UCLA Journal of Radiation Oncology SPRING 2024 - Flipbook - Page 28
UCLA RADIATION ONCOLOGY JOURNAL
has helped you but who you never
properly thanked. Anyone can write a
gratitude letter— you just grab a pen
and piece of paper and write out why
you’re so grateful for the impact that
someone had on your life. Research
shows that writing these gratitude
letters can significantly improve your
well-being even for several weeks.
A / K: Sadly, burnout in medicine
became commonplace during and
post pandemic. How can we apply
your work on happiness and the
work of Dr. Amy Wrzesniewski on
“job crafting” to reset the lens of
how we experience and perceive our
jobs?
L: Job crafting is the practice of
making sure that you’re using your
strengths and values at work. To
make sure you’re doing that more
effectively, I’d suggest first finding out
what your signature strengths are,
which you can do by taking this VIA
Character Strengths survey: https://
www.viacharacter.org/. Once you
know your own personal signature
strengths, you should creatively find
ways to bring more of these values
into your day-to-day work.
A / K: Where can we find you, your
work, and your iconic happiness
course in 2024?
L: You should check out my podcast,
The Happiness Lab, anywhere you
get your podcasts. And you can learn
more about my free online course
here: https://www.coursera.org/learn/
the-science-of-well-being. ☐
For more information on Dr. Laurie Santos, her
work, course, or podcast please visit
www.drlauriesantos.com
A / K: Your instruction on crafting
gratitude letters was one of the
greatest takeaway gifts from your
course. And, as awkward as it can
initially feel, doing it in-person with
someone you love or care about has
been profound. What is a gratitude
letter and how can our patients,
their families, and our practitioners
create and share one today?
L: A gratitude letter is a letter of
thanks that you send to someone who
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