Your wellbeing
A healthy workforce is integral to patient safety and to quality and sustainable health care. We support all our members and trainees to make their health and wellbeing a priority.
We’re here to help
As doctors, it can be challenging to balance the demands of a busy profession with family and personal commitments. We too, like the rest of society, can struggle with depression, anxiety and poor mental health.
This page is for wellbeing support in times of personal or workplace difficulty.
Our services and resources
Member Support program (EAP)
mini传媒入口 recognises that our members can face stressful situations, both in their personal lives and in their demanding yet rewarding professions. This can sometimes result in difficulty maintaining self-care and a healthy work/life balance, which can affect physical and mental health.
To take care of others, you must first take care of yourself. Being proactive about your mental health and wellbeing is important for your professional and personal lives. This involves recognising the signs and seeking informal or professional support when needed.
Our Member Support Program, Converge, provides confidential support to mini传媒入口 trainees, SIMGs and Fellows (and their immediate family members) across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.
Through Converge, you can access qualified and experienced counsellors on a range of issues including those set out below. Converge also runs specialist helplines for First Nations people, LGBTQIA people and for those impacted by domestic violence. Please ask for these helplines when you contact Converge.
All sessions are entirely confidential, and the College pays for your first four sessions within any 12-month period. Sessions may be face-to-face, by video conference or by phone.
Book a counselling session
Phone
1300 687 327 (Australia)
0800 666 367 (Aotearoa New Zealand)
Online
Enter the organisation code THECMHJ
Further information
Visit the link below to learn more about the process and questions you will be asked when booking your first session.
For any queries, please contact: wellbeing@ranzcog.edu.au.
Trainee and supervisor support
mini传媒入口’s mini传媒入口 Support Unit is a confidential service for trainees, SIMGs and supervisors.
mini传媒入口 recognises that trainees and SIMGs may experience periods of professional and personal difficulty. Coping with the demands of a busy profession, developing skills, building knowledge, as well as balancing family and personal commitments can be challenging.
The College also recognises the importance of supporting supervisors, who ensure trainees and SIMGs receive vital learning opportunities and are given adequate time to develop their skills.
Meet your trainee representatives
Workshops and CPD
To support your mental health and wellbeing, the mini传媒入口’s CPD Framework allows for educational health and wellbeing activities to be approved as part of your continuing professional development. If you’re not sure if a wellbeing activity is relevant, please email wellbeing@ranzcog.edu.au.
Wellbeing Advocates
The College Wellbeing Advocates were established in late 2021 and are made up of members and trainees located across O&G departments in Australia and Aotearoa (New Zealand).
The Wellbeing Advocates meet quarterly to share concerns raised in their workplaces and discuss initiatives to better support their colleagues.
Some examples include:
Kindness at Handover (KISBAR): created to better support night shift clinicians during handovers using the ISBAR structured handovers. It involves implementing a designated senior leader as an emotional support person for the team. This person may interrupt any part of the handover that is psychologically unsafe and provides time for one-on-one debriefing for anyone who needs it.
Warm and Fuzzies: created to embed a culture of positive feedback and counter individual tendency for negative self-talk and negative self-reflection (i.e. challenging imposter syndrome). Staff write anonymous compliments to their colleagues which are then read aloud once a week in a teaching setting, called 鈥渨arm and fuzzies鈥欌.
Wellbeing Advocates can also promote and advocate for proactive mental health and wellbeing support within their workplace; identify, and seek feedback from others, on actions and processes that are causing ill-health; provide feedback to the College on existing initiatives and recommendations for new initiatives; and link trainees and members with relevant College support services and staff representatives.
Health and Occupational Wellbeing Program 2024 (NEW)
Wellbeing Advocates have been invited to pilot the Health and Occupational Wellbeing (HOW) Program within their workplaces in 2024.
The HOW Program is a flexible framework for embedding co-designed wellbeing initiatives in Hospitals and Health Services (HHS). The HOW Program, created by the authors of the Leading with Kindness COVID-19 Toolkit (LKC19TK), aims to leverage the key objectives of the LKC19TK to reduce burnout, improve wellness, and create an ongoing culture of occupational health and safety.
The core purpose of the HOW Program is to empower and guide participants in developing and implementing a tailored wellbeing program for their units to enhance the overall wellness of their team members. The primary output from the project will follow five eLearning modules that will help participants to reflect, plan, and evaluate the impact of implementing the Program. Participants will also be provided with toolkits and templates to support them throughout the process.
Want more information?
If you would like more information on the College Wellbeing Advocates, or are interested in joining, contact wellbeing@ranzcog.edu.au for more information.
You can also join our and follow our to stay up to date on wellbeing initiatives across the College.
Policies and procedures
Please click on the three dots in the bottom left corner below to explore our policies and procedures relating to member wellbeing.
SUPPORT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
SUPPORT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
Managing Complaints Against mini传媒入口 Members Guideline
Parental and Extended Leave Reduction in Subscription Fees Policy and Procedure
Bullying, Harassment and Discrimination Policy
Exceptional Circumstances and Special Consideration Policy
Trainee in Difficulty Policy
Gender Equity and Diversity Policy
mini传媒入口 Examination Verbal Feedback Policy
Complaints Policy
Code of Conduct
External services and resources
Health and wellbeing referral options
Australia
: mental health resources and support
: support for people in crisis
: support for people with persistent or complex mental health issues or trauma
: supports people and families affected by anxiety and depression during pregnancy and in the first year of parenthood
: includes a search tool to find local alcohol and drug services
Aotearoa New Zealand
: information, advice and guidance to help you care for yourself or someone else impacted by alcohol or other drugs.
: free and confidential community helplines answered by qualified counsellors and trained volunteers – available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
: a comprehensive list of helplines and services available in NZ that offer support, information and help.
Tools and digital resources
: a healthcare-specific wellbeing program developed by doctors in training and awarded mini传媒入口’s 2021 Group Wellbeing Award.
Developed by health professionals for health professionals, TEN provides specialist, individualised mental health advice and triaged support to connect health workers to the help they need.
: a unique web and app-based program developed by psychologists and educators to help bring balance and mindfulness to people’s lives.
: integrating research studies, education programs, digital tools and apps, clinical services, and public resources to discover evidence-based solutions and resources to support better mental health for all Australians. Includes an online clinic.
: an app to safeguard the mental health of JMOs. A free, easy-to-use app designed to help you monitor, improve and maintain your mental health and wellbeing while managing the demands of your profession. Search 鈥楽hift Black Dog Institute鈥 on the App Store or Google Play.
a self-care guidebook for medical practitioners (PDF)
: free online assessment and treatment for stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and other mental health conditions.
Practitioner advisory services
Australia
: providing tailored support, online resources and referral services for medical professionals and medical students.
: supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander doctors and advocating for a culturally safe healthcare system.
: ensuring every doctor has ready access to health care.
(Victoria): provides support for people in clinical and non-clinical roles across all health care settings.
: a free, confidential service for Victorian and Tasmanian doctors who have health concerns, including stress, mental illness and substance use.
: Crana’s Bush Support Services provides free confidential 24/7 telephone psychological support for all rural and remote health workers and their families.
Aotearoa New Zealand
: ensuring every doctor has ready access to health care.
: information if a complaint is made about you.
: health and wellbeing information and resources for resident doctors.
.
: M膩ori Medical Practitioners Associations.
Health and human rights commissions
Medical Association support
Australia
The Australian Medical Association advocates on behalf of the medical profession and the public, operating at a federal level and within each state and territory.
Pacific region
: a network of health professionals working together to meet the health needs of Pacific people in the region.
Unmoderated peer support groups
Hand-n-Hand
A closed Facebook group that provides a national interdisciplinary peer support network for Australian healthcare workers.聽聽for peer support options including one-on-one support, joining a peer support group or organising a facilitator to provide peer support to your team.聽
Having your own GP
The Doctors Health Advisory Service has found that fewer than 40 per cent of doctors have an identifiable GP. Many who do are consulting their spouse or practice partner. Many have not consulted that doctor for years.
Find a local health professional
for information for your annual GP check-up.
Find a local GP, psychologist or psychiatrist who specialises in seeing doctors as patients:
: under ‘patient groups’, select the dropdown option, 鈥榙octors, psychiatrists or medical students鈥
NSW:
QLD GPs and psychologists: Find a health professional webpage
SA GPs list: Find a GP webpage
WA clinical psychologists, psychiatrists and GPs listing: Doctors for doctors list
VIC: Contact the for its list of preferred GPs, psychologists and psychiatrists
TAS: Contact the (administered by the Victorian Doctors Health Program) for its list of preferred GPs, psychologists and psychiatrists
NT: Find a GP webpage
Aotearoa/NZ: DHAS NZ are compiling a list of preferred treatment providers. Please call DHAS NZ on 0800 471 2654 if you鈥檙e seeking a treating practitioner.
We can see the value of patients having a personal physician who knows their history and gives personal care, but, in a strange twist of thinking, we don’t see that this applies to ourselves and our families…
So take your own best advice. Find a GP you trust and let them manage your health care. Encourage your colleagues to do the same. This will free you to do what you do best 鈥 concentrate on the health of your patients.”
鈥 from ‘‘ by Doctors Health Advisory Service
Adverse outcomes
Medical complications and adverse events happen. The support you receive after an adverse outcome can be crucial to maintaining your wellbeing.
O&G Magazine articles
Coping with adverse outcomes in O&G (by Dr Rachel Collings and Dr Michael Williams) 鈥 includes a toolbox for dealing with adverse outcomes for the short, medium and long term.
Adverse events: when your care does harm (by Dr Denys Court) 鈥 provides practical self-care information, and includes the ASSIST ME model developed by the National Advocacy Unit, Quality and Patient Safety Directorate in Ireland.
Facing Adversity, Finding Connection webinar
Hear from senior colleagues about managing adverse outcomes and potential fears going forward if informal channels of support are gone.
For access to a recording of this webinar, please contact: wellbeing@ranzcog.edu.au
Mandatory reporting
Seeking help can often instill fear into medical practitioners and raise questions about mandatory reporting.
Australia
The requirements to make a mandatory notification changed on 1 March 2020.
Download AHPRA’s mandatory notification guidelines here.
The Medical Board of Australia website contains additional information on how it manages notifications.
Aotearoa New Zealand
Please visit the Medical Council of New Zealand website for more information on mandatory reporting.
Advancing system-wide change
mini传媒入口 has signed up to the , which guides coordinated action on the mental health of doctors and medical students. The College also supports the project, which is working to improve the culture across all health workplaces.
A WELLBEING CHARTER FOR DOCTORS
Medical colleges across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, including mini传媒入口, collaborated on this charter so that we can advocate with one voice to institutions, governments and policy makers, ensuring the wellbeing of our doctors.
Contact us
Your local office
Local solutions are often the best solutions:
Social media
Join the wellness conversation via our
Members
Contact Clare Wells,
Wellbeing and Diversity Lead
Email: wellbeing@ranzcog.edu.au
Phone: +61 3 9412 2977
Trainees and SIMGs
Contact Carly Moorfield,
mini传媒入口 Support Liaison
Email: traineeliaison@ranzcog.edu.au
Phone: +61 8 6102 2096
EAP
We offer short-term counselling and a 24-hour support line through Converge, our Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Enter the organisation code THECMHJ into the online booking form.