Doctors at Work Mat Daniel

Phil is a doctor and an Irish Olympian rower. In this episode, we discuss how his understanding of elite sport performance can help doctors at work. He describes a great analogy of his whole life / career being a four legged stool, and that whilst you might only be able to function on three, you cannot do so on two legs. I love the idea of always making choices about what is prioritised today, and always understanding that there are long term as well as short term goals. He tells me that pressure is important for learning, and that the key is to understand what the pressure is and how it helps you progress. And I love how he talks about the importance of having mental clarity instead of jumping into situations in the middle of an adrenaline rush.

If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like Episode 56 how to perform under pressure, 82 what doctors can learn from elite athletes, and 80 optimising mental performance.

You can also watch at www.youtube.com/@dr-coach/videos.
Production: Shot by Polachek

Career success means different things to different people. However, as doctors we compare ourselves to each other, and when applying for jobs we are compared against other candidates. In this episode Jason, who is a PGY3 doctor, tells me about his experiences of defining career success. We talk about how comparison with others can be good, but it can also be problematic. His advice is to focus on learning, people, and the "why", as much as on external indicators of success.

Jason is a postgraduate year 3 doctor currently working as a medical education HMO in Melbourne. You can connect with him on LinkedIn, or on twitter @drjasoncottle.

You can also watch at www.youtube.com/@dr-coach/videos.
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As doctors we have to perform to a high standard in many settings, whether this is leading a ward round, cardiac arrest, or operating. Our technical skills are important, and out mindset matters too. In this episode, Krystle and I discuss mental performance.

We talk about career transitions and how they relate to our own self identity, and discuss the need to be aware of what matters to you, and the need to let go of some things from the past. We talk about how strengths can also become a weakness, and that doing things at the extreme is probably not going to be good; ask whether this belief is serving you or harming you.

Mental performance starts with self awareness, and self awareness is a life long journey not something that you do once and then forget about it. Self awareness includes thoughts, feelings, as well as body sensations; the latter can be particularly useful indicators. When difficulties arise, we need to identify what we are afraid of, what's the worst that could happen, what's at stake, and what exactly the issues are (it may be a learning need or style as much as anything related to thinking); this needs to be done with no judgement, so we convert limiting thoughts into thoughts that serve us.

Visualisation is a really useful tool to prepare for the future; visualisation is not about magical thinking, it's about mentally preparing and planning for whatever you need to achieve. And mind is like a muscle, so the more you visualise, self-reflect, and reframe, the better it gets.

Krystle Kustanovich, an accredited mental performance coach is renowned for her transformative work with top athletes and high achievers. With a unique focus on the intricacies of the mental game, Krystle empowers individuals to conquer their inner barriers and unleash their full potential. Grounded in neuroscience, Krystle's approach offers practical techniques that drive tangible results, enabling clients to surpass limitations and achieve unparalleled success.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/krystlekustanovich/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/krystle.coach/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/krystle.coach
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@the.millennialcoach
Podcast: "I never thought of it that way" https://open.spotify.com/show/0KvGzdOydPMg1hbMUdhuZj?si=f45cba449107453f
Website: https://mentalperformance.co.za/

You can also watch at www.youtube.com/@dr-coach/videos.
Production: Shot by Polachek

Our work seems to consist of one crisis after another. In this episode, Matt tells me about the importance of identifying what's urgent and what's important. This can be learnt, and asking others can be a useful way to develop this prioritisation skill. Checklists have a place too, as long as we don't forget the importance of human interaction. Regular stress and pressure also means that looking after ourselves is important, and we need to dedicate time to strategic and long term thinking as well as to today's emergency.

Matt Morgan is a Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine, adjunct Clinical Professor and regular BMJ columnist. He has contributed to >50 scientific articles following his PhD in artificial intelligence including the NEJM, Lancet and JAMA. After appearing on television and radio, he gave the 2023 Woodridge Lecture and was nominated for the Royal Society’s David Attenborough prize for public engagement. His first book CRITICAL tells remarkable stories of patients in the intensive care unit. His second book, ONE MEDICINE, explores how understanding animals can help treat human disease. His third book will look at the lives of patients after surviving a cardiac arrest. His is a member of the BMJ Commission on the Future of the NHS and is the medical advisor for The National Theatre’ in London’s production of "Nye", the story of Aneurin Bevan. He lives in Cardiff with his family. You can find him on LinkedIn and Twitter @dr_mattmorgan and Instagram @dr_mattmorgan.

You can also watch at www.youtube.com/@dr-coach/videos
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What is emotional intelligence and how do you develop it? Tracy tells me that emotional intelligence is about how you relate to yourself and to others. We all have a tendency for events to lead to emotions without us pausing and considering what is going on, so the key is to actually slow down the move from event to emotion and examine the thoughts that are determining how we feel. Once we recognise the thoughts as well as emotions at play, we can then make choices based on how we really want to be, instead of doing things that we later regret. Better emotional intelligence makes us happier in the long term, and it also improves workplace interactions with colleagues.

Tracy L Davis, MD PhD is mid-career dermatopathologist and anatomic pathologist in the southwest U.S., currently working in companion diagnostics in the pharmaceutical industry at Roche. Her career has also spanned hospital practice, academic medicine, and private practice. Outside of medicine, she is also a speaker and certified life coach who is passionate about Happiness Studies. She is the author of the weekly newsletter, The Happy Physician: A Practical Guide. She helps physicians who want more out of life, despite seeming to “have-it-all”, to create the life they dream of, so that they can achieve greater happiness and live their best life.

You can find her at  thehappyphysician.com, www.linkedin.com/in/tracydavismd, and www.facebook.com/davist07

You can also watch at www.youtube.com/@dr-coach/videos.
Production: Shot by Polachek

Ranj tells me that General Practice in an exciting specialty with wide variety of conditions and interactions. Good communication skills and teamwork are important, as is an ability to manage uncertainty. We discuss the many different ways that GPs can work, including portfolio careers. I love the way his Practice has created structures that enable staff to connect and get support from each other.

Dr Ranj Sagoo is a UK trained and GMC licenced doctor of over 15 years’ experience. He gained his medical degree (MBCHB) at Leicester University in 2006 after which he trained in Orthopaedics and Surgery before becoming a GP in 2013 obtaining Membership of the Royal College of General Practitioners (MRCGP).
Early in his GP career he developed an interest in Dermatology and completed the Cardiff Diploma of Practical Dermatology, followed by the Cardiff Certificate in Dermoscopy. Combining this with his surgical skills Dr Ranj developed an expertise in diagnosing and managing chronic skin conditions, diagnosing skin lesions and performing skin surgery.
As he progressed in his career Dr Ranj felt that there was so much more that we can do to help people not only manage their health problems but prevent them from occurring. Dr Ranj has a firm belief that we are in control of our health and those people that struggle with their health have the power within them to regain that control. We are not destined to develop certain conditions because they are in the family, nor should people feel restricted by their health problems as they are very reversible.
 Dr Ranj began to look at health as a complex interaction of multiple contexts of life. Core to his belief is seeing the person as a whole and not the illness that they present with. Developing a deeper understanding of the person, their values, purpose and their circumstances, holds the key to helping them with their health problems.
He began to explore the psychology of health behaviour and the drivers of motivation to change. Dr Ranj developed an awareness of the need for a more holistic approach to health and wellbeing. He developed a fascination with lifestyle and nutritional approaches to health and wellbeing. He has since become certified in counselling, a Professional Coach and NLP Practitioner accredited by the Association of Professional Coaches (APC) and European Association of Neurolinguistic Programming (EANLP). Dr Ranj has also achieved the Level 3 Award for Nutritional Intervention in Exercise, Wellbeing and Weight Management with the Association for Nutrition (AfN) and completed the Diploma of Lifestyle Medicine with the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine (BSLM) and is a Certified Lifestyle Medicine Physician.  
With his Health & Wellbeing programs, Dr Ranj helps clients achieve their health goals by bringing together his wealth of knowledge in conventional, nutritional and lifestyle medicine. Using his skills in counselling, coaching and NLP he helps clients make deep discovery, find alignment with their values and make sustainable life-long change. A true journey to creating a healthier and happier life, not only for the client but their family and loved ones through transferable learning.
Outside of medicine, Dr Ranj is an Award-winning Fine Art wildlife artist, having won the 2022 BritishContemporary.Art ‘Artist of the Year’ award. He is also keen on sports and fitness and enjoys playing football, tennis, and kickboxing. As well as this Dr Ranj enjoys travelling and exploring different cultures and cuisines with his family.
You can find him at www.drranjsagoo.com, Instagram @drranj_healthcoach; Youtube @drranj_healthcoach; www.linkedin.com/in/dr-ranjit-sagoo; and https://www.facebook.com/groups/drranjsagoo/. The mindful Mixtape Podcast is at instagram @the.mindfulmixtape.podcast