I don’t often borrow unedited material from other people, but I was so impressed with these 12 Rules For Doctor’s Survival from Jill Tomlinson that I felt they should be shared.

Rule 1: Do not take responsibility for things you cannot control.

Rule 2: Take care of yourself or you can’t take care of anyone else.

Rule 3: Trouble is easier to prevent than to fix.

Rule 4: When you get upset, tune into what is going on with you and go through the Three Step Process.
1. What am I feeling?
2. What do I want?
3. What can I do about it?

Rule 5: If the answer to Rule 4, Step 3 is “Nothing”, apply Rule 1.

Rule 6: Ask for support when you need it – give people permission to feel what they feel.

Rule 7: In a bad situation you have four options:
1. Leave it
2. Change it
3. Accept it
4. Reframe it

Rule 8: If you never make mistakes, you’re not learning anything.

Rule 9: When a situation turns out badly look at where the choice points were, then decide what you would do differently next time.

Rule 10: At any given time you can only make decisions based on the information you have.

Rule 11: Life is not fair – or a contest.

Rule 12: You have to start where the patient is at.