These Books May Help Otolaryngologists Choose Optimism and Self-Care

by Amy E. Hamaker •

Dr. Brackett gave the most incredibly compelling presentation on why it’s critical we learn emotional vocabulary and we teach it to others.

Both of these books help you to be compassionate to yourself, allowing you to then be an endless source of compassion and healing for others.

ENTT: Why do you believe that these types of books are important for physicians to read and to use in their practices?

JW: Given that the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the already high prevalence of burnout and lack of well-being among physicians, and our current national focus on increasing individual and system resilience, which are all topics I have been passionate about for the past decade on my own journey from extreme burnout to constant learning and efforts to increase my own well-being and model it for others, I believe all physicians—and frankly everyone—would benefit from reading these books.

Our perspective on what’s “normal” is absolutely not normal. The degree to which we have sacrificed ourselves and focused solely on our patients, as was taught to us, has cost us dearly, and physicians are unlikely to be able to practice great self-care consistently. We are also subject to harsh self-talk and self-blame, and we carry trauma from bad patient outcomes. We’re human, so it’s time we emphasize that, allow ourselves room to believe that we aren’t flawed because of that, and teach the world to treat us as deserving of love and respect. These books help us do just that.

Amy E. Hamaker is the editor of ENTtoday.

More Good Reads

We asked the ENTtoday editorial board for some of their favorite book recommendations. Below are their suggestions.

“The last book I read was called The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who’ve Lived the Longest, by Dan Buettner, about five areas in the world where people live a long time. It was great! My favorite book is Viktor E. Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning, about a psychiatrist who survived concentration camps during the Holocaust and his lessons for spiritual survival.” —Subinoy Das, MD

I recently read The Water Dancer, by Ta-Nehisi Coates and really enjoyed it. It tells the story of a young slave who’s able to escape through the Underground Railroad, and then dedicates his life to helping others in the same way. It’s an amazing story of loss and struggle and paints a picture of the culture of slavery that’s harsh and bracing. The characters give you faith in humanity and the power of family. —Jonathan M. Bock, MD