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12th November, 2024

How Stories Can Help You Beat Burnout

With Dr Tara George

Photo of Dr Tara George

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On this episode

In a high-stakes, public-facing job, balancing empathy with maintaining professional boundaries is not an easy task. The emotional demands of our job and the need to be empathetic can weigh on us over time, and contribute to burnout.

This is where stories come in. Be they fiction, poetry, or memoire, engaging with stories can enhance our empathy and help us process our emotions in a safe and controlled way. it can help us practice how to feel, or give us comfort in the knowledge we’re not the only ones to think a thought we might want to express out loud.

This week, Rachel is joined by Dr Tara George, who integrates humanities into the medical training she provides. This helps to stimulate discussion and reflection, and allows for the exploration of different perspectives and experiences – all of which broadens our understanding of the human condition.

If you’re looking to beat burnout, consider making some time to pick up a novel, or treat yourself to a new film or TV drama. The stories and emotions they bring up may help you make space for others’ experiences, and they’re a great way to open a dialogue with a colleague.

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About the guests

Dr Tara George photo

Reasons to listen

  • To discover how literature and the humanities can enhance empathy and resilience in healthcare professionals
  • To explore the unique ways in which fiction and poetry can be used in medical training to engage emotions and improve understanding
  • To learn the importance of balancing empathy with professional boundaries to avoid burnout in high-stress professions

Episode highlights

00:02:38

The power of humanities

00:06:08

The role of emotion in medicine

00:08:52

The case for reading fiction

00:10:15

Empathy

00:15:07

“Who does this story belong to?

00:16:29

Narrative arcs

00:26:37

Tip out your bag, but take the contents back with you

00:28:36

The incredible power of feeling seen

00:35:26

Is this your problem to fix?

00:35:55

Soldier Sailer

00:37:40

Knowing when to say you don’t know

00:43:39

Humanities in Medical Education

Episode transcript

[00:00:00] Rachel: If you’ve listened to this podcast for any length of time, you’ll know that I’m a massive fan of self-help books. In fact, I’ve talked before about how I noticed that my stack of BMJs was growing and growing because I chose to spend my evenings instead of with Brenae Brown and Daniel Pink. [00:00:15] Rachel: But while these pigs have a lot to say about what it’s like to be human, the stories we find in novels and poems, or even in films can teach us even more about how other people think and feel. And they…

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