Through Our Own Eyes Retreat For/By Women Physicians
Through Our Own Eyes Retreat For/By Women Physicians
TOOER is a fiscally sponsored project of Social Good Fund, a California nonprofit corporation and registered 501(c)(3) organization, Tax ID (EIN) 46-1323531

Medicine Women: Rekindling a Resilient Community

February 28 - March 5

Agenda

 

Nearly 50% of physicians are at significant risk of burnout. Most practicing physicians are unaware of the nuances of this problem and of the efforts being made to change organizational culture. Most physicians are also unaware of the evidence supporting (or not supporting) the use of various individual strategies as a means of stress reduction. Over the course of 6 days, we aim to discuss the evidence regarding physician burnout, its effects on personal wellbeing and clinical practice, as well as the current efforts to deal with this pervasive issue. We will offer practical skills to address burnout at both the individual and the institutional levels. Didactic, hands on and small group activities will be employed to facilitate learning. TOOER, as an organization, has explored burnout at our conferences since 1997. Our focus has been women physicians in a wide range of workplaces. We have built a community of women physicians for ongoing education and ongoing mutual support. This particular conference will include strategizing how to create a stronger self-sustaining community of support and education.

“Medicine Women: Rekindling a Resilient Community” has been reviewed by AAFP and deemed acceptable for up to 18.00 AAFP Prescribed credit(s).

 
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Leslie Waters, MD

“The ‘Wicked Problem’ of Physician Well-Being”

  • Burnout/Compassion Fatigue Physician Sef Evaluation

  • Create a personal Mission Statement for the week

  • Considering a broader TOOER Community Mission

    • Define burnout & be able to discuss the statistics specific to physician burnout

    • Be familiar with several tools used to assess burnout & their relative usefulness

    • Evaluate one’s own level of burnout at the present time and understand that these level change over time

    • Describe the results of burnout upon proffesional development & patient care

    • Explain the utility of a personal mission statement in structuring personal & professional changes

    • Expand the utility of a Mission Statement from a personal to that of a greater community or organization

 

Charlea T Massion, MD; Juliet Bradley, MD; Ligia Giese, MD; Leslie Waters, MD

Cultivating Our Own and Each Other’s Resilience:

  • What We Have Learned From Thirty Years of Through Our Own Eyes Retreats for Women Physicians

    • Analyze the specific stressors and wellness challenges faced by women physicians, including work-life integration, gender-based disparities and risks of burnout and compassion fatigue.

    • Identify evidence-based techniques and strategies to cultivate resilience, enhance self-care, and promote physical and emotional health while working in medical settings.

    • Describe and practice techniques for curriculum development by and for physicians.

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Sonia Oyola, MD

“ Food as Medicine”

  • Focus on foods for better mental health

    • Describe how food impacts the development of serotonin (a key mood neurotransmitter).

    • List key food ingredients that can improve focus, memory and mood; understand the effects that these improvements have on complex functions needed for clinical decision-making.

    • Describe a recipe that can improve essential brain functions like memory and mood

    • Promote health equity by increasing understanding of food as a diverse, yet universal necessity that may enhance or diminish well-being and apply this understanding to patient care

 

Sharon Pancio, MD

“Evidence-based Self-care Practices”

  • Exploring -

    • Mindfulness

    • HeartMath

    • Tonglen Meditation

    • Use critical thinking and research skills to discern the value of new practices and technologies, and to sort through conflicting claims

    • Understand the stress-related health effects and illnesses in chronically stressed underserved communities.

    • Explain the usefulness of Tonglen, an ancient Buddhist practice of compassion, in combatting the depersonalization that occurs with burnout

    • Describe the evidence supporting the principles and practice of HeartMath, and the use of technology to facilitate this biofeedback technique involving awareness and self-modulation of heart activity

 

Valerie Bengal, Md

“The WHO One Health Initiative”

    • Understand the One Health Initiative using COVID-19 as an example of the need for Communication, Collaboration, Coordination, Capacity-building in managing current healthcare challenges (the 4 C’s of One Health).

    • Articulate the basic requirements, policy goals, and clinical practices for optimal human health.

    • Examine examples of proposed effective interventions using the One Health approach:

    • surveillance and control of infectious disease outbreaks, reducing risk factors for disease outbreaks.

    • Describe how the One Health model can be applied beyond outbreaks of communicable diseases. Recall the disproportionate harm of natural disasters on communities, affluent and well-served, vs. vulnerable and underserved, such as fires, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, drought.

TOOER faculty Closure

“Shifting from Individual Interventions to Sustainable Communities”

    • Consider additional ways to move beyond individual interventions that enhance well-being, towards Institutional and Societal improvements that address the root causes of burnout.


 

Small Group Seminars

small group Seminar 1

“Nourishing Our Own Well-Being and That of Our Patients”

    • Analyze the current evidence linking dietary patterns, such as Mediterranean, DASH and anti-inflammatory diets, with the prevention and management of depression and anxiety.

    • Evaluate the clinical evidence supporting nutritional interventions for mental health disorders, compared with pharmacologic and psychotherapeutic approaches.

    • Develop evidence-based counseling techniques to support patients’ transitions to nutritional practices which improve health outcomes.

    • Recognize populations at higher risk for diseases that are strongly impacted by dietary choices, including obesity, diabetes and hypertension.

small group seminar 2

“Put Your Oxygen Mask on First: Teaching & Modeling Self-Care in Daily Life”

    • Identify 3 areas of clinical research that show the correlation between stress and chronic disease and the health benefits of reducing stress.

    • Identify clinical scenarios in which meditation, mindfulness and HeartMath practices are beneficial for regulating sleep, lowering blood pressure and reducing anxiety.

    • Implement a teaching strategy in patient education to assist their patients in reducing their stress-related illnesses.

 

small group seminar 3

“Making Change Sustainable”

    • Describe the systemic factors which can contribute to burnout among women physicians, including workload inequities, gender bias and work-life balance challenges.

    • Analyze and outline the negative effects of burnout on professional job performance.

    • Recognize early warning signs of burnout and compassion fatigue.

    • Differentiate between individual-level resilience strategies and system-level changes which promote long-term health and well-being for women physicians.

    • Construct actionable plans for our institutions to improve policies and procedures which support physician health and professional development.

small group seminar 4

“Nurturing Individual & Community Resilience”

    • Strengthen leadership, mentoring and advocacy skills to empower women physicians, promote workplace equity, and influence organizational change.

    • Build supportive professional networks for women physicians, both locally and through a community which endures over years.

    • Utilize collaborative skills gained in the past 3 days of small group work to discover new ways to support ourselves, each other, our patients and our communities.

Scroll for daily schedule of lectures and activities.

For information about venue, click here

2026 Schedule

 

Small Group assignment will be determined by number of attendees, leaders and preference on times

 
Request Registration

Feb 28 - Mar 2

 

Saturday

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12:00PM- 5:00pm

Arrival

Welcome to hang in common areas. Rooms are available after 3PM

3:00pm -5:30PM

Check in

Check in and unpack. Say “Hello” to your fellow TOORIANS

5:30PM - 7:30PM

Introductions and Assessing our own Health and Well-Being: The “Wicked Problem’” of Physician Well-Being (2 hour CME)

Leslie Waters, MD

7:30PM - 8:30PM

Dinner

8:30PM - 10:30PM

Beach Bonfire & Welcome Circle

Sunday

7:30AM - 8:30AM

Morning Yoga (optional)


9:00AM - 10:00AM

Breakfast

11:30AM - 1:30PM

Food as Medicine (2 hour CME)

Sonia Oyola, MD

2:00PM - 3:00PM

Lunch

3:00PM - 5:00PM

Nourishing Our Own Well-Being and That of our Patients (2 hour CME)

TOOER Faculty Small Group Seminar

5:00PM - 7:30PM

Free Time

7:30PM - 8:30PM

Dinner

8:30PM

Playa Viva Presentation

Monday

7:30AM - 8:30AM

Morning Yoga (optional)

9:00AM - 10:00AM

Breakfast

11:30AM - 1:30PM

Evidence-based Self-care Practices (2 hour CME)

Sharon Pancio, MD

2:00PM - 3:00PM

Lunch

3:00PM - 5:00PM

Put Your Own Oxygen Mask on First: Teaching and Modeling Self-Care in Daily Life (2 hour CME)

TOOER Faculty Small Group Seminar

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5:00PM - 6:30PM

Cacao Heart Ceremony: A Mesoamerican ritual for Self-Reflection and Emotional Awareness

Supplemental activity (no CME)

TOOER and Playa Viva Faculty

7:30PM - 8:30PM

Dinner

8:30PM -

Free Time

 

Mar 3 - Mar 5

 
 

Tuesday

7:30AM - 8:30AM

Morning Yoga (optional)

9:00AM - 10:00AM

Breakfast

11:30AM - 1:30PM

Playa Viva Farm Tour Demonstration -Included Excursion Activity

(no CME credit)

TOOER and Playa Viva Faculty

2:00PM - 3:00PM

Lunch

3:00PM - 5:00PM

Making Change Sustainable (2 hour CME)

TOOER Faculty Small Group Seminar

5:00PM - 7:30PM

Free Time

7:30PM - 8:30PM

Dinner

8:30PM - 9:30PM

Yoga (optional)

Wednesday

7:30AM - 8:30AM

Morning Yoga (optional)

9:00AM - 10:00AM

Breakfast

11:30AM - 1:30PM

Cultivating Our Own and Each Other’s Resilience: What We Have Learned From Thirty Years of Through Our Own Eyes Retreats for Women Physicians (2 hour CME)

Charlea T. Massion MD, Juliet Bradley MD, Ligia Giese MD and Leslie Waters MD

2:00PM - 3:00PM

Lunch

3:00PM - 5:00PM

Nurturing Individual and Community Resilience (2 hour CME)

TOOER Faculty Small Group Seminar

5:00PM - 7:30PM

Free Time 

7:30PM - 8:30PM

Dinner On The Beach

8:30 PM

Bonfire

Beach Party

 

Thursday

7:30AM - 8:30AM

Morning Yoga (optional)


9:00AM - 10:00AM

Breakfast

9:00AM - 11:00AM

Putting It All Together - The WHO One Health Initiative (1 hour CME)

Valerie Bengal MD

Shifting from Individual Interventions to Sustainable Communities (1 hour CME)

TOOER Faculty Closure

11:00AM

Checkout (Later flights may hang out in the common area)

Reentry

Take it home