Photo By Maj. Demietrice Pittman | On 14 Sept, TF MED ordered a trophy that is vied for during their Weekly Ping Pong...... read more read more
CAMP BONDSTEEL, Kosovo - The crack of the paddle reverberates through the building as the members of Task Force Medical, play a thrilling game of ping pong, Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo, (insert date).
The players are a mix of an emergency room doctor, emergency room nurse, pharmacist, physical therapist, physician assistant (PA) and the executive officer currently deployed to Kosovo to provide medical assistance to Soldiers who help provide a safe and secure environment in the region. They recently discovered they enjoy playing ping pong and created a tournament among their task force with an engraved trophy that passes to whoever wins each week.
“It is a great stress reliever in the middle of the day and after work,” noted Capt. Josh Oliver, an emergency room doctor with TF MED.
According to research from the Mayo Clinic, physician burnout touches at least 50% of U.S. physicians. Burnout is a syndrome characterized by exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced effectiveness. Burnout in U.S. physicians has increased during over the past 10 years and is radically higher than that of U.S. workers in other fields.
In “Preventing Physician Burnout: Curing the Chaos and Returning Joy to the Practice of Medicine” by Paul DeChant, MD, he reports that, “burnout results from spending our days doing the wrong things.
Dechant suggests that physicians should do the following individual prevention strategies to help ward off burnout: Self-care, stress reduction techniques, mindfulness, counseling, coaching and engaging in new challenges.
“In a deployed environment, you are always on call and some of your usual stress relievers are not available,” said Maj. John Heniger, TF MED executive officer. “So we have to think outside of the box and find new activities.”
The Soldiers with TF MED have found something they enjoy and are practicing the techniques mentioned by Dechant. You can hear the volleys going back and forth and hear the laughter as they take time to rejuvenate themselves.
| Date Taken: | 12.18.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 12.18.2019 08:00 |
| Story ID: | 356140 |
| Location: | ZZ |
| Web Views: | 117 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Preventing Physician Burnout with Ping Pong, by MAJ Demietrice Pittman, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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