259 Graduates To Date, Doing Great Work on Four Continents
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“This has truly been the best conference, retreat, lecture series, workshop (call it what you want) that I have attended. It has provided me with a bag full of tools and ideas on how to improve our working lives and everyone’s leadership skills.”
"I would like to express a deep and heartfelt thanks for a tremendous experience. Probably the most concentrated training since residency! I don’t think I understood the difference between Training and Education until QAPLR. Appreciate your hands on and personal approach. You really deliver and go beyond any expectations I had. I look forward to continuing the process. WOW -- amazing."
“This gives us stuff we don’t get anywhere else. Useful, practical, immediately applicable.”
“Dike’s presentation, facilitation style was extraordinary. Whole group discussions were really valuable – real dilemmas were shared. Small group discussions and peer teaching (walking the walls) were really useful techniques.”
This was not a "class", it was the beginning of a journey.If you are burned out this will allow you to start healing. If you are not burnout yet will allow you to prevent it. And if you are surrounded by others that are or could be burnout, you will have the skills to help them.
I learned many things and the most important is I finally realized that I was burnout, and received the support and encouragement that I needed to start my healing process. I learned to say NO!, to pay attention to my feelings, and to ask for help.
Now I lead by example. Being more vulnerable and self-aware allowed me also to be closer to those that were going through similar situations, without them feeling ashamed, guilty, or awkward. I created better relationships with peers, residents, staff, and patients since I am more empathetic and socially aware.
~ Miriam Lisigurski, MD, FACP
“The support and collegiality were phenomenal. This is the type of culture we need to build into every health care setting. The tools given are simple and easy to integrate”
"The QAPLR retreat has had a tremendous impact on me as a physician. I loved the pragmatic approach adopted during the retreat. It focused on results more than didactic knowledge which is missing in a majority of other courses available on this subject.
I am able to handle the situation better when dealing with "Disruptive Physician" behaviour and "Managing my Boss". I have also gained a better awareness of my role as a boss.
As physician leaders we need to acquire a different skill set to be successful and QAPLR provides the ideal ecosystem to develop these life-changing skills."~ Aqeel Gilani MD
A CWO PerspectiveI had just been appointed the Chief Wellness Officer and was looking to learn as much as I could to bring back to my organization.
I already had a lot of background in personal burnout prevention - designing your ideal practice, personal resilience, and wellness strategies. The retreat helped roll it into a larger vision for my organization. In the coaching follow up, I enjoyed listening to the
other participants and taking nuggets from the issues they brought up. I also got lots of ideas on how to "sell" the need to invest in wellness to the higher-ups.
My action steps so far:
> I refreshed our already existing wellness committee.
> I implemented a train-the-trainer program for process improvement
> I created a graphic that represents the wellness strategy for
the company in one picture
> I am running better meetings, am training others to run theirs,
and am saying no to ones that are not critical for me
> I learned about and implemented my own version of a Bullet Journal
to complement my google calendar
> I got some great book recommendations that I have already poured through
I know this is a long game. Measurable change isn't clearly visible yet, and I can feel a shift toward a more positive energy on many fronts.
If you are feeling individually unfulfilled in your career or you want to impact others or even the healthcare system, this is a great place to go.~~ J. S. MD
"I have seen Dike speak and admired his work for a number of years. His burnout prevention tools have been instrumental in helping me recover from burnout and I was keen to learn more. I also now have a number of leadership roles and have had little support locally to develop my leadership skills.
The key things I took from QAPLR were how to run great, productive meetings and also how to alleviate clinicians' fear when guiding them out of their comfort zone to a state of change.
None of it is rocket science but that is the beauty of QAPLR. It is simple to understand and even simpler to action as you are encouraged to implement things one small step at a time. Others have noticed a definite change and have started to implement changes in their own practice and it's been great to see a ripple effect.
The magic really happened with the follow up calls which is something missing from every leadership course I've ever been on. I learned so much from hearing about other people's experiences and watching Dike unpick what was going on. There is not a day that goes by that I don't use these tools!
~ K.H. MD - Bradford, England
... the program will change your life, at work and at home ...
I had burnt-out and struggled for a few years without understanding or being able to break away. As I made changes in my life and work life I wanted to understand more – how did I get here, what can I do, what can my institution do?
The retreat proved I am not alone, that burnout was predictable, even inevitable and that I was neither educated nor prepared.
In the coaching calls, I saw that change was possible – the team shared their successes and their bumps on the way – but clear progression and change was made and celebrated.
Dike’s skill in this coaching and sharing role was extraordinary. Twelve of us from all round the globe became a team, a community and safe place to share and to ask questions.
It is not just a course, but a sharing of knowledge, approach and actionable options, expertly coached and so clearly an omission in my workplace for 2-3 decades.
I am learning to breathe more, to journal and be more intentional and mindful. I am much more available at home and celebrate more and more each week. I share more appreciation for the work of others, and reflect on my work, successes and how to work better with the hurdles.
I am excited to see what a difference I can make with and for my colleagues – the challenge is on – despite somewhat unfertile soil!
The program will change your life at work and at home. You will learn, enjoy, share concerns and some very difficult stories. You will grow, you will appreciate yourself and others more or perhaps even again if it has been a long time.
You may have the opportunity to share and coach others and change their lives too. Dare to take it.
~ P. S. MD - Toronto, Ontaria Canada
“The connections with other physician leaders is invaluable! The tools are broken down into bite sized actions that make success with utilization extremely likely. The concept of starting with myself and building on that is critical to me being an effective leader and a change agent in my organization. I am excited that my investment in this retreat will benefit my partners and staff.”
“Dike is the most honest person/expert I know dedicated to resolving physician burnout. His approach is abundantly pragmatic, deeply motivational and he has built a system that anyone can understand.”
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“This was HUGE!! Managing how I will interact with those upstream and downstream to make an impact on wellness. Makes me feel excited to have new skills / tools to use.”
“Gives me the tools to start our own burnout committee and implement strategies at our workplace. Also a lot of insight into myself.”
“I enjoyed meeting so many like-minded individuals who are fighting the good fight. It was inspiring. I learned most of my own blind spots and really simple things I can do to correct them. I will try to stop Lone Rangering everything, which will reduce my stress and build trust with my team.”
“Dike is an amazing presenter and the staff and attendees were awesome. I learned that small things done well, systematically and persistently can have a tremendous impact. I am ready to become a more present and organized leader, beginning with taking care of myself.”
I signed up for QALPR because I wanted a different perspective on stress and burnout than the usual academic talks about statistics.
I learned that I am not alone. Many docs struggle even as we seek to make patients' lives better.
I see there is no "one path" to reduce stress and avoid burnout; for my situation, I can have a more ideal practice. Using the workshop tools I learned, I noticed a rapid improvement in the day-to-day peace and productivity of my staff and myself.
And the 12-week Zoom follow-up system of conference review is not just talk. Dike shows up, we all participate and everyone learns from each other's journey.
~ P. J. R. MD
Cardiologist
“I learned more about myself and recognized that I am in control of my professional life. I will be able to find better balance in dealing with office, hospital and home.”
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“I learned to understand personal, team and organizational dynamics and how to manage my boss. This may save my job.”
“I learned that there are small changes that can create a change movement in myself, colleagues and the organization.”
“This will make me pro-active in looking for and shaping my next job; not just fit myself into a job as-is.”
“I will probably stay in medicine thanks to this retreat. I was considering quitting. At the very least, I will run to my next job and not just away from my current one.”
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“I am hoping this will strengthen my will to tailor my current job to more closely match my ideal and help me advocate for changes to help the wellness of the faculty on my service as well as help me speak up when changes are contemplated that will negatively affect employee wellbeing.”
“I learned so much about myself – my “physician tendencies”. Huge gaps in leadership strategy filled. Validation of self-care above all else and how to mediate my own disruptive/ineffective behaviors.”
“The interactive nature of the retreat allowed me to not only learn from Dike, but from my colleagues in the room as well. The diverse nature of the group helped bring many ideas to the forefront.”
I am the physician wellbeing chair in our group and still practice Palliative Medicine part time. I thought the retreat would give me more tips to help my people and my organization prevent burnout.
I learned simple tools to run more effective meetings, manage the chaos of the work day and even balance time. I was surprised that QAPLR has made a huge difference both for me and my physician husband. It was like getting a 2-for-1 deal. My team is now higher functioning and excited about the work again.
Everyone at the retreat was open and transparent and extremely supportive as we all learned together in the 12 weeks of follow up. It was truly a sad parting. Definitely recommend QAPL - particularly physician couples - there are a lot of learnings. I was even able to reach out and offset the decline of a fellow doctor recently.
~ M.K. MD
“I feel much more clear on how to divide up each dilemma in healthcare that contributes to burnout and to develop strategies for each. I feel more confident, clear and empowered to make a difference.”
“Dike’s presentation, facilitation style was extraordinary. Whole group discussions were really valuable – real dilemmas were shared. Small group discussions and peer teaching (walking the walls) were really useful techniques.”
“I have confidence to go back and feel like I am capable of leading productive meetings and it confirms the importance of the culture of TRUST in an organization.”
“I loved being on the Seattle waterfront for several glorious days and I will take the “consensus” learning with me everywhere.”
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“Insights and tools that are needed for a fulfilling career are not taught in any institution or program. This program shows you what they are and how to use them.”
“This sets the stage/context for physician wellness. I would love to have another person in my organization with the same training. This will change how you look at wellness/burnout and give you a blueprint for success.”
"I'm the CMO of at small two hospital system, one acute and one critical access.
I had significant doubts going into the training. How was I going to open up to a group of strangers from scattered parts of the country and globe? Not knowing what to expect I was positively amazed. Dike was so personable, believable and genuine. He truly desires to help.
Through careful guidance we delved into deeper and more critical subjects. I felt safe to expose my thought and emotions. Other series I have attended were not as skill oriented or adaptable to individual needs. Dike’s engagement is real and he always provides tangible take aways - most of which are easily implemented.
I have learned to take care of myself first and am proactive to situations rather than reactive. When encountering others with possible negative behavior, I find I automatically look for the cause rather than find fault with the individual. That makes a big difference.
Since returning from the retreat, I launched our Physician Wellness group and we are hosting social events. I have instituted an open door approach with my colleagues which allows people the opportunity to be heard without strings in a confidential setting. I also schedule a personal meeting and follow-up with any one of our members who is served with a malpractice suit. I am even playing an active role in wellness with the state medical society and hospital association.
I highly recommend the QAPLR experience and thank you Dike and my fellow retreat colleagues."
Bruce Bertrand MD
VPMA / CMO Heywood Healthcare – Massachusetts
“I liked that every day was a different set of tools and it all came together in the end. Day 1 – Personal. Day 2 – Team. Day – 3 Organization. I especially liked how on Day 3 it was straightforward, “Do this to talk to the C-suite.” It is hard to believe just how much information we were able to learn and still have time to enjoy the sites. Just now when you spoke about graduation, I thought, “I don’t want this to end”.
“Loved the approach of this conference. First, focus on my personal wellbeing. A lot of practical tools learned that I can start employing today. Secondly, I learned how to m ore effectively manage my team and how to run a better meeting. So excited to employ these techniques. Lastly, I learned approaches as to how I can take these wellbeing ideas back to my medical group to present for system wide impact. So excited to get started.”
"I am so grateful to you and your program, Dike! You have helped me become
a better physician and a better person too. My husband and I have struggled this past year mainly due to my burnout at work.
After your program and continued support, the burnout is fading and I am finding the self I want to be again. I am much more present at work and at home. My husband is also thankful to you for that!
I couldn’t imagine where in the depths of the whirlwind I might be today without your guidance in breaking out of it! I am truly thankful for you, your program and your team's dedication to our profession and to us as individuals. Thank you for all you do!
~ J.J. MD
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