Be Well CPD - A continuing professional development & well-being retreat for doctors

BE WELL CPD - A DOCTOR'S CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & WELL-BEING RETREAT
Friday 16th- Sunday 18th May 2025

Sage Manor, Bowral, NSW

Are you looking for a restorative & enjoyable break with time to complete your CPD in a meaningful way?

Join us for an intimate, relaxing & fun retreat designed for doctors by doctors in Bowral NSW. 

With attendance to all CPD activities, you will leave having completed 2 hours of CPD & well-being education, 5 hours of reviewing performance, including a professional Annual Conversation & Professional Development Plan, and 3.5 hours of Measuring Outcomes with a Self-Care Audit. Following a re-audit, you can complete 12 hours of CPD in total following full retreat attendance.  

Be Well CPD makes completing your minimum annual CPD requirement easy. Plus, you’ll learn new methods of self-care for continued wellness.

This retreat provides protected time to complete your CPD, connect, laugh, make friends, rest, relax, reflect, & grow. 

Expertly facilitated sessions will inspire & empower you.

What to expect

• Held on the tranquil grounds of Sage Manor Bowral NSW.
• Talks on the 2025 CPD requirements, well-being leadership skills, professional listening & sharing, self-care & goal setting.
• Self-care skills practice, mindfulness & relaxation sessions.
• Expertly facilitated & coached group sessions, making your CPD inspiring & empowering.
• Complete 12 hours of CPD with 2 hours of education, 5 hours ‘reviewing performance’ including your mandatory professional development plan & an ‘annual professional conversation,’& 5 hours of ‘measuring outcomes’ with a self-care audit.
• Achieve near completion of the minimum requirements, making CPD easily achievable & stress-free.
• Session handouts & CPD templates are provided to upload to your CPD home.
• There are plenty of nurturing and fun optional activities, such as gentle yoga and meditation classes, guided relaxation, hikes, and onsite wine tasting.
• Be pampered with healthy, fresh, homemade, nutritious, and delicious meals made with love and locally sourced wholefoods. All food and drinks are included, including buffet-style meals, hot and continental breakfast, a coffee machine, a tea and fruit station, and daily afternoon teas.
• Stay in the manor or offsite.  
• Opportunity to stay extra nights for even more valuable rest & relaxation.
• Enjoy free Wi-Fi
• The local pool is just down the road.
• Immediate access to hike Mt Gibraltar.
• Walking distance to boutique shops & cafes in Bowral.
• Onsite & free street parking are available.
• Close to a train line that connects to Sydney & Canberra or an easy 1-hour drive.
• Unlimited cuddles from the resident therapy dog Harley. 
• Love & care from your Manor hosts Kylie & Jason.

Program

Friday

• Arrive 2pm
• Afternoon tea 230pm
• Optional hike 3pm
• Optional gentle yoga 4pm
• Welcome circle 5pm
• Mindfulness 6pm
• Dinner 645pm
  
• Quiet time & values/priorities reflection 830pm

Saturday - Reviewing performance

• Breakfast 8am
• CPD requirements talk 9am
• Group CPD session - Preparing your professional annual conversation, active listening & professional sharing 10am
• Morning tea 1030am
• Group CPD session - professional annual conversation 1045am
• Lunch 1pm
  
• Group CPD session - professional development plan & how to make goals happen 2pm
  
• Optional guided relaxation & deep reflection on values & priorities for CPD 330pm
  
• Gentle yoga & meditation 430pm
  
• Optional wine tasting 6pm
  
• Dinner 7pm
  
• Quiet time & values/priorities reflection 830pm

Sunday - Measuring Outcomes

• Optional yoga 730am
• Breakfast 8am
  
• Group CPD session - Self-care audit 9am
• Morning tea 1030am
• Group CPD session - Self-care audit 1045
• Self- care skills for doctor CPD 1230pm
  
• Lunch 1pm
• Close 2pm

What to bring

• An open, non-judgmental & self-compassionate mind.
• Lose, comfy clothes & mat if you plan to flow, walking shoes to hike or climb the mountain & swimmers if you fancy a dip at the local pool.
• Let us provide you with the rest.

What it costs

• Stay offsite day pass $1800p (inclusive of meals & all activities, excludes accommodation)
• Onsite private rooms $2260-2500pp
• Some rooms can be shared.  Contact us to learn more
• Price varies depending on the room type selected
• Please note limited onsite places available 

Inclusions

• Yoga & Relaxation: Enjoy daily rejuvenating gentle yoga,  meditation sessions & relaxation sessions
• All meals, afternoon teas & drinks included: Indulge in nourishing wholefood meals, including hot and continental breakfasts, buffet-style lunch & dinners. Savour 2 afternoon teas.
• Grazing boards paired with wine tasting on Saturday evening.
• Access to a kitchen with tea, Nespresso coffee, and fruit stations available throughout your stay.
  
• Expert Talks & group sessions for CPD & well-being.
• Up to 12 hours of CPD completed after full retreat attendance & re-audit.
  
• A professional annual conversation
  
• Coaching to complete you professional development plan

CPD

• 2 hours of CPD & well-being education.
• 5 hours of reviewing performance, including a professional Annual Conversation & Professional Development Plan.
• 3.5 hours of Measuring Outcomes with a Self-Care Audit. 5 hours in total following a re-audit.
• With total attendance to all CPD activities instructed, you can complete 12 hours of CPD.

Venue

Sage Manor is a boutique 8-bedroom homestead with ample plush lounge spaces to relax & reflect in. The feel of the Manor is intimate, luxurious, warm & cozy. This property has charm with a classic feel & a relaxed coming-home atmosphere. Your hosts will make you feel so welcome, and you will be sure to return. With central heating, an indoor fireplace & an outdoor firepit, & air conditioning, expect your stay to be perfect temperature year round.  The northern end of the Manor is the sun-filled conservatory-style space that is ideal for reading, relaxing, yoga, meditation, or just taking in the lush garden aspects. The sunroom & abundant lounge areas make the ideal spots to decompress, read, reflect, chat & relax. The 8 bedrooms all have 5-star hotel quality sheets & mattresses, ensuring a sound night's sleep.​  Comfy towels & face cloth are provided. Enjoy free Wi-Fi, and smart TV including Netflix. Ducted heating and cooling along with five split system air-conditioners to keep every wing of the house at a comfortable temperature all year around. Front and back decks with plenty of spaces to sit and relax with a wonderful leafy aspectindoor dinning area. Stunning established gardens with numerous seating areas, paths to explore with shady nooks. Rear wrap-around veranda with beautiful garden aspects, deck off the conservatory with outdoor setting and more garden views. 

Sage Manor is situated in a private leafy enclave at the base of Mount Gibraltar with outlooks onto beautiful formal gardens and spectacular deciduous mature trees. The 40-minute walk up the hill boats sweeping views across Bowral & the surrounding villages & wineries. Sage Manor truly is a beautiful garden setting to enjoy. If you are a hiker, the national park trails are a stone’s throw away. If you fancy a cooling dip, there is a public pool within walking distance & natural water hole a short drive away. At only 5 minutes into town, it is easy access to explore the beautiful city of Bowral & indulge in a bit of shopping. There is even a Campos coffee cafe!

The main house has 5 guest bedrooms. There are 3 garden facing bedrooms with direct access to the outdoor wrap around verandas: Garden, Daisy, & Birch. Wolf & Fox are located more centrally within the main house. There are 2 share bathrooms with 1 bath and 2 showers, and a powder room adjacent to the kitchen. Kookaburra cottage is next door with 2 rooms, 1 bathroom, a laundry, kitchen, and a second toilet. All rooms have brand new executive hotel premium quality beds with luxurious linen. Contact us if you would like to share a room.

Hosts

Dr Susannah Ward is a Specialist Physician of Rehabilitation Medicine in Newcastle, NSW. She is the Chair of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians Member Health & Well-being Committee & Chair of the Well-being Advocates Webinars. She was a College Director on the board & Deputy Chair of the College & Faculty Trainee Committees as a trainee. She is a Director of Mood Active, a charity that supports exercise programs for people with mental illness. She is passionate about holistic health & lifestyle and behavioural & psychological rehabilitation. She incorporates evidence-based wellness tools like mindfulness, psychological tools, nutrition, movement and social/lifestyle prescription into her practice. She is a qualified yoga & mindfulness teacher, & founder of Ataraxia Collective, hosting well-being & CPD retreats for doctors. She has a research background, having piloted hospital mindfulness & intern wellness sessions. She has several publications to her name on medical culture change & doctor well-being, & is the author of the self-help book Mastering Real Wellness.

Dr Sarah Dalton is a Paediatric Emergency Physician & previous President of the Paediatric and Child Health Division of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. She has worked in different clinical and leadership roles across NSW over the last 25 years, from regional centres to specialist tertiary units & from community care to acute care retrieval services. She completed a Fulbright Scholarship in Clinical Leadership & has held executive leadership roles in several NSW Health entities. Sarah’s leadership strengths see her apply coaching conversations to support individuals to unlock their own solutions, enabling them to optimise individual performance & outcomes. Sarah completed the INSEAD Coaching Certificate & she offers performance, leadership and wellbeing coaching to healthcare professionals.  She is the co-founder of Capstan Coaching for Doctors.

Testimonials

“Great concept beautifully facilitated & planned. It was nice to meet other doctors from around Australia. Thoroughly enjoyed. Thank you!”

“It was valuable to share discussions about performance & self-care in a group of people from outside my work.”

“The retreat made something tricky, that I was avoiding & dreading, into something worthwhile & fun”

“Probably the most valuable thing was to share ideas & strategies with colleagues”

“I’m planning to come next year because this is perfect!”

“I would definitely come again; it provided an opportunity to breathe & focus on me”

Watch this short video
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi...

Contact us to learn more hello@ataraxiacollective.com.au