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Amrita Sen Mukherjee
Your Wellbeing Doctor, UK
ScientificTracks Abstracts: Psychiatry Ment. Health Res
Background: This study aimed to explore the lived experience of Posttraumatic Growth (PTG) in NHS doctors who identified having a chronic physical illness with cognitive dysfunction, resulting in an acquired invisible disability (AID). This innovative study is the first to consider this topic in depth. Thus, it offers valuable contribution and novel insight into PTG as a result of invisible disability considering the interplay of wider structural processes within the medical community. Objective: This study aimed to explore the experience of PTG in NHS doctors as a process and outcome following an AID as a result of physical illness. An in-depth qualitative approach allowed focus on individual experience and perspective of a small, homogenous sample. Method: The methodology was Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), which enabled rich knowledge of human lived experience to be derived from in-depth exploratory style interviews. Results: This study recognized that the acquisition of invisible disability through physical illness supported a process of PTG in these participants. Three key themes emerged: 1) The human left behind representing an appreciation of the central role professional identity played in the construct of participant lives and the intersection of this with invisible disability; 2) Acceptance of the disabled self-experienced by participants as grounding a sense of personal belief, restoring self- worth through advocacy and contesting invalidation, thus providing a platform to reconnect with the self; 3) The phoenix rises from the ashes describing the realignment of values and purpose in a process of rebirth. Conclusion: This furthers understanding of PTG, the role of the body in PTG and offers a novel finding of cognitive embodied PTG. This study uncovered hardships faced by doctors with an AID owing to societal constructs framing disability as a deficit. There is benefit in recognizing the value of doctors with disability who are an asset to the workforce. Recent publications 1. Mukherjee, A. S., & Barr, M. J. (2022). ‘A blessing and a burden’: Exploring posttraumatic growth in doctors with acquired invisible disability - An interpretative phenomenological analysis. British Journal of Health Psychology, 28(2), 586–603. 2. Kampman, H., & Hefferon, K. (2020). ‘Find a sport and carry on’: Posttraumatic growth and achievement in British Paralympic athletes. International Journal of Wellbeing, 10(1), 67–92. https://doi.org/10.5502/ijw.v10i1.765 3. Tedeschi, R. G., Shakespeare-Finch, J., Taku, K., & Calhoun, L. G. (2018). Posttraumatic growth: Theory, research and applications. NY, NY: Routledge.
Amrita Sen Mukherjee's field of research is in Posttraumatic Growth. Amrita has had her research on posttraumatic growth published and has contributed to a book chapter. Amrita acts as an expert peer reviewer for the British Jouínal of Geneíal Practice. During the pandemic, she was invited by BBC News to discuss the impact of social and childcare bubbles on wellbeing. Amrita was awarded a ‘Platinum’ Award from the University of East London, an RCGP Inspire ‘Highly Commended’ Award, and was named an ‘unsung hero’ in the GP magazine Pulse for her voluntary contributions to the wellbeing of healthcare professionals during the pandemic. As the Co-Chair of the Disabled Doctors Network, Amrita advocates for the positive inclusion of doctors with chronic illness or disability in the medical profession.
