Parkland Providers ‘Prescribe’ New Year’s Health Resolutions for Themselves
Busy clinicians set personal fitness, health goals
DALLAS — We all know the drill. Holiday overindulgence in cookies, cakes and confections, followed by New Year’s resolutions to lose weight, hit the gym and shape up. Come January 1st, many of us are vowing to heed our doctor’s advice, drop 20 pounds, say no to salt and get serious about exercising.
We wondered if physicians, nurses and other healthcare experts face the same temptations and challenges that their patients do. To find out, we asked clinicians at Parkland Health & Hospital System if they make New Year’s resolutions to improve their own health and fitness. It’s well known that medical professionals have high-stress jobs, work long hours and juggle multiple demands on their time. Their fast-paced careers can take a toll on both their physical and mental health.
“Too often, doctors, nurses and others in healthcare find it difficult to make their own health a priority,” said Fred Cerise, MD, MPH, Parkland’s President and CEO. “We tell our patients to eat better and exercise, but sometimes we’re sending a mixed message: ‘Do as I say, not as I do.’ It’s important for us to take good care of ourselves, just as we advise our patients to do.”
Here are some New Year’s health resolutions Parkland providers have ‘prescribed’ for themselves in 2016:
“My resolution is to get more sleep!” said James De Lemos, MD, Chief of Cardiology Services at Parkland and Professor of Medicine at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. “I do a pretty good job with exercise and weight control, and don’t smoke or use alcohol to excess, but I don’t get enough sleep on a regular basis and there have been some studies showing that this is not ideal from a health standpoint.”
More quality sleep is also a top priority for John Pease, MD, Chief of Emergency Services at Parkland and Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at UT Southwestern. He has also committed to “make time for exercise or better yet make it part of my life and improve the quality of calories I consume in 2016.”
Michael Rubin, MD, Parkland neuro-intensivist and Assistant Professor of Neurology at UT Southwestern said, “I’m prescribing for myself ‘fruit-o-clock.’ Every day at 3 p.m. I will eat a piece of fruit. In addition to being an important part of a healthy diet, this staves off hunger and gives me the energy to exercise after work rather than jumping immediately to dinner.”
“My New Year’s resolution is meal planning throughout the work week,” Sobha Fuller, DNP, RN, COPC Director of Nursing, Population Health Division at Parkland, said. “Why is this goal important? I will eat less high calorie foods and reduce my stress level in trying to figure out what to eat on a tight timeline.”
Jeff Howard, Community Development Specialist at Parkland, said he plans to “spend more time with family and friends, enjoy the outdoors more when I exercise, decrease screen time (phone, computer, TV) and decrease the clutter and procrastination in my life.”
“My prescription is to walk more. I will try to do 10,000 steps a day,” said Shawna Nesbitt, MD, Medical Director of the Parkland Hypertension Clinic and Associate Professor of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern. “I plan to eat more fruits and vegetables with low salt and keep track of my blood pressure. I will also do what I recommend to all my patients: ‘follow your own progress and celebrate success. Don’t beat up on yourself for failure, just get up and try again.’”
Donna Persaud, MD, Chief of Pediatric Medicine, Community Medicine Division at Parkland, said she plans to “practice meditation daily for 10 to 20 minutes. It’s the most underutilized evidence based health promoter!”
Other providers are focused on building better balance in their lives, finding more humor and setting realistic goals.
The old adage ‘laughter is the best medicine’ works for Senatayehu Kassa MD, lead physician at Parkland’s Vickery Health Center. Her goal is to laugh a lot and implement some form of exercise. And Barbara Durso, MD, a Parkland pediatrician, said her priority in 2016 is “to learn to say ‘no’ so I am not burning the candle at both ends.”
Physical therapist Jose Zapata said, “I have a 2-year old at home and my other little girl is due any day now. My ‘resolution’ is to find the right balance between my responsibilities as husband, dad and employee while making time and keeping track of my health (exercise, rest, etc.). You’ve got to take time for yourself in order to take care of others.”
Parkland psychiatrist Rhonda Goen, MD, said her resolution is “to commit to a realistic healthy eating plan and exercise routine. I suppose the operative word is ‘realistic,’” she added. “I think when establishing any type of resolution or goal, it must be doable or the individual will fall short and then abandon all of their efforts.”
Registered dietitian Sharon Cox said she plans to “make more time for fun and play that will help me have a positive and relaxed outlook for 2016. I will take inventory and make certain that I have a solid work/life balance with time for family, friends, coworkers and time for reflection. I hope the result is a positive attitude that will enable me to be that healthcare provider that can serve and meet our patient’s health needs and my personal health.”
To learn more about Parkland services, please visit www.parklandhospital.com
