Dear SGO colleagues, friends, and gynecologic oncology community,
Angeles Alvarez Secord, MD, MHSc
In 2016, Jeffrey Fowler, MD, 48th President of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO), created an enduring legacy when he emphasized the importance of wellness. The focus on wellness was prompted by a membership survey that revealed alarmingly high rates of burnout, emotional exhaustion, and depression. His openness to discuss exhaustion and burnout removed the stigma and encouraged us to candidly share our stories. The Wellness Committee was subsequently formed to enhance discussion of burnout in gynecologic oncology, provide needed resources, and identify solutions.
Personally, the focus on wellness and programs developed by the Wellness Committee have positively impacted my life; relationships with family, friends, and colleagues; and my health. I am very grateful to Dr. Fowler and all Wellness Committee members for their collective years of dedication to this cause.
To honor and recognize the important work of the Wellness Committee, it was my pleasure to invite SGO members Gretchen Glaser, MD, Wellness Committee Chair, and Brittany Davidson, MD, Vice Chair, as featured contributors for Presidential Matters to outline available and upcoming wellness efforts as we move into a new year. I appreciate their efforts to ensure wellness for all members of the gynecologic oncology team.
– Angeles Alvarez Secord, MD, MHSc
The following updates are provided by the passionate volunteers of the Wellness Committee who donate their time to educate fellow SGO members on wellness topics, provide resources, and coordinate opportunities to participate in wellness-promoting events at SGO.
Wellness Blog and Podcast Series
The SGO wellness blog unifies us as a community, using our stories to find connections with each other. In this, we realize we are not alone in facing the challenges of doing the important work of caring for our patients and ourselves. Some of the most popular pieces written have been on how we process surgical complications, the current research focused on the ‘surgeon as athlete,’ and powerful reflections from our patients on how they define wellness while on their cancer journey.
Another area we are thrilled to introduce is the SGO On the Go: Ways to Wellness Podcast. Our first episode, “It’s 3AM, Do You Know Where Your Fellows Are?” was recorded live at the 2023 Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer, and can be found on any of the major podcast platforms. Similar to the blog concept, we hope to continue producing more podcast episodes for members to tune into while they are on the go. Our next episode is entitled, “Letters to My Younger Self.” We are looking for more folks to contribute to this episode by submitting their own letters.
Increased Presence at Educational Meetings
If COVID has taught us anything, it’s the value of in-person interactions. We are thrilled that wellness will take centerstage in San Diego at the 2024 Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer with an interactive and dynamic session co-sponsored by N.E.D. and Dr. Alvarez Secord. But why stop at a presidential speaker for wellness? We couldn’t agree more! We are excited to announce another collaboration: a trainee lounge with programming by the Wellness Committee and the Program Directors Network. Although the Winter Meeting has prioritized wellness and physical activity by virtue of its location and schedule, wellness made its official debut in 2023 with a yoga-inspired fitness class. If you are coming to Olympic Valley in January for the 2024 Winter Meeting, stay tuned for a sweet wellness event!
State of the Subspecialty Survey
One of the intriguing, exciting, and maddening things about burnout (besides the burnout from hearing the word burnout) is that it looks different for different people in different practice settings with different life stories. This is why it’s so crucial to hear the voices of all our members in the State of the Subspecialty Survey, and we are very excited that the Wellness Committee and wellness topics will be included again in the upcoming survey. As leaders of the Wellness Committee, we will be working together with the State of the Subspecialty Survey steering committee and our own committee members to determine the most impactful topics to feature. We are dedicated to advancing wellness for our members at individual, institutional, and national levels. We want to help our members thrive, not just survive.
Wellness Activities at the Institutional and National Level
The SGO Wellness Committee recognizes that there is power in numbers! Nationally, there is a growing movement to strengthen the workforce and improve clinician well-being through multidisciplinary solutions. SGO is working with partner organizations, including the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the American Academy of Medical Colleges (AAMC) to develop and implement sustainable solutions for wellness in healthcare. In response to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) national plan focusing on strengthening health workforce well-being and restoring the health of the nation, the SGO Wellness Committee has developed a manuscript aimed at addressing system-level recommendations to combat burnout in gynecologic oncology. Specifically, this work will outline how systems changes, such as those proposed by NAM, can be applied to the unique specialty of gynecologic oncology.
With all of this systems-level work, we have not forgotten that there is no one-size-fits-all recipe for ‘wellness.’ After a devastating OR case, we may need to cry, take time off, and reach out to family, friends, and colleagues for support. We also may need to go for a run, engage in beloved hobbies, and even just get enough sleep at night. For all of these reasons, we are measuring wellness on a larger scale and thinking big.
Looking Forward to Where Physician Wellness is Heading on an Individual and Professional Level
Over the last seven years since Dr. Fowler began to make wellness a priority in SGO, a lot has changed. Wellness has stopped being a frivolous pursuit and is now a known crucial aspect of our lives in this wonderful specialty. Language has been developed around what we need and how to advocate for it on a personal level. At the same time, the Wellness Committee is joining other medical and surgical societies in a collaborative effort to change the institutional and national structures which prevent wellness no matter how you slice it.
Moving forward, we expect that all of this wonderful work will continue, and we are thrilled to be leading the charge at SGO.
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| Gretchen Glaser, MD Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN Chair, SGO Wellness Committee |
Brittany Davidson, MD
Duke University in Durham, NC
Vice Chair, SGO Wellness Committee
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Special thanks to the following contributors: Kathryn Mills, MD; Katherine Tucker, MD; Jennifer Mueller, MD; and M. Yvette Williams-Brown, MD, MMS, FACOG.