As I prepare to go to the New Fellows Committee wellbeing weekend, I can’t help but ask myself, ‘How are the GPs of Victoria feeling, physically and mentally, now we’re in the third year of the pandemic and have lost count of recent natural disasters?’ It’s been a relentless barrage of challenge, loss, stress, hardship. It’s been a constant fight to have our worth acknowledged and our profession respected for what it’s done and continues to do. There’s been uncertainty, moral injury and serious adulting.
No wonder we’re all tired.
We’ve also had great successes and triumphs, granted. But we’re still pretty tired.
So, what are you doing to care for yourself? Do you know that only 55% of doctors have their own GP? Five percent of us treat ourselves, and another 13% have our doctor partners do the job for us. Tsk-tsk, doctors. That ain’t cool.
Two percent of us smoke, 5% of us use substances. GPs have a 1 in 43 chance of high-risk drinking, and that shoots up to 1 in 33 in rural areas. There’s still a lot of work to do.
Why am I writing this? I don’t want to add doom to the gloom – that’s not my style. I want you to sit down with a cup of tea and ask yourselves the following questions, that’s all:
- Do you have your own (independent) GP?
- When was the last time you saw them?
- Are you concerned about your lifestyle?
- Is there something simple you can change?
- When was the last time you laughed out loud, and should you be buying tickets to the Comedy Festival?
- Do you still engage in your hobbies and totally switch off from doctoring?
If you act on just one question, you’ll have made me a very happy Chair
Dr Anita Muñoz
Chair, Victoria Faculty