The Good Listening Project is a unique initiative that aims to help to combat burnout. The skill of listening, which is underutilized and not as respected as it should be, is taken and amplified within a listener poet and the individual. The individual tells their story, and the listener poet actively listens. The poet is completely engaged in what the individual has to say. There is no judgment. I found it very cathartic. I’m incredibly grateful and humbled to have been gifted the session. In less than a week, I had a poem that was crafted and reflected what we had discussed.

How does this combat burn out? It provided a space in which I could talk openly and without judgment. True active listening was practiced. After the session, I had something tangible. I had something on which to reflect. And as discussed in the episode, I am still searching for that frame that speaks to me in order to house the poem and keep it in my office for for the reflection.

Originally Published on https://www.theworthyphysician.com/blog

Sapna Shah-Haque Internal Medicine Physician

Dr. Sapna Shah-Haque, MD is a board certified Internal Medicine physician. She was born and raised in Kansas, and attended medical school at the University of Kansas [KU] School of Medicine. She completed her Internal Medicine residency at KU-Wichita as well. After experiencing burnout herself, and watching other physician colleagues burn out, it became a passion of hers to look into different aspects of burnout. While the system does need to change, as it is broken, this podcast is a way to reach physicians and possibly shed light on what is not an isolated situation.