Five-Minute Mental Reset for Primary Care Teams
A free one-page between-patients mental reset built for the real clinical day. For primary care physicians, PAs, NPs, medical assistants, and any team member carrying the load. Print it, post it at the workstation, or share it in the team huddle.
Created under the direction of Shariq Refai, MD, MBA, board-certified psychiatrist. Evidence-informed, plain language, and reviewed quarterly. Free, no sign-up, no ads.
What's on the page
- Reset your body. Feet on the floor. Shoulders down. Breathe out for six counts, in for four. Repeat three times. Slows sympathetic drive between charts.
- Reset your attention. Look up from the screen. Fix on one object across the room. Count five details. Rests convergence and interrupts task-switching cost.
- Reset your emotion. Silently name what the last visit brought up. One word. Don't solve it. Labeling reduces emotional intensity without requiring processing.
- Reset your working memory. Write the one thing you must not forget after this shift. On paper, not in the EMR. Reduces the low-grade anxiety of holding an open loop.
- Reset your intention. One sentence for the next patient: what you want them to feel walking out. Anchors the visit in relational purpose.
On burnout, honestly
Physician burnout research is clear: organization-directed interventions (workload, scheduling, EMR burden, team structure) do more than resilience training alone. This reset is a small, evidence-informed tool for the individual clinician and the small team. It's not a substitute for the structural work your program or health system needs to do. Use it alongside those changes, not instead of them.
Frequently asked questions
Who is this reset for?
Primary care physicians, PAs, NPs, medical assistants, front-desk staff, and any team member carrying the cognitive and emotional load of a real clinical day. It's designed for the workday you actually have, not the ideal one.
How does it fit into the clinic day?
It sits between visits, at the top of a team huddle, or at the end of a session. Each of the five resets takes about a minute. Print one copy at each workstation, or share it in a team channel.
Is this a substitute for burnout prevention or organizational support?
No. Physician burnout research is clear that organization-directed changes (workload, scheduling, EMR burden, team structure) do more than individual resilience training. This is a small tool, not a substitute for that structural work. It complements organizational support, it doesn't replace it.
Is CME credit offered?
No. This is a free educational resource, not a CME activity. It's medically directed by Shariq Refai, MD, MBA, board-certified psychiatrist, and reviewed on a quarterly cadence.
Can we share this with our residency program or health system?
Yes. Share the PDF as-is, unmodified. Contact the address on our contact page if you want to discuss a co-branded or customized version for your program.