Services and Support
There are many support services and online resources that doctors and medical students can access for any level of support that you or your colleagues may need.
Doctors Health Aotearoa
Doctors Health Aotearoa lives and breathes doctor and medical student health and wellbeing. We understand the whole journey of your professional medical life and support people just like you every day. All calls are confidential and you can remain anonymous.
We work closely with our Australian counterparts, located in every state and territory of Australia. Their websites and other useful resources can be found on the Doctors’ Health Alliance website: https://doctorshealthalliance.org.au/support-for-you-colleagues
Medical Indemnity Providers Support Services
They are there for you particularly around medico-legal matters but can answer a range of other questions relating to workplace issues and practice matters. See some examples below:
Medical Protection Society New Zealand
Unions
They are there for you particularly around employment matters but can answer a range of other questions relating to workplace issues and practice matters. See some examples below
Occupational Physicians
Specialists in workplace health, wellbeing, and vocational rehabilitation. They provide support for work-related injuries, illnesses, and workplace adjustments.
Learn More at the Australasian Faculty of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
EAP and online Wellbeing Resources
Many employers, colleges, medical schools, insurers, ACC, and professional associations provide access to confidential support services, including counselling, psychology, financial advice, and professional supervision.
- Often available for both doctors and their families
- Can be accessed for personal or professional issues
- Initial EAP approval usually covers up to 6 sessions free of charge
Resource: RACP Wellbeing Resources
Business Support
Support for doctors in managing the business side of medicine, including insurance, financial and business advisory services, and EAP.
Doctors with Disabilities Australia
A peer-support network promoting inclusive medical careers and supporting doctors with disabilities.
Career Support & Coaching
Practical advice and peer support to guide career development and transitions.
Australian Medical Association (AMA): Career advice, CV writing, interview preparation
Creative Careers in Medicine: Peer support for career change and non-traditional medical roles (via Facebook)
Medical Council of New Zealand Health Team
The MCNZ Health Team provides guidance to ensure doctors remain well while practising safely. Doctors must be fit to practise without posing risks to patients or the public.
Worksafe New Zealand
Advice and support for workplace health and safety, including compliance issues and safety concerns.
https://www.worksafe.govt.nz/
Would you like help Doctors Health Aotearoa support doctors and medical students?
There are several ways you can help support the health and wellbeing of doctors and medical students in Aotearoa New Zealand:
- Peer Support: Join our DHA roster to answer 0800 calls (training and support provided).
- Specialist Support: If you are a GP, psychiatrist, occupational physician, addiction specialist, clinical psychologist, or another specialist able to prioritise appointments for doctors and students, we’d love to hear from you.
- Donations & Bequests: Support our mission through a bequest or donation.
If you’d like to contribute in any of these ways, please contact us.
Learn more about being a doctor for doctors
Learn how to support colleagues
Checking in on colleagues is a vital skill. While we should not treat colleagues in a corridor consultation, we need to remember that when a colleague seems to be struggling, there may be a health issue. Checking in as a caring colleague and supporting them to access the care they need can help our colleagues conquer the barriers to health access.
This video was made by a medical student showing how the kindness of colleagues can make a huge difference in people’s lives: Hey, RU OK?
Everything But the Medicine: A Doctor's Tale
Podcasts
For doctors and other professionals with ADHD https://ihaveadhd.com/podcast/
Pomegranate podcast (including some recommended episodes below):
- Episode 5: Physician, Health Thyself
- Episode 101: Setting the standard for workforce wellbeing
- Episode 126: Trying times for Maori medics
Podcasts recommended by Doctors’ Health Alliance Australia
Seeking support during your own personal or professional health crisis
How do doctors look after their own health while caring for their patients? In this episode of ACRRM Life Hacks, Dr Emily Moody speaks with Dr Roger Sexton, rural GP and Medical Director of Doctors’ Health SA, about the importance of seeking support during personal or professional health crises.
Podcast with Dr Cheryl Martin exploring health, wellbeing, optimal performance and professional fulfilment with a particular focus on doctors and healthcare.
Dr Jo Braid is the host of this podcast tailored for healthcare professionals who want strategies to get out of burnout and prevent heading into the cycle of burnout again. You will discover many strategies to deal with overwhelming feelings. Put yourself first without the guilt and live a fulfilling life you have worked hard for.
RACGP Podcast - "The keys to success for seeing doctors as patients"
Dr Helen Wilcox (Medical Director, Doctors' Health Advisory Service Western Australia DHASWA), joins The Good GP to emphasise the importance of doctors becoming patients too. Highlighting the advantages of objective care, specialist referrals, and legal protections.
AVANT Health Podcasts with Dr Michael Myers
Georgie Haysom, Head of Research Education and Advocacy at Avant, sat down with Michael Myers, a professor of clinical psychiatry from the SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York. Professor Myers is a doctor's doctor, a treating practitioner and a specialist in doctor’s health. He is also an acclaimed author, speaker and advocate for health and well-being. In this series of five podcasts we discuss with Michael the issues surrounding burnout and stress, and he offers some great advice on how to look after yourself throughout your career.
Doctors' health, wellbeing, career - conversations with many different doctors sharing their experiences and advice.
Featured on a number of podcasts, Sharee Johnson is regularly interviewed about wellbeing, self awareness and how to sustain a balanced career in medicine.
The podcast for Doctors in Training and students of medicine, nursing, allied health and health sciences. Created by RACGP Australian GP of the Year, Dr David Lam MBBS FRACGP-RG JCCA.
Podcast creator Dr Isabella Townshend asks are you a health professional seeking a change in your work life? The Handover looks to explore the journeys of people who have changed their life within health through beating burnout, changing specialties, going non-clinical or doing something completely different! The options are limitless.
A podcast created by the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) about the culture of medicine.
NHS Practitioner Health Wellbeing
Mental health and wellbeing podcasts from health professionals coming together to chat on a variety of topics.
A Healthy Exchange: Promotional Kit
A Healthy Exchange features real-life stories inspiring health professionals to grow and thrive! Whether you’re a student, patient, just starting your career or a specialist, this podcast is for you.
This Working Life with Lisa Leong
An ABC podcast, you navigate your way through the tough times, looking for the sunshine and the humanity in the world of work. From the quirky to the somewhat controversial, experts in the world of work and business share their ideas, experiments and fast fails that you can apply to your own career. Airs 1.30pm Sunday. Repeated 11.30am Tuesday and 12.30am Thursday.
In healthcare, the often-overlooked challenges faced by frontline professionals are gaining attention, thanks to voices like Nathalie Martinek, Ph.D. Our latest podcast episode, hosted by Nicola Knobel and Deborah Pitout on the show "SafeTea," delves deeply into the prevalent issues of burnout, moral distress, and the emotional well-being of medical practitioners.
The GP Show is a podcast for all health professionals, hosted by GP Dr Sam Manger and health leaders from around the world discussing health, medicine and healthcare systems.
The Good GP - "Top Tips for a Successful Placement in General Practice"
In this special episode of The Good GP, Dr Krystyna de Lange is joined by a number of doctors from current GPs in training through to experienced GPs and GP supervisors, to share their top tips for having a successful placement in General Practice. Whether you are a GP in training just starting out, a GP supervisor or practice owner who supports trainees or even a GP just wanting a refresh, there is something in this episode for everyone.
Dr4Drs self-paced online modular education
This interactive training module was developed to support doctors to learn more about doctors’ health. It includes a series of modules that discuss: Understanding self-care, accessing healthcare, learning to be a doctor-patient and training to be a doctor for a doctor. It is designed for busy doctors so can be paused and restarted as needed.
The module is available at the Drs4Drs website
Books relevant to caring for our health
Rowe L, Abeygunawardana V, Kidd M.
Every doctor. healthier doctors = healthier patients.
Gerada C.(Ed)
Beneath the white coat doctors, Their minds and mental health.
Books that offer a reflection by doctors about their health
Klitzman, R.
When doctors become patients.
Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2008
Bravery, B.
The patient doctor. How one man's cancer diagnosis led to a quest to put the heart back into healthcare.
Hachette Australia 2022
Groopman, J.
‘How doctors think.’ Scribe Publications
Melbourne. 2007
Narrative articles written by doctors who experienced health issues
Some peer reviewed papers relevant to caring for colleagues
Hutton CJ, Kay M, Round P, Barton C
Do they think I’m good enough? General practitioners’ experiences when treating doctor-patients.
Hutton CJ, Kay M, Round P, Barton C.
Doctors’ experiences when treating doctor-patients: a scoping review.
Kay M.
I know to look after myself – I’m a doctor! O&G Magazine. Winter, 2020; 22(2).
Kay M, Dawes V.
Working together to ensure health care access for doctors.
Kay M, Mitchell G, Clavarino A, Frank E.
Developing a framework for understanding doctors’ health access: A qualitative study of Australian GPs.
Kay M, Mitchell G, Clavarino A.
What doctors want? A consultation method when the patient is a doctor.
Kay M, Mitchell G, Clavarino A, Doust J.
Doctors as patients: a systematic review of doctors' health access and the barriers they experience.
