1 00:00:00,147 --> 00:00:03,147 (electro-pop music) 2 00:00:05,570 --> 00:00:07,250 - This is "Lab Medicine Rounds", 3 00:00:07,250 --> 00:00:09,370 a curated podcast for physicians, 4 00:00:09,370 --> 00:00:11,770 laboratory professionals and students. 5 00:00:11,770 --> 00:00:13,030 I'm your host, Justin Kreuter, 6 00:00:13,030 --> 00:00:15,470 the Bow Tie Bandit of Blood Transfusion 7 00:00:15,470 --> 00:00:18,100 medicine pathologist at Mayo Clinic. 8 00:00:18,100 --> 00:00:20,760 Today, we're rounding with Dr. Venk Bellamkonda, 9 00:00:20,760 --> 00:00:23,510 assistant professor of emergency medicine 10 00:00:23,510 --> 00:00:25,230 and the wellness officer 11 00:00:25,230 --> 00:00:28,370 for the Department of Emergency Medicine at Mayo Clinic 12 00:00:28,370 --> 00:00:30,720 here in Rochester, Minnesota. 13 00:00:30,720 --> 00:00:33,650 To use his own words upon being invited as a guest 14 00:00:33,650 --> 00:00:34,731 of this podcast, 15 00:00:34,731 --> 00:00:38,760 I'm stoked to have him rounding with us today 16 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:42,830 as we talk about the importance of wellness. 17 00:00:42,830 --> 00:00:45,930 Thanks for joining us today Dr. Bellamkonda. 18 00:00:45,930 --> 00:00:47,070 - Please just call me Venk, 19 00:00:47,070 --> 00:00:48,440 and thank you so much for having me. 20 00:00:48,440 --> 00:00:49,830 I really appreciate it. 21 00:00:49,830 --> 00:00:52,540 - So Venk, I like to kind of start out with the why 22 00:00:52,540 --> 00:00:56,970 and I think when talking about the why 23 00:00:57,830 --> 00:01:01,710 I'm really curious about why are wellness efforts 24 00:01:01,710 --> 00:01:06,203 a need to have rather than kind of a want to have? 25 00:01:07,410 --> 00:01:10,120 - Yeah, I think it always has to start there, right? 26 00:01:10,120 --> 00:01:12,657 Isn't it Simon Sinek's "Start With Why". 27 00:01:13,500 --> 00:01:17,560 And this one, the why is different for a lot of people 28 00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:19,560 and certainly, wellness and burnout 29 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:20,900 are not direct opposites, 30 00:01:20,900 --> 00:01:22,590 but I usually start in my mind with, 31 00:01:22,590 --> 00:01:24,930 well, what is the cost if we don't do this 32 00:01:24,930 --> 00:01:26,210 and we have burnout? 33 00:01:26,210 --> 00:01:30,340 Well, I believe Forbes had been quoted as saying 34 00:01:30,340 --> 00:01:35,340 that there could be potentially up to $190 billion annually 35 00:01:35,410 --> 00:01:37,040 in total healthcare cost, 36 00:01:37,040 --> 00:01:41,220 including productivity, healthcare expenses, et cetera, 37 00:01:41,220 --> 00:01:44,040 but that doesn't account for lost engagement. 38 00:01:44,040 --> 00:01:45,740 And some reports are suggesting 39 00:01:45,740 --> 00:01:48,690 that when people are not well 40 00:01:48,690 --> 00:01:51,860 they may engage about one third less than normally. 41 00:01:51,860 --> 00:01:56,830 So if we consider our FTE from a productivity standpoint 42 00:01:56,830 --> 00:01:59,700 for a business, that's a huge loss, 43 00:01:59,700 --> 00:02:03,440 even with the people who continue to work. 44 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:06,980 But beyond that, let's just think about the effects 45 00:02:06,980 --> 00:02:09,540 of a community that feels well 46 00:02:09,540 --> 00:02:11,127 whether it's wellness or wellbeing. 47 00:02:11,127 --> 00:02:14,250 And you have people who are happy and engaged, 48 00:02:14,250 --> 00:02:17,500 creative and thoughtful, willing to go the extra mile 49 00:02:17,500 --> 00:02:19,100 wherever their time allows, 50 00:02:19,100 --> 00:02:22,350 children growing up in really well-adjusted homes 51 00:02:22,350 --> 00:02:24,400 and the impact to that for the community, 52 00:02:25,240 --> 00:02:26,830 it's very far-reaching 53 00:02:26,830 --> 00:02:30,720 and touches everything from engagement, employee turnover, 54 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:34,490 productivity, healthcare, healthcare utilization, 55 00:02:34,490 --> 00:02:35,860 illness prevalence. 56 00:02:35,860 --> 00:02:38,980 So I think the effects of not addressing this 57 00:02:38,980 --> 00:02:40,680 are incredibly huge. 58 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:43,610 And then, at an employer level 59 00:02:43,610 --> 00:02:46,610 I think it's become the standard to have to care about this. 60 00:02:46,610 --> 00:02:51,610 And so, if you want to have the best people for your jobs, 61 00:02:52,020 --> 00:02:54,070 you really should be thinking about this, 62 00:02:54,070 --> 00:02:56,270 otherwise, you'll be behind the times 63 00:02:56,270 --> 00:02:58,610 and the best candidates are gonna demand this 64 00:02:58,610 --> 00:03:00,540 and go somewhere else. 65 00:03:00,540 --> 00:03:03,970 - Wow, I love the way you frame that 66 00:03:03,970 --> 00:03:06,380 'cause right away as you kind of flip it around 67 00:03:06,380 --> 00:03:09,333 is what if we don't do this? 68 00:03:10,380 --> 00:03:13,530 And as you talk through a lot of those stats, 69 00:03:13,530 --> 00:03:14,510 it really kind of hits, 70 00:03:14,510 --> 00:03:17,020 I'm sure a lot of our audience too, 71 00:03:17,020 --> 00:03:19,510 about wow, this is significant. 72 00:03:19,510 --> 00:03:22,260 This is significant in multiple ways. 73 00:03:22,260 --> 00:03:24,460 And I really appreciate that you highlighted 74 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:29,420 that there's a lot of individual differences as well. 75 00:03:29,420 --> 00:03:33,817 The diversity of how do we experience this construct varies. 76 00:03:36,030 --> 00:03:38,770 As you've been doing this deeper dive Venk, 77 00:03:38,770 --> 00:03:42,880 I'm curious, what has really kind of stood out for you? 78 00:03:42,880 --> 00:03:46,510 What have you learned as you've taken on this role 79 00:03:46,510 --> 00:03:48,670 as a wellness officer 80 00:03:48,670 --> 00:03:52,423 for the Department of Emergency Medicine here at Mayo? 81 00:03:53,615 --> 00:03:54,910 I'm curious about that, 82 00:03:54,910 --> 00:03:56,920 'cause I think this podcast 83 00:03:56,920 --> 00:03:59,750 is all about building these bridges between lab medicine 84 00:03:59,750 --> 00:04:00,860 and clinical practice. 85 00:04:00,860 --> 00:04:03,550 I think this is one of these podcast examples 86 00:04:03,550 --> 00:04:05,767 where when we think about wellness 87 00:04:05,767 --> 00:04:09,080 and the emergency of medicine, 88 00:04:09,080 --> 00:04:13,053 especially these past two years of the pandemic, 89 00:04:13,921 --> 00:04:17,467 I've been elaborating for a long question to say, 90 00:04:19,140 --> 00:04:21,080 what's really struck you as is something 91 00:04:21,080 --> 00:04:24,550 that would be helpful for audience to understand? 92 00:04:24,550 --> 00:04:25,383 - Absolutely. 93 00:04:26,740 --> 00:04:29,250 Wellness is more than doing yoga, 94 00:04:29,250 --> 00:04:31,260 or eating fish each night, 95 00:04:31,260 --> 00:04:32,910 or having free food at conferences, 96 00:04:32,910 --> 00:04:37,830 or time off, or free coffee, it's way beyond that. 97 00:04:37,830 --> 00:04:39,560 And sometimes people think of it as money. 98 00:04:39,560 --> 00:04:42,680 In fact, on Twitter recently there was a somebody 99 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:44,870 who was talking about compensation 100 00:04:44,870 --> 00:04:46,530 as a form of respect and wellness. 101 00:04:46,530 --> 00:04:50,060 And I think it's way beyond any one of these domains. 102 00:04:50,060 --> 00:04:51,080 And in fact, a lot of those 103 00:04:51,080 --> 00:04:54,083 are really short-term happiness things. 104 00:04:55,320 --> 00:04:57,450 And usually, there's some regret afterwards 105 00:04:57,450 --> 00:04:59,490 when you eat the free pizza, 106 00:04:59,490 --> 00:05:02,010 at least for me there is lots of regret it, 107 00:05:02,010 --> 00:05:03,910 but you know what I've learned is that 108 00:05:05,420 --> 00:05:07,440 to improve wellness and wellbeing 109 00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:10,780 it's a very personal journey for an individual 110 00:05:10,780 --> 00:05:13,593 or for a department or for an institution. 111 00:05:15,460 --> 00:05:17,640 The same solutions don't work for everybody, 112 00:05:17,640 --> 00:05:19,130 because the problems are not the same. 113 00:05:19,130 --> 00:05:21,810 And even within one person's experience, 114 00:05:21,810 --> 00:05:25,230 it will change based on the context that they're in. 115 00:05:25,230 --> 00:05:26,960 To give a great example, 116 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:28,130 earlier in my career, 117 00:05:28,130 --> 00:05:30,340 I was really thinking about quitting medicine 118 00:05:30,340 --> 00:05:34,730 and I was a new dad and I was wildly successful 119 00:05:34,730 --> 00:05:37,420 in terms of everything you could see here at Mayo 120 00:05:37,420 --> 00:05:40,870 in terms of awards and opportunities, 121 00:05:40,870 --> 00:05:43,350 but internally, I just felt exhaust 122 00:05:43,350 --> 00:05:45,950 and like I wasn't achieving 123 00:05:45,950 --> 00:05:49,370 the standard I wanted to achieve at home. 124 00:05:49,370 --> 00:05:51,820 And so, that was my context. 125 00:05:51,820 --> 00:05:53,596 Whereas, somebody else might be feeling, 126 00:05:53,596 --> 00:05:55,860 because of a financial stress 127 00:05:55,860 --> 00:06:00,860 that their wellbeing is fractured or tenuous. 128 00:06:01,130 --> 00:06:02,930 And then, somebody else might be thinking 129 00:06:02,930 --> 00:06:05,170 about it entirely from a COVID perspective. 130 00:06:05,170 --> 00:06:07,130 So this is very personal, 131 00:06:07,130 --> 00:06:10,420 and it's based on the context that that person or group 132 00:06:10,420 --> 00:06:12,063 is going through at that time. 133 00:06:13,400 --> 00:06:15,070 And I think as a result, 134 00:06:15,070 --> 00:06:18,100 if we wanna talk about the best state or best practice, 135 00:06:18,100 --> 00:06:20,520 what I've learned is that you have to address 136 00:06:20,520 --> 00:06:24,670 wellness and wellbeing in all its facets 137 00:06:24,670 --> 00:06:26,390 that you can possibly address. 138 00:06:26,390 --> 00:06:31,120 So at political levels, community levels, 139 00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:34,810 enterprise levels, department levels, and individual levels. 140 00:06:34,810 --> 00:06:37,180 And thinking about it from a physical health, 141 00:06:37,180 --> 00:06:41,995 financial wellbeing, social or community-building aspect, 142 00:06:41,995 --> 00:06:46,995 engagement, time, reimbursement, all of these things, 143 00:06:47,840 --> 00:06:49,980 if you address 1 or 2 of them in isolation 144 00:06:49,980 --> 00:06:52,300 you're not going to move the needle. 145 00:06:52,300 --> 00:06:55,340 It has to be as a concerted and thoughtful effort 146 00:06:55,340 --> 00:06:57,853 in as many domains as you possibly can muster. 147 00:06:58,720 --> 00:07:00,270 - Venk, as I hear you say that, 148 00:07:01,180 --> 00:07:04,263 all these facets, it sounds almost- 149 00:07:08,380 --> 00:07:10,700 - Too daunting. - Too yeah, thank you. 150 00:07:10,700 --> 00:07:12,600 Too big to get my hands around. 151 00:07:12,600 --> 00:07:15,003 And so, I'm curious, I'm curious. 152 00:07:18,520 --> 00:07:21,200 Well, I imagine there's gotta be some sense 153 00:07:21,200 --> 00:07:24,833 of being iterative with your process. 154 00:07:25,790 --> 00:07:29,220 So, and to do that, I suppose you really have to 155 00:07:29,220 --> 00:07:34,220 reach out to your community and ask, "Where do we start?" 156 00:07:34,410 --> 00:07:37,810 And so, I'm thinking about our listeners here, 157 00:07:37,810 --> 00:07:42,550 our lab professionals, clinicians, students. 158 00:07:42,550 --> 00:07:46,430 I imagine what are those maybe first steps 159 00:07:46,430 --> 00:07:49,790 that they can take and maybe initiate 160 00:07:49,790 --> 00:07:52,290 for their own local practice, 161 00:07:52,290 --> 00:07:56,223 what their initial support might look like? 162 00:07:57,782 --> 00:07:59,870 - I think people who are in a position 163 00:07:59,870 --> 00:08:02,933 to influence the community or the department as a whole, 164 00:08:04,280 --> 00:08:07,400 let's put that group to the side just for a moment, 165 00:08:07,400 --> 00:08:09,860 mainly because I think we can all relate 166 00:08:09,860 --> 00:08:13,610 to trying to address things at an individual level. 167 00:08:13,610 --> 00:08:16,110 And you don't need any committee approvals 168 00:08:16,110 --> 00:08:17,980 or a big budget to do so. 169 00:08:17,980 --> 00:08:21,210 And so, I think that's a great place for us all to begin, 170 00:08:21,210 --> 00:08:23,430 but I absolutely don't want anyone to walk away 171 00:08:23,430 --> 00:08:26,750 thinking that I'm putting all the onus on wellbeing 172 00:08:26,750 --> 00:08:29,060 on the individual, definitely not, 173 00:08:29,060 --> 00:08:31,360 but I will tell you from my journey I started there 174 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:33,930 and it was really impactful and empowering 175 00:08:33,930 --> 00:08:37,030 for me to see what I could do just for myself 176 00:08:37,030 --> 00:08:37,990 and for my family. 177 00:08:37,990 --> 00:08:42,990 And I think, like I said, it's beyond the superficial things 178 00:08:43,710 --> 00:08:46,060 the pizza and the yoga and whatever, right? 179 00:08:46,060 --> 00:08:47,660 And so, where is it? 180 00:08:47,660 --> 00:08:50,030 It begins with positioning yourself 181 00:08:50,030 --> 00:08:53,030 in a community or a place that sees you, 182 00:08:53,030 --> 00:08:56,660 and as you wanna be seen, if it's your identity 183 00:08:56,660 --> 00:09:01,660 as trans or a parent or whatever, 184 00:09:02,060 --> 00:09:03,740 you have to be in a place where you feel comfortable 185 00:09:03,740 --> 00:09:06,690 being who you are and that people will see you 186 00:09:06,690 --> 00:09:07,880 for who you are. 187 00:09:07,880 --> 00:09:10,350 And then, ideally you combine that 188 00:09:10,350 --> 00:09:13,920 with an opportunity to work 189 00:09:13,920 --> 00:09:15,570 for an institution or environment 190 00:09:15,570 --> 00:09:18,580 that aligns their values and their mission 191 00:09:18,580 --> 00:09:20,500 with your personal values 192 00:09:20,500 --> 00:09:21,960 in the way you wanna live your life. 193 00:09:21,960 --> 00:09:24,660 And for some of us we haven't really taken stock 194 00:09:24,660 --> 00:09:26,800 of what our values are. 195 00:09:26,800 --> 00:09:29,130 And so, that might be a pre-work step 196 00:09:29,130 --> 00:09:30,320 before you even get to this. 197 00:09:30,320 --> 00:09:33,140 But if you know what your values are, 198 00:09:33,140 --> 00:09:37,480 making sure that your work and your school ties 199 00:09:37,480 --> 00:09:40,350 or community ties all align with that, 200 00:09:40,350 --> 00:09:43,260 is incredibly important. 201 00:09:43,260 --> 00:09:45,393 And I'll explain why in just a second. 202 00:09:46,260 --> 00:09:48,090 So we've started with being in an environment 203 00:09:48,090 --> 00:09:50,310 where you are seen for who you wanna be, 204 00:09:50,310 --> 00:09:53,640 and then being empowered to do things 205 00:09:53,640 --> 00:09:55,370 that align with your values. 206 00:09:55,370 --> 00:09:59,240 And then, in an institution or environment or workplace 207 00:09:59,240 --> 00:10:02,050 where you feel you can actually make a difference, 208 00:10:02,050 --> 00:10:05,322 that you affect the trajectory of your life. 209 00:10:05,322 --> 00:10:09,400 It's very difficult to find wellbeing 210 00:10:09,400 --> 00:10:10,760 or personal satisfaction, 211 00:10:10,760 --> 00:10:14,450 if you don't feel that if you put in more effort 212 00:10:14,450 --> 00:10:17,930 or you reach out or you change your effort, 213 00:10:17,930 --> 00:10:21,560 that there's not a compensatory deflection or movement 214 00:10:21,560 --> 00:10:22,603 in your trajectory, 215 00:10:24,040 --> 00:10:26,210 feeling that you make a difference in your life 216 00:10:26,210 --> 00:10:27,443 is very important. 217 00:10:29,450 --> 00:10:33,210 So those are the three foundational building blocks, 218 00:10:33,210 --> 00:10:34,570 I would say. 219 00:10:34,570 --> 00:10:39,190 And hopefully, you all listening, 220 00:10:39,190 --> 00:10:40,930 I'm assuming there'd be a lot of Mayo people, 221 00:10:40,930 --> 00:10:43,730 but I'm hoping that you feel that Mayo sees you this way 222 00:10:43,730 --> 00:10:47,270 and that you are valued and that your values 223 00:10:47,270 --> 00:10:48,250 align with Mayo values, 224 00:10:48,250 --> 00:10:51,705 but let's say you're listening and that doesn't fit. 225 00:10:51,705 --> 00:10:54,730 Well, I think these are so foundationally important, 226 00:10:54,730 --> 00:10:57,580 that is probably worth your time and energy to think, 227 00:10:57,580 --> 00:11:01,890 can you modify what you do to fix that gap, 228 00:11:01,890 --> 00:11:05,420 or do you need to go do something else, for someone else 229 00:11:05,420 --> 00:11:06,253 to fix that gap? 230 00:11:06,253 --> 00:11:08,730 Because these are just so foundational, 231 00:11:08,730 --> 00:11:11,670 to be seen as who you are to know your values 232 00:11:11,670 --> 00:11:13,270 and do what aligns with your values 233 00:11:13,270 --> 00:11:15,960 and feel that you can make a difference. 234 00:11:15,960 --> 00:11:17,550 The next layer to that is 235 00:11:17,550 --> 00:11:19,500 to really be honest with yourself 236 00:11:19,500 --> 00:11:22,910 and taking stock of what's going right and what's not, 237 00:11:22,910 --> 00:11:24,550 don't embellish either way. 238 00:11:24,550 --> 00:11:28,680 And I think sometimes that's hard to be reflective 239 00:11:28,680 --> 00:11:32,160 just for yourself about the truth of yourself 240 00:11:32,160 --> 00:11:33,420 in your situation, 241 00:11:33,420 --> 00:11:35,970 and think about it from a social perspective. 242 00:11:35,970 --> 00:11:37,830 Do you feel connected in your community 243 00:11:37,830 --> 00:11:40,030 both at work and at home? 244 00:11:40,030 --> 00:11:43,030 Does your work, how is your work going? 245 00:11:43,030 --> 00:11:46,050 Are you matched with your skillsets in this work? 246 00:11:46,050 --> 00:11:47,940 How's your physical health? 247 00:11:47,940 --> 00:11:49,660 Are you getting the exercise you need? 248 00:11:49,660 --> 00:11:52,350 Are you getting your preventative healthcare screenings? 249 00:11:52,350 --> 00:11:54,870 Do you need something more than that? 250 00:11:54,870 --> 00:11:56,250 What about your spirituality? 251 00:11:56,250 --> 00:11:58,260 Is this important for you? 252 00:11:58,260 --> 00:12:01,020 Are you addressing it and as connected with that 253 00:12:01,020 --> 00:12:02,123 as you want to be? 254 00:12:02,990 --> 00:12:07,120 Your emotional wellbeing and your love dimension. 255 00:12:07,120 --> 00:12:10,700 Is that progressing the way it needs to happen, 256 00:12:10,700 --> 00:12:12,150 or do you feel like it's not? 257 00:12:13,040 --> 00:12:17,470 Financially, are you hitting your finance goals 258 00:12:17,470 --> 00:12:18,340 and are you not? 259 00:12:18,340 --> 00:12:22,010 Are you prepared for financial challenges or are you not? 260 00:12:22,010 --> 00:12:24,520 Do you have mentorship and support guidance 261 00:12:24,520 --> 00:12:28,210 to help you grow in all the dimensions you want? 262 00:12:28,210 --> 00:12:30,490 Personally, it's not just for my work, 263 00:12:30,490 --> 00:12:32,190 but I want to grow for example, 264 00:12:32,190 --> 00:12:34,410 in my interest in chess playing. 265 00:12:34,410 --> 00:12:37,730 And so, I have a coach that helps me with chess. 266 00:12:37,730 --> 00:12:39,840 And so, making sure you have that guidance 267 00:12:39,840 --> 00:12:41,130 and mentorship and challenge 268 00:12:41,130 --> 00:12:42,610 in the things that you care about. 269 00:12:42,610 --> 00:12:43,880 And then your time. 270 00:12:43,880 --> 00:12:46,550 Do you have enough time to get the stuff done 271 00:12:46,550 --> 00:12:47,890 that you care about the most? 272 00:12:47,890 --> 00:12:52,200 And if not, what needs to go to free up that time? 273 00:12:52,200 --> 00:12:54,344 Or do you have too much extra time, 274 00:12:54,344 --> 00:12:56,120 in which case, what can you fill it with. 275 00:12:56,120 --> 00:12:56,953 And believe it or not, 276 00:12:56,953 --> 00:12:58,970 there are people who have that problem. 277 00:12:58,970 --> 00:13:00,800 All of these, if there's an imbalance 278 00:13:00,800 --> 00:13:04,450 can make you feel less than your most well self. 279 00:13:04,450 --> 00:13:08,630 And so, those are things that I think are very easy to do. 280 00:13:08,630 --> 00:13:11,280 If you take stock of these things for yourself 281 00:13:11,280 --> 00:13:14,690 then, even if you decide not to make any changes right away 282 00:13:15,700 --> 00:13:19,720 as opportunities come to your door, or they're leaving, 283 00:13:19,720 --> 00:13:23,560 you have an idea of what that will do to your balance, 284 00:13:23,560 --> 00:13:26,700 your homeostasis, not to be too fancy about it, 285 00:13:26,700 --> 00:13:30,480 but if you're losing social connection, 286 00:13:30,480 --> 00:13:35,480 because you're in a football league and that's ending, 287 00:13:35,630 --> 00:13:39,060 well, maybe you need to augment something else somewhere. 288 00:13:39,060 --> 00:13:43,073 And you take up a book club or something else 289 00:13:43,073 --> 00:13:44,820 to supplement that, 290 00:13:44,820 --> 00:13:46,870 but you won't know if you'd let these things 291 00:13:46,870 --> 00:13:48,890 just happen to you in the background, 292 00:13:48,890 --> 00:13:51,710 but being more intentional about assessing them 293 00:13:51,710 --> 00:13:55,323 and having plans, is really very helpful. 294 00:13:57,100 --> 00:13:59,110 - So as I've been listening to you, 295 00:13:59,110 --> 00:14:04,110 I wonder if this next question I had of on my mind, 296 00:14:04,250 --> 00:14:07,800 if this is a valid question or not, 297 00:14:07,800 --> 00:14:12,800 'cause given the diversity that's out there, 298 00:14:13,500 --> 00:14:15,960 I was gonna ask you 'cause in the your role 299 00:14:15,960 --> 00:14:17,520 as wellness officer, 300 00:14:17,520 --> 00:14:22,406 I imagine you've interacted with a number of folks. 301 00:14:22,406 --> 00:14:27,340 And I'm curious if there are classic struggles 302 00:14:27,340 --> 00:14:30,020 with improving wellness, 303 00:14:30,020 --> 00:14:33,130 that you can kind of help our listeners navigate 304 00:14:33,130 --> 00:14:37,150 if there's some pearls to share in that regard? 305 00:14:37,150 --> 00:14:39,540 - Absolutely, that is a totally awesome question. 306 00:14:39,540 --> 00:14:44,150 And there are, definitely are classic struggles or themes. 307 00:14:44,150 --> 00:14:49,150 And I'm going to kind of build off that question. 308 00:14:49,725 --> 00:14:53,860 It's not so much classic causes for lack of wellness, 309 00:14:53,860 --> 00:14:56,720 but since many, many people these days 310 00:14:56,720 --> 00:15:00,500 are feeling that they're under a crucible 311 00:15:00,500 --> 00:15:04,743 for whatever reason, COVID, finance, life, whatever, 312 00:15:06,060 --> 00:15:07,580 the effects of that, 313 00:15:07,580 --> 00:15:12,500 and how do we handle that kind of exhaustion 314 00:15:12,500 --> 00:15:16,002 is a common struggle for us all. 315 00:15:16,002 --> 00:15:18,720 And I would say that one of the most helpful things 316 00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:23,720 that I've seen is I stumbled across a going home checklist 317 00:15:24,540 --> 00:15:26,620 from the National Health Service 318 00:15:26,620 --> 00:15:29,210 from the United Kingdom several years ago. 319 00:15:29,210 --> 00:15:31,718 And I thought what a brilliant idea 320 00:15:31,718 --> 00:15:34,510 to help make sure that we don't take 321 00:15:34,510 --> 00:15:37,270 that burden of stress from work 322 00:15:37,270 --> 00:15:39,740 and take it home and take it out on our kids or spouse 323 00:15:39,740 --> 00:15:42,583 or whatever else, our plants, pets. 324 00:15:43,700 --> 00:15:46,240 How do we do that effectively? 325 00:15:46,240 --> 00:15:49,400 And so, I re-engineered the checklist 326 00:15:49,400 --> 00:15:54,400 and we created one for Mayo that you can get 327 00:15:54,680 --> 00:15:56,940 if you want for your division or yourself 328 00:15:56,940 --> 00:15:59,310 through the forms system at Mayo. 329 00:15:59,310 --> 00:16:03,390 But basically, it is a moment of reflection 330 00:16:03,390 --> 00:16:06,310 before you transition from work to home. 331 00:16:06,310 --> 00:16:08,340 And in that reflection, you take a moment 332 00:16:08,340 --> 00:16:11,600 to think about and acknowledge three things 333 00:16:11,600 --> 00:16:13,193 that went well during the day. 334 00:16:14,050 --> 00:16:16,570 No matter how many other things didn't go well 335 00:16:16,570 --> 00:16:17,900 find three things that did. 336 00:16:17,900 --> 00:16:21,910 And some days it might just be that you got outta bed 337 00:16:21,910 --> 00:16:23,410 and it can be that. 338 00:16:23,410 --> 00:16:26,100 But then other days, if you don't take a moment 339 00:16:26,100 --> 00:16:27,360 you might overlook the fact 340 00:16:27,360 --> 00:16:32,360 that your coworker anticipated that you had a long night 341 00:16:32,600 --> 00:16:36,080 and brought you coffee, and stuff like that. 342 00:16:36,080 --> 00:16:38,440 So three things that went well. 343 00:16:38,440 --> 00:16:42,530 The next one, acknowledge one thing that went not well 344 00:16:42,530 --> 00:16:44,610 or was difficult for the day. 345 00:16:44,610 --> 00:16:47,500 Think about it, process it for a moment, 346 00:16:47,500 --> 00:16:49,630 be kind to yourself and let it go. 347 00:16:49,630 --> 00:16:52,987 And just acknowledge that you're not going to work on that 348 00:16:52,987 --> 00:16:55,687 and you're gonna let it go before you enter the house. 349 00:16:58,040 --> 00:17:01,370 Next, think about one person that you want to acknowledge 350 00:17:01,370 --> 00:17:03,410 and you directly recognize them 351 00:17:03,410 --> 00:17:04,910 even if it's in your thoughts. 352 00:17:06,040 --> 00:17:07,470 For example, I'm very grateful 353 00:17:07,470 --> 00:17:09,010 that I got to be on this podcast today 354 00:17:09,010 --> 00:17:13,120 and I'm going to probably at the end of my workday, 355 00:17:13,120 --> 00:17:14,730 think about how awesome that was 356 00:17:14,730 --> 00:17:17,523 and directly acknowledge all of you for having me. 357 00:17:18,890 --> 00:17:22,510 Identify one teammate who could use a pick me up 358 00:17:22,510 --> 00:17:24,223 and reach out to them. 359 00:17:25,380 --> 00:17:26,430 And this is important, 360 00:17:26,430 --> 00:17:28,530 because sometimes in our moment 361 00:17:28,530 --> 00:17:30,710 we will forget to look at the people beside us 362 00:17:30,710 --> 00:17:33,560 and we can have a huge impact upon their experience 363 00:17:33,560 --> 00:17:36,720 just by thinking, "Oh, you know that patient 364 00:17:36,720 --> 00:17:38,643 was kind of brutal to my colleague. 365 00:17:40,030 --> 00:17:41,980 Maybe I can just give him a call or shoot him an email 366 00:17:41,980 --> 00:17:43,890 and say, 'I'm thinking about you. 367 00:17:43,890 --> 00:17:45,430 I know that was really hard. 368 00:17:45,430 --> 00:17:48,970 And if you need me, here's my phone number, gimme a call.'" 369 00:17:48,970 --> 00:17:50,980 And the effect that that will have not only 370 00:17:50,980 --> 00:17:53,460 on your wellbeing for recognizing 371 00:17:53,460 --> 00:17:55,130 and building a sense of community 372 00:17:55,130 --> 00:17:58,590 there is sciences say that will uplift your own spirits, 373 00:17:58,590 --> 00:18:02,403 but the effects to the other person are also quite dramatic. 374 00:18:03,350 --> 00:18:05,840 Okay, and then the next one is reflect on 375 00:18:05,840 --> 00:18:08,500 at least one action that you did during the day 376 00:18:08,500 --> 00:18:11,140 that aligned with your personal values. 377 00:18:11,140 --> 00:18:13,790 And again, this is so that you relate each day 378 00:18:13,790 --> 00:18:15,010 to the fact that you are moving 379 00:18:15,010 --> 00:18:17,720 your personal value set forward. 380 00:18:17,720 --> 00:18:20,510 And if we don't deliberately look at it that way 381 00:18:20,510 --> 00:18:22,150 it can often be that we feel like 382 00:18:22,150 --> 00:18:24,330 the day was spent processing email 383 00:18:24,330 --> 00:18:26,610 or not getting something done, 384 00:18:26,610 --> 00:18:29,550 when in truth, if we think about it 385 00:18:29,550 --> 00:18:31,620 what we did really did fit with our values 386 00:18:31,620 --> 00:18:33,620 at least some part of your day did. 387 00:18:33,620 --> 00:18:35,530 And if you can't think of that, 388 00:18:35,530 --> 00:18:37,150 well, that's also a reflection 389 00:18:37,150 --> 00:18:38,890 going back to those foundational pieces 390 00:18:38,890 --> 00:18:40,090 that we talked about. 391 00:18:40,090 --> 00:18:41,370 If so many days pass, 392 00:18:41,370 --> 00:18:44,390 and you can't reflect anything with your values, 393 00:18:44,390 --> 00:18:46,170 that's important to recognize. 394 00:18:46,170 --> 00:18:49,270 And the last piece is just deliberately acknowledge 395 00:18:49,270 --> 00:18:52,080 and tell yourself, you're about to transition 396 00:18:52,080 --> 00:18:53,960 into a rest and recharge period, 397 00:18:53,960 --> 00:18:56,020 and that's healthy and normal. 398 00:18:56,020 --> 00:18:58,830 So you're gonna leave work behind and you're gonna come home 399 00:18:58,830 --> 00:19:02,180 and be as present as you can be in the way that you can. 400 00:19:02,180 --> 00:19:04,330 And I recognize some people are on-call 401 00:19:04,330 --> 00:19:06,070 or you might have leadership duties or whatever, 402 00:19:06,070 --> 00:19:10,080 but there's still a mental opportunity 403 00:19:10,080 --> 00:19:12,640 to just tell yourself that that's what's gonna happen 404 00:19:12,640 --> 00:19:16,760 so that you don't carry baggage across that boundary 405 00:19:16,760 --> 00:19:19,260 into the threshold of your house. 406 00:19:19,260 --> 00:19:23,280 So I think these are not necessarily shared causes 407 00:19:23,280 --> 00:19:25,320 of poor wellbeing or wellness, 408 00:19:25,320 --> 00:19:30,320 but rather the effect of being unwell or under a crucible, 409 00:19:30,330 --> 00:19:32,830 as I said before, can and be very similar 410 00:19:32,830 --> 00:19:35,180 and we can mitigate it with a similar strategy. 411 00:19:37,680 --> 00:19:40,470 - As hearing you talk about that checklist 412 00:19:40,470 --> 00:19:45,470 I really like how it seems to in your day, 413 00:19:46,180 --> 00:19:51,140 be a way to close one chapter of your life and open another. 414 00:19:51,140 --> 00:19:54,120 Kind of celebrating that we are multitudes, 415 00:19:54,120 --> 00:19:58,170 so there's multiple facets out there within us, 416 00:19:58,170 --> 00:20:00,097 areas we participate in. 417 00:20:00,097 --> 00:20:03,750 And the other thing that I really love about that 418 00:20:03,750 --> 00:20:07,350 is it sounds like you're also threading in 419 00:20:08,962 --> 00:20:13,160 not just for myself what three things that went well, 420 00:20:13,160 --> 00:20:14,620 what is one thing that was difficult, 421 00:20:14,620 --> 00:20:18,690 but I hear the connection and the thread to community 422 00:20:19,700 --> 00:20:24,700 what's one person that really I connected with 423 00:20:25,010 --> 00:20:28,610 or what's one teammate that I need to reach out to? 424 00:20:28,610 --> 00:20:30,690 It's really threading us together. 425 00:20:30,690 --> 00:20:31,950 - Exactly. 426 00:20:31,950 --> 00:20:35,120 Woven in there are that building community, 427 00:20:35,120 --> 00:20:39,820 helping uplift people, thinking about our values, gratitude, 428 00:20:39,820 --> 00:20:41,540 some of these big picture themes 429 00:20:41,540 --> 00:20:45,750 that go beyond yoga and pizza and time off and money. 430 00:20:45,750 --> 00:20:48,190 And they are, earlier I talked about 431 00:20:48,190 --> 00:20:50,320 how much more important these things are. 432 00:20:50,320 --> 00:20:52,740 Well, my experience is that people 433 00:20:52,740 --> 00:20:56,700 who have these foundational blocks in the right places, 434 00:20:56,700 --> 00:21:01,440 their ability to survive and thrive under stress 435 00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:04,720 is much greater than people who are in work environments 436 00:21:04,720 --> 00:21:06,880 that they don't feel seen, don't feel value, 437 00:21:06,880 --> 00:21:09,080 don't feel like they can make an impact. 438 00:21:09,080 --> 00:21:11,200 When that's the case, we're much more brittle. 439 00:21:11,200 --> 00:21:14,360 And the unfortunate reality is that life 440 00:21:14,360 --> 00:21:16,940 is always gonna throw challenges at us. 441 00:21:16,940 --> 00:21:17,980 I mean, these last two years 442 00:21:17,980 --> 00:21:19,640 have brought that to the surface, right? 443 00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:24,640 And if we are not first, building with the right blocks 444 00:21:24,790 --> 00:21:27,030 then our houses and our buildings 445 00:21:27,030 --> 00:21:29,280 that we build ourselves up in are gonna fall. 446 00:21:30,930 --> 00:21:34,210 - So I'd like to kinda close the podcast 447 00:21:34,210 --> 00:21:36,130 by kind of looking to the future. 448 00:21:36,130 --> 00:21:41,130 And I think, going back to how you started this podcast 449 00:21:41,600 --> 00:21:44,440 about how it really is an essential 450 00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:49,360 and just how awareness is growing, 451 00:21:49,360 --> 00:21:53,160 not just awareness for like you were saying 452 00:21:53,160 --> 00:21:54,450 some very basic stuff, 453 00:21:54,450 --> 00:21:58,010 but some meaningful things in our life 454 00:21:58,010 --> 00:22:00,390 in these various facets. 455 00:22:00,390 --> 00:22:01,580 I'm kind of curious for, 456 00:22:01,580 --> 00:22:05,583 what do you think is in store for us in the future 457 00:22:05,583 --> 00:22:08,460 as you're saying in the near future, 458 00:22:08,460 --> 00:22:12,790 it's just gonna be the standard of employment 459 00:22:12,790 --> 00:22:15,900 to have these kinds of programs? 460 00:22:15,900 --> 00:22:16,733 - Absolutely. 461 00:22:18,600 --> 00:22:21,070 I'm biased in this and I love technology. 462 00:22:21,070 --> 00:22:24,770 So I sit and think about tech quite a bit. 463 00:22:24,770 --> 00:22:25,860 And these last couple years 464 00:22:25,860 --> 00:22:27,370 obviously, have challenged most of us 465 00:22:27,370 --> 00:22:29,620 to think about how we interact 466 00:22:29,620 --> 00:22:31,530 with other humans differently. 467 00:22:31,530 --> 00:22:35,180 And it comes at a time when even pre-COVID 468 00:22:35,180 --> 00:22:39,454 things were moving into a metaverse 469 00:22:39,454 --> 00:22:43,900 and you see that in the change of Facebook's name, 470 00:22:43,900 --> 00:22:45,083 for example, to Meta. 471 00:22:46,730 --> 00:22:48,500 And I think that puts a challenge on us 472 00:22:48,500 --> 00:22:50,250 in wellness and wellbeing, 473 00:22:50,250 --> 00:22:53,150 how do we maintain or push forward 474 00:22:53,150 --> 00:22:56,270 in our individual wellbeing 475 00:22:56,270 --> 00:22:59,680 when we may be physically more isolated? 476 00:22:59,680 --> 00:23:03,410 Can we leverage virtual reality, augmented reality 477 00:23:03,410 --> 00:23:06,100 to help build community 478 00:23:06,100 --> 00:23:09,370 when we may be across bigger distances? 479 00:23:09,370 --> 00:23:11,960 And I think it's a cool challenge 480 00:23:11,960 --> 00:23:14,120 and I wouldn't be surprised 481 00:23:14,120 --> 00:23:16,812 if we see lots of innovation in that space 482 00:23:16,812 --> 00:23:18,630 over the next couple years. 483 00:23:18,630 --> 00:23:21,820 I think, I'm personally very excited to see what comes 484 00:23:21,820 --> 00:23:23,240 and I have a few tricks up my sleeve 485 00:23:23,240 --> 00:23:27,520 for the emergency department that I'd like to test out. 486 00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:28,780 - I bet you do. 487 00:23:28,780 --> 00:23:31,910 And as listeners may not know, 488 00:23:31,910 --> 00:23:36,620 I really appreciate a lot of the education and teaching 489 00:23:36,620 --> 00:23:38,970 that happens in emergency medicine 490 00:23:38,970 --> 00:23:41,710 and I like to drop in and spy 491 00:23:41,710 --> 00:23:45,780 and learn from your wonderful grand rounds that guys do. 492 00:23:45,780 --> 00:23:49,920 And I'm looking forward to seeing that Venk. 493 00:23:50,791 --> 00:23:51,624 - [Venk] Me too. 494 00:23:51,624 --> 00:23:54,510 - So we've been rounding with Dr. Bellamkonda 495 00:23:54,510 --> 00:23:57,190 on the importance of wellness. 496 00:23:57,190 --> 00:23:59,160 Thank you for being here with us Venk. 497 00:23:59,160 --> 00:23:59,993 - It's been my pleasure. 498 00:23:59,993 --> 00:24:01,970 Thank you for having me. 499 00:24:01,970 --> 00:24:03,380 - So to all of our listeners 500 00:24:03,380 --> 00:24:05,150 thank you for joining us today. 501 00:24:05,150 --> 00:24:06,890 We invite you to share your thoughts 502 00:24:06,890 --> 00:24:08,890 and suggestions via email. 503 00:24:08,890 --> 00:24:13,890 Please direct any suggestions to mcleducation@mayo.edu. 504 00:24:14,020 --> 00:24:16,730 If you have enjoyed "Lab Medicine Rounds" podcast 505 00:24:16,730 --> 00:24:18,930 please follow or subscribe. 506 00:24:18,930 --> 00:24:20,450 Until our next rounds together, 507 00:24:20,450 --> 00:24:23,770 we encourage you to continue to connect lab medicine 508 00:24:23,770 --> 00:24:28,143 and the clinical practice through insightful conversations. 509 00:24:28,143 --> 00:24:31,143 (electro-pop music)