Physician Health Seminars, Business Wellness Seminars

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"I am glad I attended this lecture - very informative.  Susan should be on PBS or Oprah."  R. Saraiya, MD, Surgeon, Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center

Susan Eisner conducts highly innovative seminars on physician health, the impaired physician, and the health of other health professionals, and wellness seminars for business personnel.  These address the personal development, as well as the psychological and physical health needs of audience members, while also providing invaluable information for use with patients as well as company empoyees.  The sessions are very interactive, as Susan's teaching style engenders thought-provoking, honest conversations about difficult topics. And  her powerful, cutting-edge experiential exercises reinforce the learning process.  For physicians and health professionals, many of the seminars also meet The Joint Commission and ACGME educational requirements.

SEMINAR SERIES TOPICS INCLUDE:
(Click topic for complete description.)

• Taming the Beast: Anger Management in the Workplace - NEW!!!
• Disrupting Disruptive Behavior - NEW!
• Impaired Professionals: Addictive and Psychiatric Disorders
• Creating Resilient Health Professionals and Company Employees 
• Managing Fatigue and Sleep Deprivation
• Conscious Communication Skills in Health Professionals - Part I & II
• Medical Errors, Perfectionism and Poor Team Communication: What's the Connection? - NEW!
• Mastering Meditation and Relaxation Techniques
• AA / 12-Step Programs for Stress and Addictive Behaviors   

Seminars are conducted at Leadership Meetings, Grand Rounds, Resident Education Conferences, New Resident Orientation, 1/2 or Full Day Conferences, Retreats, Off-Site Medical Dinners and Other Gatherings, Nursing Management and Staffing Conferences, Human Resources Employee Training and Development Seminars, Medical Student Classes and Faculty Meetings, Physician Assistant Training Program Student Classes and Faculty Meetings, Medical and Specialty Society Board and Membership Meetings, and Other Medical Organization Meetings.  Click here for scheduling and venues options details.

ONE-STOP SHOPPING for all of your educational needs - schedule one or multiple seminars in a day for discounted rates.  

Click here to schedule a seminar.

SEMINAR DESCRIPTIONS:
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Taming The Beast: Anger Management in the Workplace - NEW!!!
Anger is a normal human emotion.  But uncontrolled anger is detrimental to angry individuals themselves, and disrupts the workplace, personal relationships, health, and much more.  To help people more effectively manage anger and stress, this seminar covers topics including stress management, developing empathy and social awareness, responding vs. reacting, improving judgment and impulse control, changing self-talk and negative beliefs, assertive communication, lowering expectations, forgiveness and taking time-outs.  This topic is best done as a series either for persons already identified as needing anger management classes, or for any group seeking general information on this topic as part of its team building and improved communication skills efforts.  Click here for more information on these seminars, and individual and executive coaching.  Click here for a short Anger Management video.
Click here for full-page description with outline.

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Disrupting Disruptive Behavior - NEW!
In 2009 The Joint Commission mandates hospitals to address disruptive behavior in physicians and other hospital personnel.  Such behavior disrupts patient care and hospital operations, undermines practice morale, corrodes teamwork and communication, and heightens turnover.  This seminar discusses the definitions and examples of disruptive behavior, its causes within individuals such as personality disorders, and institutional causes including a culture that tacitly approves such behavior.  Also covered are strategies for addressing this problem, defining a hospital culture that promotes this, and referral sources for treatment of underlying personality and psychiatric causes. 
Click here for full-page description with outline.

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Impaired Professionals: Addictive and Psychiatric Disorders
Physicians and health professionals often have the mistaken belief that they are immune to developing substance abuse, other addictions and psychiatric disorders, or will seek treatment if they do.  The opposite is true, making it imperative for them and those who work with them to know about the diagnoses that affect them, signs and symptoms that occur, and options for intervention and treatment.  Addressing issues of resistance to helping themselves and their colleagues is also critical.  This seminar addresses these topics in depth. 
Click here for full-page description with outline.

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Creating Resilient Health Professionals and Company Employees
Health and "helping" professionals - doctors, nurses, therapists, etc. - excel at caring for others, but often do a poor job of self-care - especially their own emotional health. Perfectionism, medical training that encourages one to not be vulnerable or feel emotions, the guilt of taking time for oneself, and the need to be ever available are only some of the factors that contribute to this problem. Budget cuts and the stress of working in a hospital compound it and lead to increased anger and emotional outbursts, more used sick days and lower productivity. Also, doctors vs. the general population show 1.4-2.3x higher suicide rates, 10-20% higher divorce rates, and 3x more MD's work 60+ hours a week. This seminar reverses the belief that self-care is selfish, defines resilience, examines personality and medical cultural factors that lead to poor self-care, and offers physical, behavioral, psychological and spiritual ways to create resilience, manage difficult emotions, practice self-care at work, and promote happiness at home.  
Click here for full-page description with outline.

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Managing Fatigue and Sleep Deprivation
For physicians myths in their traditional culture promote and condone sleep deprivation as a way to be a better doctor.  In fact fatigue negatively impacts patient care and professionalism, health and well-being, family relationships, driving safety, and more.  The ACGME recognized this, and implemented new changes in resident duty hours, with further changes recently recommended by The Institute of Medicine.  Fatigue is rampant in medicine, with nurses working double shifts and other health professionals working long hours.  This seminar covers all this, and shared responsibilities of clinicians and facilities for strategies to fight fatigue at work, home, and on the road.  
Click here for full-page description with outline.

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Conscious Communication Skills in Health Professionals - Part I & II
Communication is critical for any successful relationship.  Though many practitioners think they communicate well, dysfunctional communication sabotages relationships, corrodes teamwork, lowers morale, and negatively affects patients.  The stress of medicine compounds the problem.  This workshop addresses the elements of effective communication between physicians, nurses, other hospital staff, patients, and family members, and includes common communication errors, and practice of non-verbal, speaking and listening skills.  
Click here for full-page description with outline.   

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Medical Errors, Perfectionism and Poor Team Communication: What's the Connection? - NEW!
Physicians, often perfectionists, sometimes feel immune from making errors, and have difficulty when others point out mistakes.  Patients can be harmed in the process, i.e., if a doctor gets angry at a nurse who points out he is about to remove the wrong limb.  This seminar covers:  1) the underlying reasons for perfectionism, i.e., low self-esteem and fear of making mistakes, and how to change this, and 2) that physicians must accept their humanity and possibilities of making errors regardless of high skill levels, and be willing to work with/use their team as a way for all to prevent errors and optimize patient care.  In the end true self-respect promotes respect for others and fewer errors. 
Click here for full-page description with outline.

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Mastering Meditation and Relaxation Techniques
Critical to any stress management program is the practice of deep-breathing based relaxation techniques and meditation.  Regular practice promotes proven benefits in physical and emotional health including improved focus and concentration; they assist in healing illness; help in the management of anger; curb compulsive behaviors; and produce a general of sense well-being and deep relaxation.  Easy to learn, this seminar provides in-class instruction and practice of several techniques and suggestions for incorporating them in daily life. 
Click here for full-page description with outline.

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AA / 12-Step Programs for Stress and Addictive Behaviors
Substance abuse is the most commonly thought of compulsive/addictive disorder, but others such as smoking, overeating, gambling, sexual acting out, etc. are also prevalent in physicians and health professionals, and adversely affect their health.  This session examines the definition of compulsive behaviors, underlying reasons for them, and their relationship to stress and addiction.  Strategies for changing these behaviors to healthier ones, and 12-Step Programs - very effective but which few clinicians are knowledgeable about, are discussed. 
Click here for full-page description with outline.
  
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