A Proactive Approach to Physician Wellness With Dr. Greg Skipper

Dr. Greg Skipper has devoted his career to assisting professionals in crisis. He has been instrumental in developing some of the standards for diagnosis and treatment for substance use disorders among medical professionals. Dr. Skipper and Diana discuss the statistics associated with doctors and mental illness and what the barriers are to proper diagnosis and treatment. Dr. Skipper also shares how research shows that proper monitoring and positive reinforcement can lead to more successful recoveries. Listen as he shares his experience and the hope that there is for medical professionals who have substance use disorders. 

IN THIS EPISODE:

• [01:30] The propensity for medical professionals to have substance use disorders
• [04:07] Treatment among medical professionals 
• [07:27] The process for identifying and treating substance use disorders
• [09:11] Lifetime monitoring vs recovery
• [11:34] Support tools alongside monitoring
• [13:00] Barriers to diagnosis and recovery
• [17:53] Ideal response to addiction and contingency management
• [21:11] Emotional leverage vs proper management

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Studies show medical professionals have the same propensity for addiction as other professionals like lawyers, truck drivers or doctors.
• One of the barriers to recovery is the stigma surrounding mental illness and substance use disorders. People don’t want to have this illness because it is shameful. So naturally people resist the diagnosis.
• There are also bigger institutional issues that present barriers to recovery. The media is one of those. They are always looking for scandals with professionals like doctors, judges and lawyers.
• Studies have proven that if you set up the right kind of system, addiction is treatable and the success rate is as good or better than any other chronic illness. Systems that highlight positive reinforcement with a little bit of negative consequences have proven to work best.

LINKS MENTIONED:

www.centerforprofessionalrecovery.com

www.professionalstreatment.com 

BIO:

Dr. Skipper has devoted his career to assisting professionals in crisis. He has worked extensively with State Regulatory Boards in the United States and abroad and published over 100 articles regarding professional impairment. He was a principal investigator for the Blueprint Study, the largest outcome study of 904 physicians following treatment for substance use disorders. Dr. Skipper is currently the Medical Director of the Center for Professional Recovery in Malibu, CA where he has evaluated and treated over 800 health professionals from 22 states since 2011. He was Medical Director of the Alabama Physician Health Program for 12 years from 1999-2011 and the Medical Director of Hazelden Springbrook in Oregon from 1993-1999. Dr. Skipper was appointed by the Secretary of HHS to the National Advisory Council to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration from 2002-2006. Dr. Skipper was the innovator and original researcher of ethylglucuronide (EtG) testing, an alcohol biomarker used widely today. He is a speaker regarding professional impairment, alcohol biomarkers and monitoring. He is the Medical Director and faculty for the PBI Medical Ethics and Professionalism Course, sponsored by the Univ of California Irvine (a program for remedial training in ethics for disciplined licensees by regulatory boards in the USA).