Second Victim

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3 Steps to Using Ritual to Heal After Patient Deaths

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3 Steps to Using Ritual to Heal After Patient Deaths

Physicians and nurses are feeling enormous grief in relation to patients’ losses right now. I’ve long been interested in grief as it shows up in us and how those feelings reflect what our patients and our work means to us. Now I’d like to explore what we can do to get through it. Many use a moment of silence to allow the medical team to process a patient death. I believe we could do so much more for ourselves, though. For today, let’s ask, how can physicians and nurses use ritual to process their grief, especially in the midst of a pandemic?


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Surviving A Long, Dark Night -- 5 Lessons For Us

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Surviving A Long, Dark Night -- 5 Lessons For Us

Physicians commonly call their experiences with a hard patient outcome or a lawsuit the “dark night of the soul.” As we mark Winter Solstice — the longest night of the year — I find myself wondering what it might have to teach us about how we emerge from our own long, dark nights.

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Am I a Second Victim? 3 Ways to Know

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Am I a Second Victim? 3 Ways to Know

Unforeseen events can alter the course of physicians’ and other healers’ lives. They sometimes make us question our understanding of our professional role, our place in the universe as a human being, and our outlook on ourselves and others. Are you wondering whether you might be what some call a “second victim?” Join me to explore 3 questions that will give you the clues you need to find an answer.

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4 Injuries Hidden in the Work We Love

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4 Injuries Hidden in the Work We Love

For weeks, the news has been all about COVID-19 and its impact beyond Wuhan, where it emerged.. Our work exposes us to so much. Injury from agents like COVID-19, while immediate and concrete, is in many ways the least among risks we run. By virtue of our commitment to humanity, we encounter an array of injuries which can impact on our health, joy, and longevity.

Like all injuries, the better we define them, the greater the likelihood we’ll heal. So, let’s explore them.