Medical Moai
About the author:
Jo Cole is an Emergency Medicine Specialist from Tauranga Hospital in Aotearoa New Zealand. She is passionate about clinician well-being and believes that developing and sustaining a culture in healthcare that prioritizes connection and caring for ourselves and others is essential for our wellbeing and career sustainability.
The Okinawa region in Japan is one of the ‘Blue Zones’ of the world where health, wellbeing and longevity is consistently higher than other areas. Researchers have attributed the ‘Blue Zones’ wellbeing and longevity to many specific lifestyle factors, but the one that interests me the most is the integral role that social connectedness and intentional relationships has.
In Okinawa, many of the older people attribute part of their healthy longevity to the positive effects of belonging to a ‘moai’. A ‘moai’ is a Japanese term that translates as ‘meeting for a common purpose’ and is used to describe a group of 5-6 people that provide social, emotional and practical support to one another across a lifetime. Traditionally these groups were formed in childhood and maintained throughout adulthood and older age from people living within the same local area.
With each member invested in the wellbeing of all the other members of their moai, and the expectation that all will contribute support when needed, the moai acts as an additional ‘safety net’ during the ups and downs of life such as illness, financial stress, grief, or loss. In more modern times a ‘moai’ may be formed with a small group of people with a common interest, perhaps within work, sport, parenting or craft. The key factor that sets them apart from other more loosely formed groups is the intentionality of the trust, connection, sharing and mutual support between the ‘moai’ members, and everyone’s commitment to regular get-togethers to keep the connections strong.
Our working lives as clinicians need the same care and attention as our personal health and wellbeing if we are to navigate challenges and thrive across our career’s lifespan. Just as mutual support and connectedness through social groups like a ‘moai’ can improve our longevity in life, these factors are fundamental to the longevity and sustainability of our medical careers. So, I love the idea of having a ‘medical moai’!
In his book ‘Together’, about the importance of social connectedness and the adverse health effects of loneliness, the US Surgeon-General, Vivek Murthy writes about developing his own ‘medical moai’ with 2 colleague friends at a time in their lives where they were all experiencing the challenges of navigating careers, healthcare pressures and family life. Through making a commitment to regular monthly catchups with two like-minded medical friends/colleagues their ‘moai’ has become a valuable and cherished space where they are able to be vulnerable, get honest feedback, mutual support, and connection through challenging careers. As I read this chapter, I thought immediately of a group of friends who are definitely my ‘medical moai’ and for whom I am so grateful.
It might be that you don’t have a group you would naturally think of as a ‘medical moai’ right now, but perhaps there has been a time in your career where you had something very similar – I think that the friendships forged through study groups for post-graduate exams are like a ‘moai’ for that life period, and for me at least, they were vital for survival! What made those connections so strong was a shared interest, regular planned meetups, a bit of ‘shared suffering’ and the ability to both offer and receive support within the group.
As senior clinicians I think we need ‘moai’ just as much. Committing time regularly to developing and maintaining intentional social support networks is like CPD for the health of our careers – and probably more beneficial to us and our patients long-term than some of the time we already spend on CPD mandated by our regulatory bodies.
Perhaps as you read this, your thoughts are going to people in your ‘medical life’ who you already unconsciously think of as your ‘moai’ or, to people that, if you were to form a ‘medical moai’ ... you would want them in it. Take a moment to reach out now and tell them!
As Brene Brown says ‘we are all wired for connection’.
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