Tanya Thomas, MD, clinical instructor of psychiatry and human behavior, was honored in July with a National Silver Award in the American Society of Business Publication Editors' 2022 Azbee Awards. Thomas, a columnist for MDedge since 2019 who has contributed to the website since 2012, earned the nod for her piece titled, "Shedding the Super Doctor Myth."
"In 2012, I was diagnosed with serious medical conditions that forced an early departure from the Child and Adolescent Fellowship at Brown," Thomas, an alumna of Brown's General Psychiatry Residency, says. "As I never conceptualized my life, in the absence of medicine, I struggled to accept the changes occurring within my body, the ramifications of these changes on my health and future, as well as the guilt and embarrassment of no longer working as a fellow or as a physician."
After discussions with family and friends, Thomas wondered if the culture and cult of medicine created a mythology of invulnerability, which culminated in the title of her 2021 article.
"As the emotional toil created via medical training is more widely understood, the model by which we train physicians is shifting towards an emphasis on self-care and wellness as well as personal development via mentorship and advocacy," she says. "Furthermore, the medical community gave personal voice to the collective woe of working within a socially, economically, and politically complex health care system through avid use of social media. Thus, factors such as increased suicide rates, workplace dissatisfaction, and demoralization could no longer be relegated to scientific journals (reviewed primarily by those already knowledgeable of physician stress) as the greater public was enlightened of the looming crisis."
Once COVID hit an already beleaguered system, Thomas says, the plight of physicians, and health care workers in general, could no longer be ignored.
"Therefore, when 'Shedding The Superdoctor Myth' was published, the honorific title of 'health care heroes' felt weighted with burden despite its supportive and gracious intent," she says. "Shortly thereafter, news media focused on multiple physician suicides thereby highlighting the grave consequences of COVID, beyond those related to the patient or their families."
Thomas says she was "speechless, ecstatic, and beyond honored" by the Azbee Award, adding that she enjoys the freedom of composing thoughts onto paper, having done so for the majority of her life. In addition to writing, Thomas practices adult psychiatry in North Kingstown and East Providence.
"I aim to continue writing for as long as the words find me," she says, "and hope that in turn they will resonate within others."
READ THOMAS'S AWARD-WINNING ARTICLE, "SHEDDING THE SUPER DOCTOR MYTH," HERE