The Thriving Doctor - by Sharee Johnson (Paperback)

About the Book

Medicine is challenging. This book will show you how to build the skills you need to lead a balanced, fulfilling medical life, providing great care of others and a sustainable medical career you can enjoy.

Book Synopsis

How can you protect your right to a balanced life in a profession that demands perfection?

Medical life is challenging. The culture is competitive, the environment intense, the machinery complex and unwieldy, and the expectations high. Under such constant stress, many doctors sacrifice their own wellbeing to try and provide the best possible care for their patients.

We've got it backwards. Only by first looking after yourself can you truly provide the best care for others. Non-clinical skills have untapped potential in providing both personal and - you guessed it - clinical benefits. Research has clearly shown that patient experience and patient health outcomes are better when doctors are compassionate and well themselves.

Thriving doctors have better rapport with others, make less errors and feel more satisfied and engaged in their work. Medicine has spent little energy helping doctors build their skills in communication, emotional regulation, mind management, leadership, and compassion. Coaching offers a way to immediately start bridging this known gap.

Coaching provides deep listening, powerful questions, and a view from outside the culture of medicine that notices different things.

You are a whole human, and it's time to treat yourself like it.

Review Quotes

The Thriving Doctor is a must read for any aspiring doctor, doctor, or anyone who interacts with doctors. As a mid-career doctor, I wish I had this book earlier.

Andrea Austin, MD, FACEP, FAAEM, CHSE GSACEP Immediate Past President

My experience working with Sharee is changing my practice as a doctor and as a woman. My family have noticed that I am less reactive, calmer. I am learning to manage my 'energy spend' on my terms.

Dr Sarah Wilmot, GP Anaesthetist

Thank you for writing The Thriving Doctor. It provides insight and techniques for all doctors to understand the systems we work within and provides the much needed tools to develop our leadership and interpersonal skills.

Dr Edwina Coghlan, Obstetrician & Gynaecologist, Teacher and Mentor

This book is more than just a rationale for self-care. It should be part of every medical student's required reading.

Dr Elisabeth Wearne, GP and Medical Educator

Sharee's passion for wellness, for those working in an industry that enables the rest of us to be well, jumps off every page of this comprehensive text.

Jane Porter, MCC GAICD

The Thriving Doctor is a gift to doctors everywhere, whether they are already thriving in their life or they are struggling with burnout. This is more than a book on thriving - it is a complete how-to guide for self-awareness and mindset mastery.

Jonathan Fisher, MD FACC Cardiologist, Organizational Well-Being & Resiliency Leader

I would highly recommend this book to all doctors, and to medical students, especially those in their final year. The Thriving Doctor connects the reader to the stories of doctors who have encountered and effectively managed issues in the clinical workplace.

Associate Professor Catherine Haigh, Director, Monash Rural Health Gippsland

I would urge all junior doctors to read this. It will also be worth revisiting later, as new challenges in your career or new situations arise or new levels of maturity are reached. I know if I had discovered this earlier I would have avoided a fair amount of hurt and distress, and be much further along the path to thriving.

Dr Antony Wong, GP Anaesthetist

This book doesn't need a critique or a review. It's complete. It's a gift to our profession, one for every medical student and doctor, junior and senior.

Dr Vijay Roach, Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Past President RANZCOG

I am so grateful for Sharee and the work she does. Sharee's teaching is another curriculum, too often not easily accessible and vital for all doctors' professional development. Her teachings and practical advice can salvage careers and save lives.

Dr Bree Wyeth, Psychiatrist

Thank you Sharee for writing this book. Your clear writing, the evidence based content, and practical exercises have challenged and supported me to evolve how I think about my identity as a doctor.

Dr Louise Sterling, GP and Practice Owner

Sharee is an extraordinary human being, and a kind and compassionate coach. Over the many years we've worked together on patient centred care, communication, and patient safety, Sharee has made connections between concepts, people, and communities where it was most needed.

Prof Catherine Crock AM, Founder, Hush Foundation