Library resource guides: CPD for clinical support roles: Health and wellbeing

Guide index

Key areas to consider in planning your CPD include:

Own health and wellbeing – current status and future plans
Responses to major professional events (for example: being the subject of a complaint, critical event)
Self-care relating to professional and personal issues specific to transitional career stages, periods of illness or interrupted practice (reviewing performance)
Self-assessment of work practices in relation to safe working hours and fatigue
Self-assessment of your performance as a patient
Workforce health and wellbeing at a unit, department, group practice or organisational level
Recognising and intervening as necessary for colleague impairment
Promoting health and wellbeing of individuals and groups
Supporting a colleague to review their commitment to sustainable health and wellbeing.

Practice evaluation (category 1)

Own wellbeing

Undertake a critical reflection on your current state of health and wellbeing and develop a personal wellbeing plan. The critical reflection guideline includes three worksheets for this, including ones developed by and for Māori. See resources section for critical reflection topics.
Formally engage with a mentor to further your professional goals and practice. Claim hours spent doing so under the mentoring activity.
Participate in a peer support group of self-selected peers with expertise and interest in similar areas of practice. Potential areas of focus for the group are listed in the peer support groups guideline which also includes how to create a supportive and non-judgemental environment. See the resources section to support selection of peer support group discussion topics.

Your support for the wellbeing of others

Formally mentor a colleague/trainee/student and claim hours spent doing so under the mentoring activity.

Knowledge & skills (category 2)

Participate in wellbeing-related face-to-face or virtual educational activities such as conferences, workshops, small group discussions or online modules/webinars/podcasts. Claim time spent doing this under wellbeing education sessions (examples are included in the linked guideline).

The college welcomes suggestions on additional resources and topics for CPD on health and wellbeing.

ANZCA & FPM resources

CPD activity guide
This guide contains a list of all the activities associated with the ANZCA and FPM CPD Program, as well as links to associated individual activity guides and forms.
ANZCA and FPM CPD Program: Mentoring guideline
This guideline assists CPD participants complete the mentoring activity.
ANZCA and FPM CPD Program: Peer support groups guideline
This guideline assists CPD participants complete the peer support groups activity.
ANZCA and FPM CPD Program: Wellbeing education sessions - guideline
This guideline informs CPD participants about completing the Wellbeing education sessions activity and assists session providers develop and conduct such sessions.
PG43(A) Guideline on fatigue risk management in anaesthesia practice 2020
The purpose of this statement is to highlight the importance of fatigue risk management, serve as a resource for clinicians and to provide healthcare facilities with recommendations on how to prevent the onset and reduce the impact of fatigue on safe patient care and occupational health/safety.
PG49(G) Guideline on the health of specialists, specialist international medical graduates, and trainees.
To assist specialists, SIMGs, and trainees of the college and its faculties with issues related to their health and wellbeing. It is also intended to assist healthcare facilities to develop systems that provide the necessary support.

ANZCA: Wellbeing Library Guide
ANZCA Library has compiled a list of support resources relevant to the general wellbeing of medical practitioners.
ANZCA: Critical Incident Debriefing (CID) Toolkit
Our Critical Incident Debriefing Toolkit provides a comprehensive, evidence-based resource on what are critical incidents, how to provide support and a hot debrief following a critical incident. It can be read in sections or as a whole.

ANZCA: Doctors' Health and Wellbeing
This page contains details of the ANZCA Doctors' Support Program (Converge), health advisory services, and bullying & harassment support, as well as the college's Doctors' Health & Wellbeing Framework.
ANZCA Doctors' Support Program - Converge
As part of our ongoing support of our fellows, trainees and specialist international medical graduates (SIMGs), ANZCA has engaged the professional services of Converge International, a specialist in psychology, mental health and wellbeing who will provide a confidential and independent counselling and coaching service.

Long Lives, Healthy Workplaces: A Toolkit for Anaesthetic Departments by Welfare of Anaesthetists SIG Long Lives, Healthy Workplaces is an initiative of the Wellbeing Special Interest Group and Everymind, with support from the Australian Society of Anaesthetists (ASA) and additional funding leveraged under The Prevention Hub. The purpose is to provide a freely-accessible toolkit to support better mental health and wellbeing for anaesthetists and anaesthetic trainees.
Publication Date: 2019
Long Lives, Healthy Workplaces: Amended resources for New Zealand Anaesthetic Departments by Welfare of Anaesthetists SIG & NZSA Long Lives Healthy Workplaces is a freely-accessible toolkit for Anaesthesia Departments which includes resources to support wellbeing. The toolkit has been tailored for NZ anaesthetists and is an initiative of the Wellbeing Special Interest Group and EveryMind, an Australian institute dedicated to mental wellness. We encourage you to access this resource for yourself and/or your department.
Publication Date: 2019

External resources

AMA Ed Hub: Clinician Burnout Assessment Toolkit
Physician well-being is influenced by both organizational and individual factors. This collection of AMA's STEPS Forward® toolkits offer strategies on how to engage health system leadership, understanding physician burnout and how to address it, as well as developing a culture that supports physician well-being.
AMA Ed Hub: Physician Burnout Improve Physician Satisfaction and Patient Outcomes
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Learning Objectives:
At the end of this activity, you will be able to:
1. Describe why physician burnout is a pressing issue;
2. Identify key contributors to physician burnout;
3. Outline benefits of conducting an annual wellness survey to document intervention effectiveness;
4. Recognize different interventions available to address physician burnout.
Beyond Blue
Beyond Blue provides information and support to help everyone in Australia achieve their best possible mental health, whatever their age and wherever they live.
Black Dog Institute: Resources & support
Mental health resources and support tools resources to navigate burnout (Australia).
Blue Knot Professional Community
The Blue Knot Professional Community website endeavours to provide you with all the information you need to find the resources, training or service to deal with complex trauma.
DRS4DRS
Site for medical practitioners and students - find a GP or other health specialist (Australia) .
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Drs4Drs is dedicated to promoting the health and wellbeing of doctors and medical students throughout Australia.
Hand-n-Hand Peer Support
Free, confidential peer support for health professionals in Australia and New Zealand.
Psychwire
Signature online courses for health and mental health professionals by the leaders in evidence-based therapy.

Good Medical Practice: A Code of Conduct for Doctors in Australia by Medical Board Ahpra Good medical practice (the code) describes what is expected of all doctors registered to practise medicine in Australia. It sets out the principles that characterise good medical practice and makes explicit the standards of ethical and professional conduct expected of doctors by their professional peers and the community.
Publication Date: October 2020
Good Medical Practice [New Zealand] by Medical Council of New Zealand (Te Kaunihera Rata o Aotearoa) A doctor's first concern is to take care of their patient, and to do so with respect, honesty and professionalism. Our "Good Medical Practice" publication sets out the principles and values that define good medical practice, and provides guidance to doctors on the standards we expect of them in all aspects of their professional behaviour.
Publication Date: 1 November 2021

Screening tools

TEN Digital Mental Health Check-up
Support for health professionals (depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, burnout) .
Beyond Blue: Anxiety and Depression Test (K10)
You may wish to retain results for your personal records. Please do not upload results to the CPD portfolio.