C L O S L E R
Moving Us Closer To Osler
A Miller Coulson Academy of Clinical Excellence Initiative

What do you do, or what do you advise patients do, to cope with the negative news we encounter every day?

Takeaway

Talk with family, colleagues, friends, walk the dog, spend time in the countryside, listen to the birds, bring lots of flowers and branches into the house, read, and explore wabi-sabi.

Lifelong Learning in Clinical Excellence | February 7, 2020 | <1 min read

Highlights

Jeffrey Millstein, MD, Penn Medicine

I advise not to spend too much time listening to, reading, or watching it. Stay informed and stand for your causes, but balance with your joys and pleasures.

Allison Chrestensen, MPH, OTR/L, Durham, North Carolina

Consume only what you are prepared to digest. Allow yourself to feel (sadness, fear, etc.), remind yourself you’re not alone, and take care of yourself. Find at least one cause that makes you feel empowered.

What do you think?

Do you want to add to the conversation? Please share!

Kultaj Kaleka, RN, med student, Central Michigan University

It’s hard not to pay attention to the news. For myself and others, I try to point out that something is positive or negative only when you attach a value or emotion to it. Be well informed, but keep a healthy distance from any underlying attachment to the news.

Flora Smyth Zahra, Dentist, Kings College London

Talk with family, colleagues, friends, walk the dog, spend time in the countryside, listen to the birds, bring lots of flowers and branches into the house, read, and explore wabi-sabi.

Juliet T, MD, Dallas, Texas

Everyday you have a choice about how you want to live your life. You can fill it with love and kindness, or with anger and resentment. Same with the news. It’s easy to get drawn in. Set a time limit and then read something positive.

Margaret Chisolm, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Do anything that keeps you in the present, lifts up your life, and/or brings hope: prayer, meditation, making or enjoying art of any kind, and simple pleasures.

Lingsheng Li, Johns Hopkins

Tuck away the laptop 💻  + phone📱, and instead surround yourself with people (and animals) who remind you of all the good things in life.