Strategies for Individual Resilience

Resilience means matching effort to demand, using routines that support recovery, and asking for help early. It does not mean pushing through no matter what, or working hidden overtime.^[6][1]

Daily habits that protect attention

• Simple basics: take and protect breaks, drink water, eat regularly and set a proper finish time. Use quick pauses between appointments to breathe or jot down notes.^[4][2]
• Small work tweaks: group admin tasks, use templates for common referrals, let support staff know which appointments may run long, and cut interruptions during refraction or lens teaching.^[3][1]

Reflection and confidence

A quick end-of-day note helps with learning.^[5]

Write down what used the most energy, what helped, and one thing to change tomorrow. Aim CPD at pressure points such as breaking bad news, managing angry customers, or teaching lens hygiene efficiently, so the strain is less in the moment.^[1]

Peer support and locum start-up

Peer groups and mentors ease isolation and give more options when pressure is high.^[7][8] Locums benefit from a simple day-one checklist covering emergency contacts, incident reporting, breaks, and who to turn to for help. These small steps help stop workloads drifting into unsafe levels.^[3]

• Helpful supports: a colleague who checks you take breaks; a personal "I'm near my limit" phrase that others recognise.^[1]

Light-touch accountability

Keep a one-page wellbeing plan. Note who your support contact is, what early signs show you need a pause, when to review, and why each habit supports safety and accuracy. Sharing it with a supervisor, if you are comfortable, can make it easier to adjust rotas or clinics quickly.^[1][3]

Recovery as core practice

Protect days off and avoid carrying work into evenings as routine. If poor sleep, low mood or anxiety continue for weeks, speak to a GP or occupational health. Professional bodies and NHS staff hubs can offer counselling, debt advice and crisis support to keep people safe at work.^[2][6]

References (numbered in text) Why we include references

1. Mental wellbeing at work (NICE guideline NG212). National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), 02 March 2022. Find (opens in a new tab)
2. Staff mental health and wellbeing hubs. NHS England (established October 2020). Find (opens in a new tab)
3. Tackling work-related stress using the Management Standards approach. Health and Safety Executive (HSE) workbook, March 2019. Find (opens in a new tab)
4. Give me a break! A systematic review and meta-analysis on the efficacy of micro-breaks for increasing well-being and performance. Patricia Albulescu et al. PLOS ONE, 2022. Find (opens in a new tab)
5. Health professionals and students’ experiences of reflective writing in learning: A qualitative meta-synthesis. Giovanna Artioli et al. BMC Medical Education, 2021. Find (opens in a new tab)
6. Understanding the burnout experience: recent research and its implications for psychiatry. Christina Maslach; Michael P. Leiter. World Psychiatry, 2016. Find (opens in a new tab)
7. The effectiveness of one-to-one peer support in mental health services: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sarah White et al. BMC Psychiatry, 2020. Find (opens in a new tab)
8. Impact of a Mentorship Program on Medical Student Burnout. Jaime Jordan et al. AEM Education and Training, 2019. Find (opens in a new tab)