Navigating the Emotional Depths of Medicine: A Conversation with Dr. Danny Eiferman on Physician Well-being and Peer Support
This week, the Columbus Medical Association media team sat down with critical care surgeon, Dr. Danny Eiferman to talk about the importance of knowing how to deal with the emotional side of medical complications. As the healthcare workforce continues to dwindle, Dr. Eiferman believes it’s so important to ensure Central Ohio physicians have the tools to properly care for their physical, but also mental well-being. Follow along as Dr. Eiferman shares how a peer helped him push through one of the most difficult times in his career.
“I was called to the operating room to help another surgeon with a very difficult case with distorted anatomy,” Dr. Eiferman recalled. “In the case it was very difficult to discern the anatomy and we got into some bleeding in the pelvis.”
Dr. Eiferman said he heavily relied on the tenets of his training and felt as if he properly identified the issue in order to stop the bleeding.
“I had to ensure that I had not hurt any other structures.” Dr. Eiferman remembered.
At this point, the critical care surgeon was relieved to hear the patient did fantastic for the first couple of days, thus easing some of his post-surgery worries. That feeling quickly vanished when Dr. Eiferman learned the same patient was no longer getting blood to their extremities. This led to the patient needing an amputation.
“This was really hard for me. It really shook my confidence. I was having trouble fighting back tears.” The surgeon recalled.
While the surgeon had been through lots of training to learn how to make cuts in surgery, he was never taught how to deal with the emotional side of complications that can come from said surgery. This led to the moment when Dr. Eiferman decided to make a concerted effort to learn how to be a more resilient physician.
“This is going to happen to everybody,” Dr. Eiferman said. “We need to be there for each other to help us rebuild and not succumb to things like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).”
Dr. Eiferman believes there are three pathways that come after having bad complications during surgery.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
This is where a physician can begin to struggle with depression, anxiety, self-harm, and even substance abuse disorder.Resilience
This is when impacted physicians work through the trauma to get back to the level they were at before the complication.Post-Traumatic Growth
Dr. Eiferman says this is where you want to be following a medical complication. He recalls reaching this level after a deep dive into literature and speaking to his peers. Peer support was the impactful when it came to his healing journey.
The surgeon says his healing began when he was able to connect with peers who have been in his shoes. For Dr. EIferman, it was his old chairman who asked how he was doing, which led to a deeper conversation. That experience is part of the reason why he advocates for peer support programs like Columbus Medical Association’s, Doc to Doc. Dr. Eiferman believes peer support programs can help normalize the feelings a physician might experience after complications like his.
Doc to Doc was created by physicians who have dealt with complications, and now want to support their colleagues through the same. The program is designed to provide access to an empathetic network of professionally trained peers. Doc to Doc offers 1-2 free confidential support sessions, and if more robust mental health support is needed, referrals can be coordinated. Peer support programs have been proven to lead to positive effects in physician well-being and healthcare culture.
*The interview with Dr. Eiferman is a three-part series. Next time Dr. Eiferman will talk about what happens in a physicians’ mind when a medical complication occurs. We are excited for you to follow along with us!*