Doctor's Day: Medical professionals share how hobbies keep them afloat

The last two years were a reminder of the dedication and risks which healthcare professionals experience to deliver for their patients From long working hours wearing uncomfortable PPE Personal Protective Equipment and pushing through fatigue to lack of infrastructure their paths were fraught with challenges Add to this the difficulty of selfcare and lack of facilities it is easy to understand why medicine is a stressful profession But it does not always have to be so On Doctorrsquos Day three medical professionals reveal how they overcome this professional hazard by honing their passions and interestsFinding an alternateDr Debraj Shome senior cosmetic surgeon and director The Esthetic ClinicsFor Dr Shome fitness was a lifestyle rather than a trend An athlete since his days as a medical student he often took to exercising as a way to let off steam It is also a professional requirement he tells us ldquoI need the ability to stand for an eighthour surgery when needed and have the mobility to move as requiredrdquo he explains With gyms shut in the pandemic Shome resorted to a simpler and basic way to burn his stress ldquoI realized that body weight exercises and calisthenics mdash like planches pullups and pushups work just as well You do not need much for a good workoutrdquo he claims With a few rings and bars Shome managed to create a calisthenics routine to stay fit ldquoExercise as a repetitive activity forces you to engage your mind really hard So you stop thinking about the peripheral activities which crowd your thoughts It is relaxing and releases endorphins like dopamine into the brainrdquo he elaboratesCanvas therapyDr Aparna Govil Bhasker consultant bariatric and laparoscopic surgeon Saifee and Spectra HospitalsldquoAll professions are to some extent stressful But medicine is on a different levelrdquo Dr Govil Bhasker tells us Despite not being on the frontlines of the pandemic the surgeon was witness to the struggles and pressures of her colleagues as well as many families ldquoOne of our jobs is to also reassure families of patients when things are not going their way This can be a huge burden to carry sometimes We are human after allrdquo she reminds us To express her emotions the doctor turned to the canvas It was a childhood hobby that she returned to in the last five yearsShe tells us ldquoIn medical school you donrsquot get time to cultivate these hobbiesrdquo But it was the pandemic that truly pushed her to paint as an outlet Her sketches capture life within the hospital wards through the perspective of a medical professional ldquoI always enjoyed the colours and the process of creating something Some people write I paintrdquo she adds As a practice she highly recommends doing something unrelated to your profession to let off steam ldquoIt will help you relax and refocus at workrdquo she saysTies that healDr Vikrant Shah consulting physician and infectious disease specialist Zen Multispecialty HospitalFor Dr Shah the frontline was home during the pandemic As an infectious disease specialist he admits that the pandemic was something you could not predict Yet through it all Shah admits that sometimes one needs to take out time ldquoIt is important for everyone to have a hobbyrdquo Dr Shahrsquos hobby is collecting ties What started as an effort to look presentable soon blossomed into a collection of 200 ties left from all over the world ldquoIt became a ritual with me that the tie would come before the rest of my outfit I would select the shirts to matchrdquo he laughsThe ties were a part of his efforts to add personality to brighten up and infuse optimism into dark days Not everyone needs to start collecting ties he tells us ldquoIt is my unique hobbyrdquo In addition Dr Shah shares a penchant for cycling and swimming Exercise he says is essential to battle stress ldquoUnless you are physically fit you cannot be mentally fitrdquo he reminds us He suggests taking time out from work to travel discover new places or to cultivate a hobby Above all Shah suggests keeping onersquos mind open to the bigger picture ldquoThe key is to keep learning new thingsrdquo he recommends