Today there is much talk of resilience in health care. There are systematic reviews, training courses, and likely somewhere a Resilience Tsar seeking a 5-year plan to instil resilience into the healthcare workforce. But resilience cannot be learnt from a worthy and wordy PowerPoint presentation at an RCGP conference. For resilience is something indelibly woven into your psychological fabric. All resilience initiatives are pointless.
I am part of the generation of men and women who grew up through the 1960s, 70s, and 80s — dark and hard times for many. Bullying was endemic, unpleasant nicknames the norm, and the advice was always, ‘If they push you, push them back harder.’ Physical fighting …