Medicine as a Spiritual Practice: Reflection and Discussion for Physicians and their Loved Ones

Seton Cove is proud to present this series of quarterly sessions designed to help physicians and their loved ones explore the challenges of their lives in medicine and how to maintain a sense of identity and spiritual health in the face of these challenges.  Each informal, interactive session includes a brief presentation followed by discussion and development of individual strategies to explore.

 

*Spouses welcome at all sessions at no additional cost
  

Self Preservation for the Physician

 

Poet David Whyte asks us to “try to imagine what that dreaming young self would think of the strange adult we have become.”  Maintaining enthusiasm, a sense of adventure and compassion in our work requires that we continuously explore ways to reconnect with our authentic self rather than be irretrievably reshaped by the pressures of life.

  

Right Relationships

 

We are a communal species. We thrive through our relationships with our loved ones, our colleagues, the transcendency of our faith, and, ultimately, with our hidden, inner self.  In this program we will explore why physicians so often fall short of the mark in developing and nurturing these relationships and explore opportunities for change.

  

Cultivating a Spiritual Practice

Finding ways to set aside the protective armor we put on for the assaults of daily life that we encounter and staying connected with our true self, our faith, and our ideals is a critical challenge throughout our lives.  We will explore strategies for meeting this challenge in ways uniquely suited for each of us as individuals and as physicians.

 

NOTE that the class includes the 11/13/12, 2/12/13, and 4/16/13 sessions.  Class will not meet on 9/18/12 (as previously listed) 

Facilitators: Brian Sayers, MD and Patty Speier, DMin

Brian S. Sayers, M.D. is a lifelong Austin resident.  He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and received his medical degree from U.T. Southwestern Medical School.  He has practiced internal medicine and rheumatology in Austin for 25 years.  Dr. Sayers is immediate past president of the Travis County Medical Society, currently serves as President of the Travis County Medical Society Foundation and is a Board member of Seton Cove.  In 2011, Dr. Sayers received a Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry from the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest.  Among his other volunteer activities, Dr. Sayers is part of a team that facilitates weekly meetings at Ministry of Challenge, a faith based, residential substance abuse program in east Austin.