Taking Ownership of our Wellness

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Photo of Dr. David Rogers of UAB Medicine. Dr. Rogers is Chief Wellness Officer.
Dr. Rogers

We are pleased to welcome David A. Rogers, MD, MHPE, back to our show this week. It has been nearly three years since we last heard from him on the Faculty Factory Podcast.

When Dr. Rogers first joined us in 2019, he served as Senior Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs and Professional Development in the School of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). At the time he was also Chief Wellness Officer in addition to being a professor in the Departments of Surgery, Medical Education, and Pediatrics.

As Chief Wellness Officer and the ProAssurance Endowed Chair for Physician Wellness, we knew it was time to have Dr. Rogers back on our podcast to chat about this vital topic.

This is a reunion episode where we visit with past guests and friends of the Faculty Factory community. Dr. Rogers joined us for our eighth podcast (today’s episode is No. 159!). To listen to the previous episode with Dr. Rogers, please visit this webpage: https://facultyfactory.org/catching-up-with-david-a-rogers-md-mhpe-faculty-factory-podcast-episode-no-8/

In 2021, Dr. Rogers stepped down from his role as Associate Dean to focus 100% of his administrative time to wellness. He discusses his reasoning behind that along with many other valuable stories for our listeners on today’s show.

“As I’ve told my team, I’m as famous as I ever care to be. I can devote my energy to advancing you,” he said.

Dr. Rogers describes how faculty can double-down on the principles of wellness to cope with the relentless stressors in our lives. He paints a vivid picture for our listeners by utilizing the metaphor of being hit by waves at the beach; he then describes what can be done to “get back on our feet.”

“[The pandemic] heightened everyone’s awareness that we need to be thinking about wellness,” he said.

Make sure to listen to this episode with Dr. Rogers by utilizing the podcast player above.

[We reference Dr. Jeff Lyness and his interview about Self-Determination Theory in today’s episode. After you are done listening to today’s episode with Dr. Rogers, make sure to go back and check that interview out too!]