Truth be told, I've never felt I needed a designated mentor - not in pre-med, med school or residency. Ain't nobody got time for that. Wrong.
Category: Burnout
A Third Life Crisis: What Would You Regret the Most?
We have been conditioned to think of work as the end all, be all of life. But if you were to ask people what they regret the most at the end of life as Bronnie Ware had, they would say this: I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me. I wish I hadn’t worked so hard. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends. I wish that I had let myself be happier. What are we doing with our lives?
When Do the Healers Put Themselves First?
Doctors, PA's, nurses and medical assistants only exist to help people in their time of need. This is what we signed up for. This is what I signed up for, and I did this knowingly with my eyes wide open. I just didn't anticipate the toll that this would take on me now in my 7th year since graduating from medical school.
A New Solution: Don’t Leave Medicine, Just Primary Care
I love medicine - the puzzle of it all, the thrill of getting to the right diagnosis, the fact that my skill set can actually help people. But what I'm doing now is no longer medicine. Perhaps it's time to break up with my primary care medicine experiment.
How I’m Plotting My Escape From Medicine
I just spent the entire morning planning my escape from medicine. I don't even know how the ball started rolling, but I found myself lost in the math trying to figure exactly how little I needed to live on. I've long known the 4% rule - if you can live off of 4% of your total investments, you could presumably retire. Are you good on $40,000/year? Your number = $1,000,000. What could I cut back on to get to my personal number?
Introducing My First 30 Day Challenge: Restocking My Joy Fund via Instagram
How will I restock my joy fund? I'm going to start by finding joy and gratitude daily. And because I'm a sucker for goal oriented achievements - this is how I'm going to do it → 30 Day Challenge: Restocking My Joy Fund In an effort of accountability, I'm going document my journey on Instagram - come join me HERE.
This is What They Didn’t Teach You in Med School
It all seemed simple back in medical school. X + Y = Z.  All the possible answers were available in multiple choice: A, B, C, D or E. But I wasn't warned of these times - the space between the question set up and the answer.
How I Broke Down 4 Obstacles to Cutting Back
After focusing solely on my medical career for so long, I have forgotten that I am more than just a doctor. My time for hobbies, family and friends had been stripped from me for so long I started to only identify myself by one thing: Doctor. If I stop doctoring, then what good am I?
Is It Time To Join the Drop Out Club?
"You're all F****** idiots!!! I'm going to report Dr. M to the state board and get her medical license revoked! You're just after our money, trying to make us come back to get re-examined again! You've just lost four patients, you F****** M************!!! ... To repeat this message, press 7." I sighed, handing the phone back to my medical assistant. "Well... I guess just try to document that in a phone encounter and censor it a bit. We still need it for the patient's chart. Also, don't delete the message." It's time to face the music. This is my new normal.
Rethinking Burnout: I Can’t Just Care Less
For the last week and a half, I've been lost.  After experiencing compassion fatigue and realizing I wasn't even close to pulling myself out of burnout, I've been racking my brain trying to rethink my situation yet again.