WCM-Q webinar series shares expert health information

A series of live webinars organized by the Institute for Population Health (IPH) at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q) featured leading international experts in healthcare and research sharing their knowledge of a variety of engaging topics. The webinars are part of the IPH’s Population Health & Well-being Series.

In a session titled, ‘Burnout in Healthcare Workers: A Lifestyle Medicine Report,” Dr. Sunil Kumar, specialist anesthesiologist at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay, UK, explained the relationship between lifestyle factors and burnout. Dr. Kumar, who is also a lifestyle medicine physician, then discussed the effectiveness of various lifestyle medicine interventions before describing how to formulate personalized action plans to implement in order to prevent workplace burnout.

Addressing a similar theme, Dr. Sivaneswaran Poobalasingam, founder and president of the Malaysian Society of Lifestyle Medicine, gave a presentation titled, ‘Prescription for Physician Burnout,’ in which he explained that stress is one of the health epidemics of the 21st century. Dr. Poobalasingam, who is also CEO of Amrita Integrative and Lifestyle Medicine Center and Amrita Lifestyle Medicine Academy, said that physician wellbeing was critical to good patient care, and explained that stress is associated with accelerated aging, obesity, insulin resistance, increased inflammation, depression, and impaired immunity, while burnout is defined as state of physical and mental exhaustion caused by one’s professional life. He then discussed how the pillars of lifestyle medicine can provide a framework for preventing burnout among physicians. These pillars include a healthy diet, regular physical exercise, social connectivity, restorative sleep, avoidance of unhealthy substances like tobacco, and – crucially – stress management techniques. These factors can increase stress resilience, helping physicians deal with the pressures of their work, he said.

In a webinar titled, ‘The Role of Mind-Body Medicine in Complex Healthcare Systems,’ Dr. Darshan Mehta, medical director and director of medical education for the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind-Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, discussed powerful ways in which emotional, mental, social, spiritual and behavioral factors can directly affect health. He then explained how mind-body medicine approaches aim to respect and enhance each person’s capacity for self-knowledge and self-care. He went on to explain how approaches such as meditation, mindfulness, self-reflection, and seeking support from social connections can help individuals mitigate stress and maintain good health.

In the most recent webinar in the series, Jennifer A. Stone, clinician scientist educator at the Clinical Translational Sciences Institute of Indiana University School of Medicine, discussed, ‘Strategies for Identifying Fraud in the Peer-Reviewed Literature.’ Her session drew upon her 15 years’ experience as an editor-in-chief and senior editor of four international biomedical journals and her advanced knowledge of publication ethics. 

Dr. Ravinder Mamtani, professor of population health sciences, and vice dean for population health and lifestyle medicine, said: “The Population Health and Well-being Series shares  expert knowledge on pressing issues related to health and wellbeing, healthcare, public health, and emerging healthcare trends. Through this highly accessible and interactive format we are able to reach out to people across the healthcare and education spectrum to support their career development, their research, and also their health and the health of the patients they support.”

The series is aimed at physicians, dentists, nurses, pharmacists, allied health practitioners, students, researchers, educators, and administrators. The webinars were accredited locally by the Ministry of Public Health’s Department of Healthcare Professions – Accreditation Section and internationally by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME).