Prioritising Self-Care

With responsibility for taking care of their patients and families, women ophthalmologists may be neglecting their own physical, emotional, and mental health. Speaking at the Women in Ophthalmology symposium, Melissa Summerfield MD emphasised the importance of maintaining personal well-being and aimed to convince her female colleagues to begin paying more attention to their self-care needs.

“When you start prioritising your wellness, you will be able to take better care of those who are important to and depend on you,” Dr Summerfield said.

Survey results underscore the multiple work-related stresses affecting ophthalmologists, including problems with pain from overuse injuries and symptoms of burnout. Noting these issues may be more prominent among women than men, Dr Summerfield offered her perspective on why women are so dedicated to their jobs that they compromise their health. She proposed the answer is found in messaging from multiple sources, including society, colleagues, and medical culture—and guilt-laden messages women place on themselves.

Self-care solutions

Stating that self-care is any activity for increasing physical, mental, or emotional health, Dr Summerfield shared ideas about easy ways women can begin to “up their self-care game.”

Her first suggestion was to harness the physiological benefits of taking deep cleansing breaths to relieve feelings of stress during a demanding clinic day.

“Breath is a powerful tool because it is one of the few bodily functions under both conscious and autonomic control. When we consciously control our breath, it engages the parasympathetic nervous system, which resets our emotional thermostat back towards neutral and brings the front lobe back online,” Dr Summerfield said.

“Taking a few cleansing breaths before entering the exam room leaves us feeling calmer when we begin the next patient encounter and also gives us the ability to make the best decisions for that individual.”

Exercise was the focus of Dr Summerfield’s next tip, accompanied by suggestions on how to find the necessary time.

“You knew you would not get out of a lecture on self-care without hearing about exercise,” Dr Summerfield quipped. “And I know everyone is busy. But what if I asked you to spend just 10 minutes three times a week?”

She advocated for weight training, considering women start to lose muscle mass at age 39 with consequences of decreased metabolism, which increases risk for obesity, and decreased core strength, which increases susceptibility to musculoskeletal injuries. While encouraging women to begin “lifting heavy stuff,” she also said taking time for a 10-minute walk during the lunch break 3 days a week was a good start.

For women who felt they didn’t even have that much time to spare, Dr Summerfield proposed carefully considering the many requests they receive to serve in professional, charitable, or family-related activities and declining involvement with obligations that do not fulfil a core desire or need.

“Saying no to things that do not add meaning or purpose to our lives gives us time, space, and energy to dedicate to the things that do,” she said.

Dr Summerfield spoke on this topic at AAO 2024 in Chicago, US.

Melissa Summerfield MD is a private practice ophthalmologist at North Iowa Eye Clinic in Mason City, Iowa, US. summerfield.melissa@gmail.com