A wellbeing welcome for junior doctors at NGH

Thujina and Subanky with their welcome packs

Northampton General Hospital have been welcoming their new cohort of junior doctors with a special welcome pack on their first day. The package is designed to promote self-care and empower them to take time to recharge and look after themselves in their new role.

The health and wellbeing lead Anne-Marie Dunkley described why the initiative is so important “We often read in the news the pressures that junior doctors are under so we wanted to do something to give them some tools for self-care. For a lot of our junior doctors they might not have visited NGH before or even Northampton, so that in itself is a big change, let alone starting a new job.

“We wanted to create these packs and include items that would promote self-care, sleeping well and staying safe after shift working. These new self-care packs are designed to provide things to relieve the stresses of the working day and remind our junior doctors to take some time to look after themselves as well as our patients. We hope this gesture will go a long way in letting them know that we’re here to support and help them during their time with us, and that we care about their wellbeing”.

The packs include; a wooden massager, lip balm, sleep balm, sleep mask, ear plugs, a pick me up stick to roll onto pulse points in the morning to provide energy for the day, a pen, wellbeing information cards and a handy bag to keep it all in. As well as the treats, the bag also contains information about the other health and wellbeing initiatives the hospital offer, including; mental health awareness workshops, menopause workshops, fitness activities such as yoga and running groups and much more.

The doctors themselves are already excited about using the packs and described the difference it would make:

“It’s like having a little spa pack! It shows that the team at NGH have made the effort to care about us all. It’s something we forget to do so it’s nice to know and be reminded that people are here to support us.”

“I think it’s fantastic and I’ve never seen anything like it before. It will make a difference and the mask and ear plugs are definitely needed especially after a night shift! It’s a wonderful gesture to know someone is looking out for you”

“It’s nice because I don’t take care of myself as much as I should do. Having this self-care kit is great as I would never think to go into a beauty shop and buy things for my own self-care. Now by having this kit I don’t have an excuse not to take the time to take care of myself.”

Dr Sonia Swart, chief executive also welcomed the new initiative: “We’re really proud to have launched our new self-care pack for our junior doctors. It’s a great pleasure to welcome them to TeamNGH and to their new careers in medicine. Our health and wellbeing team started the welcome packs this year to remind our junior doctors to take the time to relax and look after themselves. It’s one small human gesture to show we care”.