Take Care of
Your Patients
by Taking Care
of Yourself
The Lexington
Medical Society
Physician
Wellness
Program
TAKE CARE OF YOUR PATIENTS
BY TAKING CARE OF YOURSELF
The Physician Wellness Program (PWP) was designed
as a safe harbor for physicians to address normal life
difficulties in a confidential and professional environment.
WHY WAS THIS PROGRAM CREATED?
Being a physician isn’t easy. Difficulties with the current
health care delivery system, maintaining a healthy work/
life/family balance, and dealing with the normal stresses
of everyday life can take their toll on physicians.
We serve not only as treating physicians, but many times
as counselors to our patients who turn to us for guidance.
Who do we turn to when we need to talk through an issue
or get some coaching for how to handle stress in our life?
Too often the answer is “no one,” and that is regrettable
because it is imperative that we be as healthy as possible
in our role as health care providers.
We deserve to function at our best in all areas of our life.
By addressing areas of difficulty, we can decrease our
stress levels and increase our levels of resilience.
Some examples of those
difficulties include:
•
Family issues
•
Depression & anxiety
•
Relationship problems
•
Difficulty managing
•
Work-related
•
stress
difficulties
•
Mood swings
Alcohol/drug abuse
•
Suicidal thoughts
How PWP Works
We have contracted our program with The Woodland
Group. The Woodland Group will provide counseling
to active physician members of the Lexington Medical
Society, up to six visits in a calendar year. Non-emergency
sessions will be scheduled during regular business hours.
Emergency sessions can be scheduled on a 24-hour, 7
days-a-week basis.
Seven licensed psychologists make up the Woodland
Group and have been vetted by LMS. Steven Smith, Ph.D.
and Sandra Hough, Ph.D. are our program coordinators
and will serve as points of contact to access PWP. The
Woodland Group will maintain a confidential file for each
physician, but no insurance will be billed and LMS will
not be given any information about those who utilize the
program. As such, this program is completely confidential
whi