Internal Resources
RCSI Mental Health and Wellbeing Policy
In 2021 we were delighted to launch the RCSI Mental Health and Wellbeing Policy, created in consultation with the RCSI Policy Review group. This policy aligns with our objective to become a Positive Organisation and honours our commitments under the Ibec KeepWell Mark to prioritise the health and wellbeing of our staff. We are committed to creating a supportive and psychologically safe environment where all of our staff can flourish. This Mental Health and Wellbeing policy outlines our provisions to prevent and address mental health issues among our staff and the policy overtly acknowledges that our mental health is just as important as our physical health. Please take the time in due course to familiarise yourself with this policy and the supports and resources that are available.
RCSI Employee Assistance Programme
We understand this is a worrying and challenging time for our employees. We want to assure you that our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) remains fully operational to provide support and advice in dealing with these uncertain times. The EAP is a free professional counselling and information services are available to all RCSI staff and their family. You can talk to a counsellor on the phone or by video 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Please be assured that any contact you have with the EAP service is strictly confidential.
You can contact the Spectrum.life EAP by phone or Whatsapp:
Freephone ROI: 1800 903 542
WhatsApp: Text ‘Hi’ to 087 369 0010
Centre for Positive Psychology
Our Centre for Positive Psychology has been sharing some useful content on positive mental health as well as running a weekly webinar on meditation for anxiety:
- Positive Mental Health https://www.rcsi.com/dublin/coronavirus/information-for-the-public
- Pádraic Dunne’s 8-week Attention Based Training course and associated materials can be found here. All previous recordings can also be found on the ABT YouTube playlist.
Spotlight On Wellbeing Series
Responses to our October 2021 staff pulse survey gave us some really useful insights into areas that you would like further support with and in particular a key priority for many of you is maintaining your wellbeing. So we are going to put a fortnightly ‘spotlight’ on 4 key areas of wellbeing which can help with the challenges you expressed – Motivation/Morale, Managing Stress and Self Care, Resilience and Staying connected with others.
Our colleagues in the Centre for Positive Psychology and Health have very kindly agreed to make some short videos to share relevant scientific concepts and practical actions you can take in these areas. In addition to the videos, over each two week period you will see more posts on the topic here on Workvivo with the tag #SpotlightOnWellbeing, you can view them all by following this link https://home.rcsi.com/hashtag/SpotlightOnWellbeing
1. The first area we’re spotlighting is Purpose – having a sense of purpose and meaning in our lives helps us to maintain motivation and morale when times are tough. Dr. Pádraic Dunne has recorded a really interesting piece on the Japanese concept of Ikigai which roughly translates as ‘reason for being’ .
A series of supporting WorkVivo posts on each topic are also available. You can view them all by following #SpotlightOnWellbeing on WorkVivo https://home.rcsi.com/hashtag/SpotlightOnWellbeing
2. Our second #SpotlightonWellbeing looks at the area of Self-Care – those small things we all need to do to support our physical and mental wellbeing particularly during challenging times. Self care means taking responsibility for ourselves in order to keep our batteries charged. When our batteries are charged we have more to give to others and are more resilient in ourselves. This week’s short video, which you can find here, was recorded by Dr. Trudy Meehan from our Centre for Positive Psychology and Health – huge thanks to Trudy for taking the time to do this and help us all learn a little more about the evidence in this area. Trudy looks at the importance of our mindset when dealing with stress and suggests some simple tools we can use in managing our stress levels.
3. As we start 2021 we are continuing our #SpotlightonWellbeing series with a focus on Resilience this week and next which is quite timely! We are all facing different and difficult challenges as we continue to live through the pandemic and the ability to stay resilient is more important than ever. Resilience is not only our ability to bounce back from adversity but also our ability to grow from the stressors and challenges we confront. We are really grateful to Prof Ciaran O’Boyle from our Centre for Positive Psychology and Health for recording this short video on the value of using the ancient philosophy of Stoicism to help you endure when times are tough. A really fascinating watch if you have a few minutes!
4. The final topic we’re looking at as part of #SpotlightonWellbeing is the importance of Positive Connections. Our last staff pulse survey highlighted that colleagues are really missing their teams and that the prolonged period of remote working is leading to feelings of loneliness and isolation which of course negatively impacts overall wellbeing. From a work perspective it is undoubtedly our relationships and communication with others that enables us to do our best and keep going in tough times. In this video Prof Ciaran O’Boyle of the Centre for Positive Psychology and Health looks at human connections – why we need them, the importance of our mindset and some practical exercises you can do to enhance you sense of connection with others. Thank you Ciaran for another really thought provoking piece.
School of Physiotherapy- Supporting your physical health
Professor Suzanne McDonough and Dr Aoife Stephenson from the RCSI School of Physiotherapy share some of their findings and useful tips from their collaborators about how you can best improve your physical activity to Move More and Sit Less.
RCSI library
The RCSI library has a collection of Wellbeing Books on all aspects of self-care including managing stress, nutrition and physical health, mindfulness and relaxation, parenting, and bereavement. The Wellbeing Book collection is similar to bibliotherapy and Healthy Ireland book collections in the public libraries, and contains titles recommended by RCSI and Beaumont Hospital staff in Psychology, Staff Counselling and Student Welfare. There is also a selection of Popular and Inspiring books recommended by students and clinical staff.
Their guide gives you a summary of the content of each book, which may inspire you to purchase them while the library is closed, alternatively they will be available for borrowing when the library buildings re-open. You will also find their Meditation and Relaxation page has links to audio recordings of mindfulness meditations from the Beaumont Hospital Mindfulness and Relaxation Centre.
The library guide is available here: https://libguides.rcsi.ie/wellbeing
External Resources
There are also excellent evidence based approaches to support our wellbeing as employees, parents and healthcare professionals available from the Greater Good Science Centre at the University of Berkeley: UC Berkeley Greater Good Science Centre: Covid 19 Wellbeing Supports.
The HSE has curated a wide range of mental health supports and services available to everyone during COVID 19 which you can access here.
They have also created a new video-based mental wellbeing programme called Minding Your Wellbeing which is now freely accessible. This is an evidence-based programme which provides a unique opportunity for people to learn more about mindfulness, gratitude, self-care and resilience. As we continue to adapt to constantly changing and challenging external pressures, Minding Your Wellbeing aims to provide simple tools and guidance to develop and maintain a positive outlook by looking after our mental health and wellbeing. Access this programme here.
Healthy Ireland recently launched their wellbeing campaign ‘In This Together’ which offers support and resources for people to help deal with stress and isolation, and also helps people maintain wellbeing https://www.gov.ie/en/campaigns/together/