Medicos step up for mental health

LAST Friday was Crazy Socks for Docs Day, and Bendigo Health staff got involved with the aim of breaking down stigmas about mental health issues medical workers may suffer.

“It started because a doctor wore odd socks to work because his puppy had eaten his,” Dr Phoebe Latimer said.

“He then heard people asking whether his mental health was okay because he was wearing odd socks. There’s a lot of stigma around doctors and their mental health.

“So, he started Crazy Socks 4 Docs Day to try and break down that stigma and highlight that it’s okay for doctors to not be okay. It’s okay to open the conversation if you’re worried about someone.”

Bendigo Health’s supervisor of intern training Dr Amy Harding said the day was a reminder for hospital staff to be aware of their colleague’s mental health.

“Some of the signs we sometimes see are people not performing at their best in their roles and their rotations,” she said.

“It may then be flagged by a colleague, allied health staff or nursing staff that they are noticing a few issues here and there.”

Dr Harding said mental health issues were common amongst young doctors and interns, and peer support was important.

“Interns might be turning up late or seem to be disorganised and once that’s been flagged, we try and catch up with that individual one-on-one to really try and see how they’re going,” she said.

“Just for an informal chat just to see if there are any issues we can identify. We know that stress is an issue among our junior doctors.

“We know about two-thirds of our junior doctors when they’ve been surveyed have reported high levels of stress.”

Crazy Socks 4 Docs Day is a reminder that healthcare professionals can have their own issues Dr Harding said.

“As doctors, we’re always good at looking after the public and other people all the time,” she said.

“Sometimes that can be at the expense of our own mental health. It’s really about just checking in with our peers.”