Anesthesia can be an especially stressful profession as doctors take over the responsibility for the life and well-being of patients during their procedure.
So when the UC San Francisco Anesthesia and Perioperative Care Department’s Faculty Well-Being Working Group recently sat down to discuss how the department could help reduce faculty stress and fatigue, they decided to try a group yoga class.
“Our goal was to increase physician satisfaction, engagement and well-being and we brainstormed different ways to accomplish this,” said Dr. Michael Gropper, Professor and Chair of the department. “One of our doctors, Kerstin Kolodzie, is a yoga enthusiast and she explained how it helps reduce her stress. She recommended we take a group class.”
Dr. Gropper said the faculty agreed to give yoga a shot and they contacted UCSF Fitness & Recreation to arrange a class. “Dr. Gropper is a long-time member of Millberry Fitness Center and believes exercise is an important part of well-being,” said Liane Wong, Member Experience Manager for the fitness centers. “Initially, the department funded the yoga class in February and March but it was so successful it is now extended through September.”
Prior to implementing the class, Dr. Kolodzie said a short survey was sent to more than 300 people in the department to determine if there was interest. “The interest was much higher than I expected and we decided to go ahead and implement the class. The feedback from participants was positive without exception. It basically confirmed my experience: People reported reduced shoulder and neck pain, reduced muscle tightness and feeling relaxed and refreshed, in addition to the great feeling that they worked out and actually did something for themselves.”
Dr. Kolodzie said the class helps faculty deal with the stress and long work hours. “When we discussed employee satisfaction and fatigue within our department during the Well-Being Committee meeting, we recognized that we cannot easily change our work conditions. But we can help people deal with it better by supporting an active and healthy lifestyle.”
Dr. Kolodzie has practiced yoga for the past three years. “I’m an absolute beginner,” she said. “Initially, I joined a yoga group for the physical benefits. As a runner and biker, I realized I needed to work on flexibility and core strength for a balanced and injury-free body. It turned out that yoga has far more benefits for me. Although the sessions can be very exhausting, I felt re-energized after every class. The tiredness after a long workday seemed to disappear. And for one hour, I actually enjoyed focusing on myself, my needs and my well-being.”
Dr. Dorre Nicholau said she appreciates that ideas for improving the work environment are coming directly from the faculty. “Kerstin brought up the yoga class and now we’ve added acupuncture on Friday afternoons. We’re trying a variety of different things to improve our well-being.”
Dr. Gropper said he doesn’t practice yoga regularly but he took the class and enjoyed it. “Doing something together outside of work was good for employee engagement and it made the statement that our engagement and well-being is important. It was also a good workout.”
He said the class helps improve communication and a joint class with surgeons could have benefits for the work atmosphere. “Talking outside of the high-stress situations that we work under can benefit all of us and that could have benefits in the operating room.”