Hi, Dr. N,
Thank you for reading my blog. I want you to know that:
1. Burnout is solvable.
2. You are a good doctor, wife, and mother. Better than good, you are excellent.
3. If you need someone understanding to vent, commiserate, or cry to, I can be reached at VagabondMD@protonmail.com. Confidentiality guaranteed. That offer goes to anyone who is still reading this thread.

Be well, Dr. N.

Time for some changes . Life is too short to just come up for air every now and then while on holidays. I love medicine more when I do less of it. I am a better doctor , wife and mother when I do less of it.

Thank you VagabondMD for your article. I furiously searched for your website before realising you do not have one. This should be your next career direction !

You will be amazed how easy it is to fill your plate with really interesting stuff. I’m working with a company in Austin testing software in a particular communications field I’m interested in get this… FOR FREE I get to be in the middle of the discovery on my own terms. It’s a total gas, read books, love my wife, love my kids, plus you get to sleep in or stay up all night on your terms depending on what’s engaging you. I built a gym in my house so I just stumble over to workout. I turned off the TV, face book, lost interest in the brainwashing…

David Byrne wrote this about his song “Once in a lifetime”:

“We’re largely unconscious,” says Byrne. “We operate half-awake, on autopilot. And we end up with a house and family and job and we never stop and ask how did we get here.”

The Burnout theme song:

Thank you for the comment, Gasem. 12/31/2019 is my target date to end-it-all. I mean quitting the job.

One thing that keeps me working is the lack of enough activities to keep my body, mind, and spirit occupied for the next 40+ years. But I am working on it!

I agree about your comment re: courting liability. Sometimes Dirty Harry appears on my shoulder and asks, “Do you feel lucky?” There are unfavorable outcomes and none of us is perfect. When these two factors intersect, it puts us at risk, for sure. Why keep stacking Benjamin’s for the next generation?

Vagabond, an amazing story that strikes deeply resonant chords. After my retirement my wife told me “That job was killing you” She could see the difference in my countenance, in my restedness, in my joy and in my peace, particularly the last. Soon enough that Sunday night feeling of dread split for the coast in a van never to return. Even though I had moved from a hospital job to a SDSC no call no nights no weekend job, I was ready for the whole enchilada. I saw the same in my Dad after he retired. It is said: “the job is the last thing to go”. You may be somewhat recovered now but at some point you will be done. Every once in a while ask your self “Am I done yet? If the answer comes back yes stick a fork in yourself and just be done. Let the job go before you go. There is no reason for the job to win. The job could care less. My turning point came when I looked at my SS statement, added up all my medicare wages and came to understand I had more money in the bank by quite a bit than I used fund the preceding 50 years of my life, you know the part when I paid for a house 2 college educations, 4 cars and a portfolio. I already knew what the last 50 years felt like. It was more than comfy, and I’m not living another 50. It became clear ever day I went to work I was just courting liability. I’d already made all the money. That was the night before life went on. The next day I devised an exit strategy got some health care together for me and my family, and put it all in the rear view mirror. Plop plop fizz fizz oh what a relief it is. Now I’m just having me a gas.

Apologies for the delayed reply. I am glad that you have found the solution for you. Best of luck!

I especially like “Be kind to yourself” and others. Physicians sometimes need reminders like this.

Like others have commented, my solution to burnout is part-time work by selling locums (mostly call shifts) to my partners. I am 9 years post-fellowship, and I have noticed early burnout signs in myself and colleagues. So far it’s helping.

Happy New Year!

Hello, DW,
Training is certainly stressful and time demanding, but what lies on the other end can be worse (but not necessarily so). There is a light at the end of the tunnel, but after the light, there is another tunnel! You should keep in touch with each other as he moves through the paces of his career.

Thanks, DDD. Make it a priority to take care of yourself. Good luck with the relocation plan.
Cheers!