Crazy socks net Queensland doctor a care hamper
After donning some silly socks for Crazy Socks 4 Docs Day last Friday, Dr Sophie Therkelsen won a care hamper from AMA Queensland.
Loaded with goodies to help a busy doctor unwind after a long day, Dr Therkelsen hinted that the sweeter items in the hamper might not make the end of the day.
Dr Sophie Thekerlsen and the Queensland Children's Hospital team show off their crazy socks.
Crazy Socks 4 Docs Day is an annual day where doctors all over Australia wear colourful, non-matching and eye-catching socks to raise awareness for doctors’ mental health.
Founder Dr Geoffrey Toogood, a consultant cardiologist in Melbourne, suffered stigma and discrimination around his depression and anxiety and once he recovered, he was determined to start a movement to break down the stigma of doctors not coping with dealing with life and death on a daily basis, excessive workloads and high expectations.
Dr Toogood noticed the whispering behind the scenes one day when wearing odd socks to work and wanted to make conversations about mental health in doctors more common. He wanted to spread the message that it is okay for a doctor to not be okay.
Over the years, AMA Queensland has helped build awareness for Crazy Socks 4 Docs and encouraged members to go all out with their funky sockwear.
We asked members to tag us in their crazy socks post on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn and received a colourful feed on all channels, tagging us in their socky posts.
AMA Queensland has long advocated for doctors’ health and wellbeing and facilitates Wellbeing at Work sessions to equip young doctors with the coping skills needed to survive and thrive in medicine.
Presented by wellbeing expert Dr Ira van der Steenstraten, the Wellbeing at Work program focuses on developing techniques for resilience and mindfulness, better managing interpersonal relationships, navigating difficult scenarios on the job and practical steps for asking for help.
Queensland Health has funded the program to run in Queensland hospitals for intern doctors, but in AMA Queensland’s latest Budget Submission, we have called for funding to also offer the workshops to doctors in post-graduate years two to five, as well as to doctors working in the private sector.
AMA Queensland also conducts the annual Resident Hospital Health Check, which brings attention to the working conditions of interns, Junior House Officers and Senior House Officers across the state.
The RHHC begins by surveying doctors on:
- access to leave;
- education and training;
- pay and overtime;
- wellbeing and hospital culture; and
- bullying, discrimination and harassment.
AMA Queensland also supports Doctors’ Health in Queensland (DHQ), who provide an independent, confidential, colleague-to-colleague support service for Queensland doctors and medical students. DHQ is active in providing educational, support and advocacy activities and supports research to improve the safety, security and wellbeing of health practitioners.