as much as I could able how to do that. It has stood me and my husband (now 90) and I (now 85) to continue to lead an active and healthy lifestyle – diet, exercise, social connections etc.
And, since I live in a continuing care community, I continue that work with my colleagues here, helping those without the skills that I have try to reach their own level of wellness self care.
What I haven’t been able to persuade anyone to write about or talk about is how to help seniors to foster and maintain a healthy immune system. Have any advice?
Hi Sue, thanks for your message….and great to hear you and your husband are doing so well by a having healthy lifestyle! I think all of the things you are doing will already be helping your immune system a lot, including good activity levels. In terms of diet…fruits and vegetables high in vitamin C and anti-oxidants (apples and blueberries are two of my favorites!).