Episode # 19 - Offering some hope (including Dr. Krista Olsen's story of being COVID+, recovering, and returning to clinical care)

Empowering Women Physicians

While the COVID pandemic is spreading, I wanted to encourage us to manage what is within our control, including flattening the curve. This episode also includes reminders that now more than ever caring for yourself IS caring for others.

We can accept reality while offering hope. You'll hear from Dr. Krista Olsen, a full time obstetrician and certified coach in our program. She was COVID positive with fever, cough, and myalgia. She and her family fully recovered and she is back to clinical care. Her story serves as a reminder that this is actually the expected and most common course of this disease. While we can learn to prepare for other scenarios, we must purposefully remind our brains that most who get sick will recover. Listen in to hear how she managed her mind through the symptoms, diagnosis, and recovery. Links mentioned in this episode Free coaching for physicians during the COVID pandemic https://empoweringwomenphysicians.com/covid/ TED talk. How we must respond to the Coronavirus pandemic. Bill Gates https://www.ted.com/talks/bill_gates_how_we_must_respond_to_the_coronavirus_pandemic There is no emergency in a pandemic https://acanticleforlazarus.com/2020/03/23/there-is-no-emergency-in-a-pandemic/ That feeling you are feeling is grief. Scott Berinato. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2020/03/that-discomfort-youre-feeling-is-grief

Hidden brain. Shankar Vedantam https://www.npr.org/series/423302056/hidden-brain Dr. Krista Olsen. True Life MD. https://www.truelifemd.com/about American Foundation for Suicide Prevention https://afsp.org/our-work/education/healthcare-professional-burnout-depression-suicide-prevention/

You can reach the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741 or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK.