My work in the healthcare system for over 30 years has given me a unique perspective on the escalation of challenges facing physicians. The unrelenting pace of change within the industry and its organizations has created a workplace that sometimes seems unrecognizable from that which we were motivated to join initially.

Sometimes these motivating factors are no longer present in our work-life and we need to find others to remain engaged. At other times, coping with all that is new seems insurmountable and we must find or develop new strategies to manage stress.

I am uniquely qualified as a psychologist to help physicians manage the personal effects of the stressors they encounter:

• I have provided psychotherapy and coaching to a multitude of healthcare professionals for the last 8 years.
• I have provided personal and executive coaching to healthcare professionals for the last two decades.
• I understand the dynamics of all the organizations physicians work within, the details of myriad processes and workflows, and the responsibilities of providing patient care in today’s environment.
• Physicians find that they can speak “shorthand” comfortably in session and I know exactly what they are talking about.
• I am able to provide a mix of therapeutic and practical interventions in sessions.
• I can help you evaluate your work habits and modify them to optimize productivity and gain a sense of mastery and balance.

I can help you through either a therapeutic/clinical approach or a coaching/consultative methodology. There are pros and cons to each and I will be happy to discuss them in light of your particular needs.

Other Specific Services

Dealing with Burnout

Physicians report increasing levels of stress, anxiety, ambivalence, and difficulty coping in their professional lives. The convergence of changes in the practice of medicine and modern expectations of personal life may do battle inside one’s head with the seemingly age-old admonitions of training programs and senior physicians.  Many physicians feel a lack of control over important aspects of their work and have difficulty establishing boundaries; loss of enjoyment at work and home may soon follow.

My practice uses a detailed understanding of the actual situations physicians encounter, concrete workflow and other problem-solving, and a variety of cognitive behavioral tools to help physicians recognize the signs and symptoms of burnout, cope with the reality of the positions they hold, achieve greater control in their work lives, and develop an improved sense of balance.

Practice Management 101

Physicians today find themselves in a variety of middle management positions; from actually leading a practice to feeling as though they need to present as the de facto leader to improve operations. And this leadership is more often occurring in the midst of large, multi-layered, hospital system organizations.

Developed for the physician who feels unequipped to tackle this job,  my coaching approach develops competency in managing practice operations, understanding practice financials, effectively interacting with other physicians and staff  as a manager, and discerning the thought processes of hospital administrators.

Understanding Compensation Plans

As hospital employers continually tweak their physician compensation plans, it is important for physicians to understand both the constructs that underlie how they are or will be paid as well as the levers of productivity that are being deployed.

Beyond that understanding are the decisions of greater importance that physicians must make regarding how they will respond to these levers, achieve work-life balance in the process, and negotiate contractual matters.

My coaching approach utilizes my years of experience developing physician compensation plans as both a hospital administrator and a consultant.

Career Coaching

I continue to encounter physicians who have begun to question whether the career decision they made years or decades ago is the right one today. They may have faced life-changing cases, recognized a long-standing feeling of discomfort or unhappiness at work, had a baby or two, or find themselves asking the existential question of “is this all there is?”

My career coaching approach is a two-step process. First, we conduct a comprehensive assessment of the factors surrounding the career malaise an individual is contending with. Second,  we work together an honest assessment of “fit” at this point in time.

The first step is to contact me, I prefer email to sarah@drsarahvpuccia.com as I can often respond more quickly. I will usually get back to you within a few hours.