Burnout and Beyond - How Can Health and Care Professionals Thrive?
Burnout and Beyond - How Can Health and Care Professionals Thrive?

Practitioner Health Wellbeing Podcast

Dr Lee David and Dr Richard Duggins talk about what thriving really means for health and care professionals, and how it differs from simply surviving or being burnt out. Using the CARE model and powerful metaphors, they share practical ways to protect wellbeing while acknowledging the crucial role of workplace conditions.

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42:53•8 Apr 2026

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From Burnout to Thriving: The CARE Approach for Health Professionals

Episode Overview

Thriving sits on a continuum from burnout to surviving to flourishing, and health professionals deserve more than just getting by.
Personal strategies are vital, but they cannot compensate for unsafe or unreasonable working conditions; the environment often needs to change first.
The CARE model (Charge your batteries, Anticipate hazards, Read your dashboard, Early maintenance) offers a simple daily framework for sustaining energy.
Recognising individual early warning signs of stress and acting quickly can prevent a slide from thriving back into survival or burnout.
Leaders who show genuine care for staff help create “garden-like” workplaces where everyone feels supported and is more likely to thrive.

“Thriving is not accidental. It needs attention, it needs care, it needs small adjustments, and it needs those really made on a daily basis.”

Curious about how others balance caring for patients with caring for themselves? This conversation between NHS Practitioner Health clinicians Dr Lee David and Dr Richard Duggins looks at what it really means for health and care professionals to move from burnout, through survival, and into genuine thriving. Aimed at doctors, nurses, and wider health and care staff (but relevant to anyone feeling stretched), the chat is practical, warm, and honest.

Rather than just talking about “coping”, they ask whether many professionals have quietly settled for just getting by, and whether it’s reasonable to expect more from work than constant strain. Spoiler: they both think it is. Richard introduces his CARE model, built around the image of an electric car: **Charge your batteries**, **Anticipate hazards**, **Read your dashboard**, and **Early maintenance**.

You’ll hear how regular “small charges” like social connection, hobbies, movement or quiet time can be more effective than waiting until you’re running on empty. As he puts it, “Thriving is not accidental. It needs attention, it needs care, it needs small adjustments, and it needs those really made on a daily basis.” They also stress that no amount of mindfulness or yoga can fix an unsafe or punishing workplace.

The flower-in-concrete image comes up, and Lee and Richard swap it for something more honest: a well-tended garden, with good soil, regular watering and ongoing weeding. Thriving, they suggest, comes from both personal choices and workplaces where people genuinely feel cared for. For anyone in healthcare juggling a packed diary, family life, and a tired brain, this episode offers permission to put your own needs back on the agenda, without guilt.

It might leave you asking: what kind of “garden” do you want your working life to be, and what small change could you make today to start tending it?

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