Courses that
cultivating resilience and joy for healthcare professionals working with stress and burnout.
Upcoming Courses
Rural Health Conference Pre-Conference Workshop
Wednesday 3rd September 2023, 09h00-16h00
Chintsa, Eastern Cape
Dates for 8 week On-line courses
to be confirmed for 2024
Click here for more event details
"The expectation that we can be immersed in suffering and loss daily and not be touched by it is as unrealistic as expecting to be able to walk through water without getting wet"
Rachel Remen
The course is skillfully facilitated by experienced teachers.
Themes covered include
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understanding burnout
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becoming aware of underlying narratives
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working with and in trauma
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difficult communication
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making mistakes and guilt
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self-compassion
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working in demanding systems.
Participants learn about the principles of mindfulness and are introduced to mindfulness practices.
These practices help to ground and centre. They intentionally create still moments to breathe, reflect, recover and recuperate.
Discussions with colleagues in a safe, non-judgmental and confidential space, help process and make sense of difficulties encountered in everyday practice.
Participants learn techniques of intentionally listening and speaking.
What is burnout
Burnout differs from depression in that the symptoms are specific to the work environment
It has 3 key features
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Exhaustion only at work
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Depersonalisation or compassion fatigue,
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Sense of lack of efficacy, questioning whether the work matters or makes a difference.
Dr Janine Kirby
Janine is a family physician, homeopath and mindfulness teacher. She is the chairperson of the Institute of Mindfulness of South Africa (IMISA).
Prof Hoffie Conradie
Hoffie is a family physician who worked in rural health in both the private and public sectors. He is an emeritus associate professor of family medicine at Stellenbosch University and an accredited life coach.
Meet the team
Dr Pete Milligan
Pete is a psychiatrist who has spent many years working as a generalist and specialist in rural and urban settings in the public sector.
Dr Belinda McIntosh
Belinda is a family physician and mindfulness teacher. She works in family medicine and psychiatry in rural South Africa.
Try this meditation
This meditation can be practiced alone or shared with a friend.
When practiced daily it cultivates gratitude, resilience and compassion.
Helpful links & resources
Resources for health care staff
This is part of an initiative, created by the Health Care Workers Care Network, in response to the COVID pandemic in South Africa and has helpful meditations, materials and articles.
Encountering grief
Joan Halifax is a Buddhist teacher and hospice worker. She reminds us that to be with patients we need strong backs and soft fronts. In this guided meditation she shares nourishing wisdom as we face suffering in the world, reminding us of our own inner resources to carry our own grief and that of others.
The shame conversation
Making a mistake can have tragic consequences in medicine. These mistakes are often discussed in ward rounds and meetings, resulting in challenging feelings of guilt and shame. Shame is a difficult emotion to process. This short film powerfully opens up the conversation about this normal human emotion
Upcoming courses and events
Upcoming Courses
Pre-conference workshop
Join Hoffie and Janine in an in-person interactive workshop exploring ways to care for ourselves while working in stressful environments.
Wednesday 13th Sept 2023, 09h00-16h00
Chintsa, Eastern Cape
Price R1100 for doctors
R800 for other health professionals
R600 for students
Accredited for 6 CPD points
8 week Online courses
Dates to be confirmed for 2024.
Contact medicstakingcare@gmail.com for details or use the contact form below
Individual Coaching
If you are interested in private coaching, schedule an exploratory session with integrative life coach Prof Hoffie Conradie. Either send a message via the website or contact Hoffie directly hoffie@sun.ac.za.
This is Us
An informal group of health care professionals that discuss issues such as empathy, vulnerability, mental health and burnout.
Meetings are on the last Monday of each month from 19h00-20h30.
Join the WhatsApp group on https://chat.whatsapp.com/DLKwlzlyKeKBVINapzxoS4
We would love you to join our community on our Facebook page