Self-Care in Healthcare: A Critical Leadership Skill, Not a Luxury
Sonja Cronjé
May 23, 2025
Inside the Article:
Introduction
You wouldn’t expect your phone to run on 1% battery – you’d charge it. But in healthcare, I often see people pushing far beyond empty, convinced they just have to keep going.
The signs are subtle at first: fatigue that no weekend fixes, a fuse that’s a little shorter than usual, decision-making that starts to feel heavier than it should.
And still, the pressure to keep going doesn’t let up.
Behind the calm professionalism of the doctors I coach, I often hear the same quiet struggles: exhaustion, guilt, and the belief that looking after yourself should come after everything else – if there’s anything left.
But self-care isn’t a reward for making it through the day. It’s what helps you keep showing up – for your patients, your team, and yourself.
As physician leader Joshua Hartzell writes, empathy, kindness and care aren’t “soft skills” – they’re essential. And to offer them consistently, especially in leadership, we need to include ourselves in the circle of care.
When leaders model sustainable practices: rest, reflection, boundaries – they give permission for others to do the same. In a culture where burnout is common but still whispered about, that quiet permission can shift the whole tone.
This post is an invitation to reframe self-care – not as something you earn, or something nice to do when time allows, but as a foundation for leading well, living well, and lasting the distance in a profession that asks so much of you.
What Is Self-Care and Why Does It Matter?
Self-care isn’t a checklist. It’s not a scented candle, a yoga class, or a weekend away (though those things can help). It’s a way of living and a constant practice. A conscious commitment to protect your physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing in the face of relentless demands.
Why does it matter? Because it underpins everything else: your energy, your focus, your clinical judgment, your ability to lead. Self-care helps you stay grounded with patients, composed with colleagues, and realistic with yourself. Most of all, it reminds you that you're a human being, not just a provider.
When self-care is part of daily life, not just crammed into the edges, it becomes an act of self-leadership. And that’s what sustainable leadership is built on: managing yourself, holding healthy boundaries, staying aligned with your values, and replenishing your own internal resources.
Why Self-Care Is Especially Crucial in Healthcare
Healthcare is high-stakes, emotionally intense work, and the toll it takes is well documented.
Burnout, compassion fatigue, moral injury – these aren’t signs of weakness. They’re predictable outcomes in systems that normalise self-neglect and reward overextension.
Burnout and Its Consequences
The World Health Organization defines burnout as an occupational phenomenon – not a personal shortcoming – resulting from chronic workplace stress that hasn’t been successfully managed.
Doctors experience burnout at nearly twice the rate of other professionals.
Burnout is characterised by three key features:
Emotional exhaustion – feeling drained, depleted, and unable to recover.
Depersonalisation or cynicism – developing a detached or negative attitude toward patients or colleagues.
Reduced professional efficacy – struggling to feel effective or accomplished at work.
These aren’t just inconvenient symptoms. They’re warning signs. And they come at a cost.
The consequences of burnout in healthcare professionals are profound – both personally and systemically:
Higher rates of depression, relationship strain, substance use, and, tragically, suicide.
Increased risk of medical error, malpractice, and poorer patient outcomes.
Greater absenteeism, attrition, and early exit from the profession – worsening shortages and stretching systems to breaking point.
Yet self-care is still too often framed as optional, individualistic, or even indulgent.
It’s not. It’s one of the most effective buffers we have against burnout and one we can’t afford to ignore.
System vs. Self: Whose Responsibility Is It, Anyway?
It’s tempting and entirely reasonable to point to the system. The evidence is clear: unsafe staffing, relentless workloads, and clunky processes are major contributors to burnout.
And yet, self-care still matters.
The Stanford Model of Occupational Wellbeing™ illustrates this well. It recognises that while organisational factors carry the greatest weight, individual factors still play a role.
Both matter. Both need attention.
Yes, we need systemic reform – safer workplaces, better policies, stronger supports. But while we push for that change, self-care remains essential. Not as a substitute. Not as self-blame. But as fuel.
A broken system is never a reason to break yourself.
Taking care of yourself isn’t giving up, it’s gearing up.
Looking After Yourself Is an Ethical Obligation
There’s growing recognition here in Australia and internationally, that a doctor’s wellbeing isn’t just a private matter. It’s a professional responsibility.
The World Medical Association’s International Code of Medical Ethics (last updated in 2022) includes this striking directive: "In order to provide care of the highest standards, physicians must attend to their own health, well-being, and abilities. This includes seeking appropriate care to ensure that they are able to practise safely.”
Closer to home, the Medical Board of Australia’s Good Medical Practice: A Code of Conduct also makes the link crystal clear: maintaining your own health and wellbeing is part of your professional duty – because impaired health can compromise patient care.
Many specialist colleges have echoed this stance. The Charter for Doctors’ Wellbeing – endorsed by multiple Australian medical colleges – formally recognises that doctor wellbeing is essential to safe, high-quality care.
In other words, self-care isn’t a sideline. It’s part of the job.
It’s not indulgent. It’s an ethical commitment – to yourself, to your patients, and to the profession.
And it’s a vital act of leadership.
From Triple Aim to Quadruple Aim: Clinician Wellbeing as a Quality Indicator
For years, healthcare systems have been guided by the Triple Aim: improving population health, enhancing patient experience, and reducing costs.
But something was missing: the people delivering the care.
That’s where the Quadruple Aim comes in – adding a crucial fourth pillar: clinician wellbeing.
Because patient outcomes don’t exist in a vacuum. When clinicians are exhausted or unsupported, the ripple effects are felt system-wide.
Think about it. Patient safety, satisfaction, and financial metrics are all rigorously tracked. But what if clinician wellbeing were treated with the same urgency?
What if we safeguarded clinicians’ mental health as seriously as we prevent hospital-acquired infections?
The Quadruple Aim reframes the conversation. It reminds us that caring for the workforce isn’t a distraction from delivering quality care. It’s central to it.
Barriers to Seeking Help: The Culture of Medicine
Despite the clear need for self-care and support, many healthcare professionals struggle to reach out – not because they don’t recognise its value, but because the culture of medicine has long discouraged it.
For generations, there’s been an unspoken code: cope at all costs. Push through. Prioritise patients, no matter the personal toll.
Admitting you’re not okay has too often been conflated with weakness, incompetence – or worse, professional risk.
Several common barriers make asking for help especially difficult in healthcare:
Stigma – Emotional distress and mental health challenges are still unfairly stigmatised in many clinical environments.
Internalised pressure – Many feel they should be the resilient one, the reliable one – making it hard to admit when they’re struggling.
Imposter syndrome – Even the most capable clinicians can carry chronic self-doubt, convinced they’re one mistake away from being “found out.”
Reporting concerns – Worries about whether seeking mental health care could jeopardise one’s career still loom large – even though, in most cases, these concerns are unfounded. The current regulatory approach in Australia is far more supportive than many realise.
There’s real strength in seeking support early. And when that support comes from people who ‘get’ the healthcare context, it’s not just helpful – it’s healing.
(I’ve compiled a list of trusted services here.)
Practical Ways to Look After Yourself
Here are a few small, practical strategies that can support your wellbeing across three key areas of daily life:
🩺 Physical Self-Care – caring for your body
See your GP regularly – not just when something is wrong.
Prioritise sleep – protect it like a precious appointment. If shift work or on-call demands make it harder, focus on what you can control and aim for some consistency.
Move in ways that feel good – walking, stretching, dancing, yoga, stair climbing.
Book a massage or physio – ease the tension that accumulates.
Stay hydrated and well-nourished – keep water in sight, eat to fuel.
Cut back on caffeine after midday – support better rest and calmer energy.
Take a few deep breaths between patients or tasks – reset your nervous system.
Say no when you’re already stretched – rest is a valid reason.
🧠 Mental Self-Care – clearing mental clutter and creating space
Set small boundaries for your headspace – fewer notifications, less device-checking.
Journal or do a 5-minute brain dump – clear the internal noise.
Declutter one thing – your bag, your inbox, your desktop.
Engage your brain in something playful – puzzles, colouring, creative outlets.
Learn something fun – a hobby or podcast outside of medicine.
Do something that brings you joy – a walk in nature, gardening, music, movement.
Speak with a coach, psychologist or trusted mentor – get things out of your head.
🪞 Reflective Self-Care – reconnecting with meaning and presence
Use reflection prompts – “What mattered today?”, “What gave me energy?”
Keep a gratitude list – three small things, even during the hard weeks.
Practise mindfulness – while walking, washing hands, or as you settle into a meeting.
Reconnect with your why – a moment that reminded you why you do this work.
Seek nourishing conversation – with someone who truly sees you.
Make time for mentoring or coaching — to think about the work, not just do it.
Take a quiet, tech-free walk – let your mind catch up with itself.
Final Thoughts: The Kind of Leader Healthcare Needs
Self-care isn’t about escaping the realities of medicine – it’s about sustaining yourself within them. It’s how you make sure that you, not just your patients, get the care you need.
It’s not selfish. It’s strategic.
Because a doctor who is supported, rested, and well can lead, care, and perform at their best.
You don’t need to overhaul your life. In fact, lasting change usually begins with just one small step.
Look back over the ideas above. What feels most doable or meaningful right now?
Start there – one small act, this week.
Self-care isn’t about getting it perfect. It’s about creating space to breathe, reflect, and sustain the work you do every day.
When self-care becomes part of your professional identity – not an afterthought, but a foundation – it strengthens everything else: your clinical work, your leadership, your relationships, and your longevity in the role.
And the ripple effect is real.
A healthy, grounded doctor sets a different tone – one that quietly gives others permission to do the same.
That’s how culture shifts.
Not through slogans or posters, but through leaders who walk their talk.
This is the kind of leadership healthcare needs – not driven by self-sacrifice, but anchored in self-awareness.
And it begins with you.