As Co-Editor-in-Chief, of Women in White Coats, a blog dedicated to being THE VOICE of women doctors, I see one topic come up over and over again among writers and members of our tribe and that is burnout. We get submission after submission on this topic each with a slightly different perspective and sharing the different paths and journies that helped each writer overcome this all too ubiquitous phenomenon.

So, as we contemplated bringing our tribe of women healers together, we decided we wanted to tackle the beast of burnout head-on. We wanted to create a rejuvenating getaway for women doctors to relax, grow and connect with one another.

We selected the gorgeous Chateau Elan Winery and Resort as the venue for our conference because when we saw the pictures of the Chateau, we were sold and knew it would be the perfect place for women in white coats to unwind (perhaps also with the help of a little vino too.) We want women healers to take pause from the daily grind of work and family and take a few days to just relax.  

But not only is the location ideal, but the topics we will be presenting and discussing will help women doctors grow, prevent or overcome burnout so that they can have long and thriving careers. We will have CME presentations on identifying burnout, tools for resilience and how to handle difficult cases and tough interpersonal interactions with colleagues. In addition, we will have morning meditation, yoga, group fitness classes, a 5k run and lots of nutritious meals served. Attendees will also see first hand the power of narrative medicine to help work through the challenges we deal with as health practitioners.

Going beyond burnout we also wanted to give women attendees knowledge and empowerment to not only survive their work environments, but also to succeed and take on leadership roles. So, we will have talks on how to advance their careers, power dynamics and a career panel so attendees can hear from a variety of perspectives. In total attendees can earn up to 10 Hours of CME.

And finally, we wanted our tribe to connect with one another over fun social events. So, we will have a wine tasting and book signing, a book fair where all authors can share their publications and finally a Women in White Coats Hero Award Ceremony.

As we have shared and published the stories of Women in White Coats on our blog, it became evident to us that there are so many women doctors doing great things. And we wanted to honor these heroes at a special Women In White Coats Hero awards dinner and ceremony. This will also take place at the conference and there we will announce the 2019 Women in White Coats Hero of the Year!

We hope you will join us at this one of a kind conference and wellness retreat this April 4-6, 2019 as it is without a doubt time to heal the healers.  And we aim to do just that at our conference and wellness retreat. To register, click here. Or head on over to the events page.

Archana Shrestha, MD is a practicing emergency physician in Chicago. She is coauthor of “The Chronicles of Women in White Coats” and Cofounder of WomenInWhiteCoats.com. She is also an online health and fitness coach. Her healthy living lifestyle blog can be found at MightyMomMD.com and she can be followed on Instagram @MightyMomMD