Number of Citations: 0

https://doi.org/10.29060/TAPS.2025-10-1/TT001

Marcus A. Henning

Centre for Medical and Health Sciences Education, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, New Zealand

Whenever I think about student and faculty wellness, I am reminded of two sayings. Firstly, a Taoist saying that recommends we should always “look close, not far” (Wee Kee Jin, personal communication, August 25, 2012). And secondly, William Osler’s saying, “Our main business is not to see what lies dimly in the distance but to do what lies clearly at hand” (Bryan, 1997). Both quotes suggest that the most prudent course of action for students and faculty is to always reflect on one’s own actions and focus on the tasks at hand.

There is also a strong sense of reflecting in- and on-action, whereby students and faculty need to reflect on their experiences in a timely manner to optimise the opportunity for constructive transformation (Schon, 1983). With this in mind, monitoring wellbeing engenders the prospect of the cultivation of wellbeing. To engage this mindset, it is crucial that students and faculty are aware of, and honest about, what is happening in their minds and bodies and accept that mistakes can happen, but these experiences can lead to transformation, i.e., that they invest in loss (Buchanan, 2024).

Therefore, the core principle is to solve problems and be task-oriented on what needs to be done to solve any issues as they arise, rather than attributing blame and creating a shame and blame cycle. It is further crucial that students and faculty embrace help-seeking strategies to mitigate emotional exhaustion and proactively engage health professionals when things go awry (Dyrbye et al., 2015). The earlier this engagement occurs, the more likely the outcome will be positive.

Help-seeking strategies have attitudinal components but need to be seen as an essential part of developing common-sense wellbeing strategies that enable wellbeing. Other factors include healthy eating, living in favourable accommodation, exercising regularly, and ensuring optimal sleep patterns (Trockel et al., 2000). It is also crucial that students and faculty allow for a recovery period after experiencing stress-provoking incidents to allow them to return to a healthy state. If this recovery period is not initiated, it may lay the foundation for a worsening response to future adversarial stress incidents (Sisley et al., 2010).

To summarise, students and faculty need to monitor their health status on a daily basis, create strategies that will enhance their wellbeing, and be open to seeking help if things go awry.

 

Bryan, C. S. (1997). Osler: Inspirations from a great physician. New York: Oxford University Press. http://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BA34173998

Buchanan, M. (2024, March 17). The Chinese secret of investing in loss (with Professor Cheng Man Ching). https://morganbuchanan.substack.com/p/the-chinese-secret-of-investing-in

Dyrbye, L. N., Eacker, A., Durning, S. J., Brazeau, C., Moutier, C., Massie, F. S., Satele, D., Sloan, J. A., & Shanafelt, T. D. (2015). The impact of stigma and personal experiences on the help-seeking behaviors of medical students with burnout. Academic Medicine, 90(7), 961-969. https://doi.org/10.1097/acm.0000000000000655

Schon, D. A. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. New York: Basic Books. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/cirs/1748/

Sisley, R., Henning, M. A., Hawken, S. J., & Moir, F. (2010). A conceptual model of workplace stress: The issue of accumulation and recovery and the health professional. New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 35(2), 3-15. https://aut.researchgateway.ac.nz/handle/10292/3011

Trockel, M. T., Barnes, M. D., & Egget, D. L. (2000). Health-related variables and academic performance among first-year college students: Implications for sleep and other behaviors. Journal of American College Health, 49(3), 125-131. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448480009596294