Dr Susannah Ward

What does wellbeing mean to you at an individual level?

Individual wellbeing means living with some level of self-mastery (understanding and accepting yourself, knowing your holistic health needs, and managing them adaptively most of the time), and functioning optimally, with meaning and purpose despite challenges.

Wellbeing is holistic and multifaceted. Rather than a subjective appraisal of affect, wellbeing reflets a person's overall health, function and life satisfaction. It requires a healthy, adaptive and caring relationship with oneself, their environment, and community. It is deeply interconnected with the wellbeing of others and the environment. Wellbeing flourishes when a person lives aligned with their values, can meet their holistic needs, and has access to the necessary resources and support to thrive.

Achieving wellbeing means integrating a sense of self, finding contentment in one's abilities and participation in life, while accepting limits and embracing potential. Safety – physical, psychological, and social – is fundamental.

What does wellbeing mean to you an organisational level?

At the organisational level, wellbeing thrives in a physically and psychologically safe workplace where staff have access to the resources and support needed to meet the demands of their role and sustain wellbeing.

Supportive governance and a nurturing culture make wellbeing a shared responsibility where staff feel and are enabled to flourish in their career, health, and personal lives. Systems are conducive to sustainable workloads and efficient practices.

What can an organisation do to support physician wellbeing?

Organisations need to measure their staff's wellbeing through validated tools and surveys. There need to be avenues for communication between frontline workers and executive leadership, so issues are addressed efficiently and staff feel heard, validated, and engaged in positive change, which is conducive to wellbeing. 

Leaders need skills training and support to ensure staff are treated with compassion and interpersonal interactions foster psychological safety. Staff need access to healthy food, fresh water, breaks, leave and healthcare. Leaders should role model well-being behaviours. I think offering free staff mindfulness, yoga and wellbeing education sessions send a clear cultural message.

All leading hospitals and training hospitals need a chief medical wellness officer to develop, implement and monitor wellbeing interventions targeted to hotspots and drivers of staff burnout etc.