Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Resources for CMS members

COVID-19 Physician Wellness

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Toolkit: Identify and address burnout in yourself, your colleagues and your health care system

As the COVID-19 pandemic has unfolded, the stressors on Colorado health care workers have been ongoing and complex, causing significant impacts on well-being and mental health. To aid health care workers and increase awareness, the Colorado Healthcare Ethics Resource Group developed a toolkit for health care workers to identify and address burnout, moral distress, and traumatic stress responses in themselves, their colleagues, and the health care systems in which they provide care. Access the toolkit here.

Staying well amidst the crisis (Webinar, 60 mins)

Physician Well-being in the time of Coronavirus

Information, Resources, and Tips from the CMS Physician Well-being Committee

April 15, 2020, edition 3

The Colorado Medical Society is committed to supporting and enhancing the wellbeing of physicians, especially now, during the coronavirus pandemic. Each week, CMS provides this informational resource to Colorado physicians.   

I. Utility, Appropriateness, and Content of Electronic Consultations Across Medical Subspecialties, from the Annals of Internal Medicine. Given the rapid adoption of telehealth, this study is very timely. It provides data supporting both the usefulness and appropriateness of telehealth services. 

II. Emergency childcare resources for essential health care workers,
Three resources for childcare:

• https://covidchildcarecolorado.com/; ends May 24
• Care.com connecting with childcare providers for as-needed services
• Nanno.com: mobile app for scheduling as needed

III. FACE COVID - How to respond effectively to the Corona crisis, by Dr. Russ Harris. Last week, a video on this topic was posted. This week, the link is to a short, but very useful pdf resource.  It has an actionable approach to dealing with the stress of the pandemic.  

IV. Journaling about your experience in the time of coronavirus. If time and life allow, now might be the time to start or continue journaling.  This piece from the New York Times reminds us we are living history and our individual experience of the pandemic is useful now and will be in the future.

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Physician Well-being in the time of Coronavirus

Information, Resources, and Tips from the CMS Physician Well-being Committee

April 8, 2020, edition 2

The Colorado Medical Society is committed to supporting and enhancing the wellbeing of physicians, now more than ever, during the coronavirus pandemic. Each week, CMS makes this resource available to Colorado Physicians.    

I. That discomfort you’re feeling is grief, by Scott Berinato

An excellent piece from the Harvard Business Review that discusses the grief that many of us are experiencing and suggests ways of dealing with it with openness and self compassion.

II. Managing Stress Associated with the COVID-19 Virus Outbreak, from the National Center for PTSD

A useful resource with coping strategies to deal with the pandemic.  

III. Keeping the Coronavirus from Infecting Health Care Workers by Atul Gawande in the March 21, 2020 New Yorker. The author discussed what worked in Singapore and Hong Kong for medical personnel, and details organizational and individual ways to protect frontline medical personnel.

IV. FACE COVID - How to Respond Effectively to the Corona Virus, by Dr. Russ Harris who wrote The Happiness Trap.  This 5-minute YouTube video has an easily applicable structure for coping effectively in the present with the unknown of the viral pandemic. 

V. Free use of Headspace mindfulness tools, upon entering your NPI, https://www.headspace.com/health-covid-19. Meditation has been shown to help people lower their stress, improve focus, and get more sleep. Headspace is meditation made simple, teaching mindfulness skills in just a few minutes a day.

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Physician Well-being in the time of Coronavirus

Tips from the CMS Physician Well-being Committee

April 10, 2020

The Colorado Medical Society is committed to supporting and enhancing the wellbeing of physicians, now more than ever, during the coronavirus epidemic. Physicians are at the forefront, caring for those with infections, attending to colleagues, and also prioritizing their own families and loved ones to keep them safe from possible exposure. 

I. CPHP’s “Care Line” for Physicians and PAs. Access this free and confidential support line to assist in dealing with stresses related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Introduced by email in the March 28 CMS President’s correspondence and the March 30 CMS ASAP. Contact Care Line at 720-810-9131 and find more information at the CPHP website, https://cphp.org.

II. Keeping the Coronavirus from Infecting Health Care Workers by Atul Gawande in the March 21, 2020 New Yorker. Offers details of what worked in Singapore and Hong Kong for medical personnel, and details what organizations and individuals can do to protect frontline health care personnel.

III. How to practice social distancing, Q&A by Isaac Chotiner in the March 17, 2020 New Yorker. Includes Q&A about various topics such as exercising outside, take-out food, showering after shopping, and living with family members either healthy or with non-COVID-19 illness.

IV. Free use of Headspace mindfulness tools, upon entering your NPI, https://www.headspace.com/health-covid-19. Meditation has been shown to help people stress less, improve focus more and sleep better. Headspace is meditation made simple, teaching you life-changing mindfulness skills in just a few minutes a day.

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National Academy of Medicine

• Strategies to Support the Health & Well-Being of Clinicians

University of Colorado

• Tips for protecting your family

Childcare

• Colorado Emergency Child Care Collaborative; ends May 24