Fitness

Placing the needs of the patient above one’s own needs has long been the call-of-duty badge worn by the physician. Indeed, emergent patient care needs trump immediate personal needs such as sleep, fatigue, hunger, and family commitments. However, personal health and well-being are paramount to leading long and productive careers. Balancing the demands of a busy medical career with personal wellness is a daunting but necessary skill to acquire, yet there is little education on these principles available to physicians in training. For the most part, organized exercise, diet, and/or personal fitness programs are entirely lacking in modern graduate medical education.

Fitness and mobility are associated with barrier behaviors (i.e. encounters and avoidances) among individuals with tetraplegia, but not paraplegia. Despite a greater barrier avoidance rate, persons with tetraplegia do not perceive more physical barriers than persons with paraplegia. Surprisingly, fitness and mobility were not related to perception of barriers in either group. More research is required on if barrier perception, behavior, or both influence participation, to enable rehabilitation programs to tailor interventions to enhance participation ¹⁾.