Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

New doctors should listen to this advice if they want to last

Chris Cantilena, MD, MMM
Physician
March 15, 2016
913 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share

A few years ago, the hospital where I work started new residency programs in internal medicine and family practice. Many of the residents do rotations in anesthesiology and surgery where I have an opportunity to meet and talk with them. They are eager to learn medicine of course, but they are also interested in the perspective that many of us who have been practicing medicine for many years have to offer them. Given the opportunity to speak to a large group of early career physicians or medical students, I think I would offer the following advice.

First and foremost, do not be afraid to take care of yourself. With all there is to learn and do and all the hours you’ll spend doing it, it’s easy to be consumed by your career. It’s important to have something outside of medicine that you’re passionate about. That could be your family, a hobby, a sport you play, photography, or writing the great American novel; you get the idea. Whatever it is, make time for it, nurture it, and take reward from it.

For one thing, you’ll be a better human being, and a better doctor for it.  For another thing, you’ll develop interests and skills that you may be able to monetize at some point in the future. Taking care of people is fun, and it’s what you signed up for. Yes, there’s some stress involved when people’s lives are at stake, but as you already know, it’s a kind of stress that gives you strength and energizes you. What will sap your strength over time and make you tired and burnt out is much of the nonsense that surrounds making a living out of practicing medicine. Having other sources of income and not being totally dependent on your clinical work to make a living will make your medical career that much more fun.

There are times in your career when you’ll need to put the needs of a patient above your own. You’ll find a deep feeling of meaning and satisfaction from doing that, and it’s a strong component of medical culture. However, it’s not only okay but essential that you attend to your own needs; not everything in your day is an emergency. Attendings, nurses, patients, and families may try to make you believe that they are, but you have to learn to say no when it’s appropriate. Saying no is difficult sometimes, particularly for doctors.

You need to do all of the things that anyone else has to do to survive, including eating a good diet, getting good sleep and exercise, and enjoying a social life and laughter. In fact, you need to do more than survive. You need to thrive.

Those who are taking control of the health care system, the politicians, lawyers, and business people, have no frame of reference to understand why we do what we do; they look at us, and they laugh. They think to themselves, “We can get these people to do anything,” and they have. Consider that perhaps our reluctance to take care of ourselves is the very reason we have lost control of the health care system; while we have been tired, hungry, and focused on our patients, others have slipped in and — well-meaning or not — marginalized physicians

Learn to communicate well; learn to appreciate the power of language. We tend to believe that what we do is the important thing, and that describing it is only an afterthought.  Consider for example the word “provider” that began slipping into use with the advent of managed care.  It seems innocuous enough, but it commoditizes the practice of medicine and makes no distinction between institutions, physicians, or other health care professionals. Can you imagine an attorney allowing himself to be referred to as a “legal care provider”? Of course not, attorneys understand the power of language. Words are important.

Nothing is more important to our patients and to the health of our nation than our ability to thrive both as individuals and as a profession. There is an irreplaceable value to being cared for by a physician that is not identical to care from anyone else. Healing takes place in the individual physician-patient relationship, and your ability to fully participate in that depends on your ability to lead a balanced lifestyle as part of a healthy and growing community of physicians.  Our patients deserve this, and so do you.

Chris Cantilena is an anesthesiologist and a personal, career, and business results coach. He can be reached on his self-titled site, Chris Cantilena, MD, MMM.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

It's hard for patients to choose a good hospital. It shouldn't be.

March 15, 2016 Kevin 2
…
Next

Who should bear a dying man's burden?

March 16, 2016 Kevin 3
…

Tagged as: Medical school, Residency

Post navigation

< Previous Post
It's hard for patients to choose a good hospital. It shouldn't be.
Next Post >
Who should bear a dying man's burden?

More by Chris Cantilena, MD, MMM

  • Every physician is a wounded healer

    Chris Cantilena, MD, MMM

Related Posts

  • Doctors, listen up! You’ll be a patient soon.

    Michele Luckenbaugh
  • A mother’s advice to her physician son

    June Garen, RN
  • Why do doctors who hate being doctors still practice?

    Kristin Puhl, MD
  • Advice for first-year medical students

    Jamie Katuna
  • Doctors die. But the good ones leave a legacy.

    Jaime B. Gerber, MD
  • Doctors: It’s time to unionize

    Thomas D. Guastavino, MD

More in Physician

  • Dr. Glaucomflecken for president!

    Aaron Morgenstein, MD & Amy Bissada, DO & Corinne Sundar Rao, MD
  • What is driving physicians to the edge of despair?

    Edward T. Creagan, MD
  • Do residents deserve the title of physician?

    Anonymous
  • When an MBA degree meets medicine: an eye-opening experience

    Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA
  • The hidden gems of health care: Unlocking the potential of narrative medicine

    Dr. Najat Fadlallah
  • The dark side of immortality: What if we could live forever?

    Ketan Desai, MD, PhD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • The real cause of America’s opioid crisis: Doctors are not to blame

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds
    • The struggle to fill emergency medicine residency spots: Exploring the factors behind the unfilled match

      Katrina Gipson, MD, MPH | Physician
    • Healing the damaged nurse-physician dynamic

      Angel J. Mena, MD and Ali Morin, MSN, RN | Policy
    • What is driving physicians to the edge of despair?

      Edward T. Creagan, MD | Physician
    • Beyond the disease: the power of empathy in health care

      Nana Dadzie Ghansah, MD | Physician
    • Deaths of despair: an urgent call for a collective response to the crisis in U.S. life expectancy

      Mohammed Umer Waris, MD | Policy
  • Past 6 Months

    • The hidden dangers of the Nebraska Heartbeat Act

      Meghan Sheehan, MD | Policy
    • The real cause of America’s opioid crisis: Doctors are not to blame

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds
    • Nobody wants this job. Should physicians stick around?

      Katie Klingberg, MD | Physician
    • The vital importance of climate change education in medical schools

      Helen Kim, MD | Policy
    • The fight for reproductive health: Why medication abortion matters

      Catherine Hennessey, MD | Physician
    • Resetting the doctor-patient relationship: Navigating the challenges of modern primary care

      Jeffrey H. Millstein, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • The surprising power of Play-Doh in pediatric care: How it’s bringing families together

      Alexander Rakowsky, MD | Conditions
    • Breaking free from gaslighting [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The pros and cons of using ChatGPT for your health care needs

      Liudmila Schafer, MD | Tech
    • Dr. Glaucomflecken for president!

      Aaron Morgenstein, MD & Amy Bissada, DO & Corinne Sundar Rao, MD | Physician
    • What is driving physicians to the edge of despair?

      Edward T. Creagan, MD | Physician
    • Do residents deserve the title of physician?

      Anonymous | Physician

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 5 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

CME Spotlights

From MedPage Today

Latest News

  • How Did Pulse Oximeters Perform in Black Kids?
  • Coffee and Heart Function; Ionizing Radiation and CVD
  • Health Inequity Should Be Labeled as a 'Never Event'
  • Healing the Damaged Nurse-Physician Dynamic
  • Doc Moms, Mind the Gap -- $3M Earning Difference by Sex

Meeting Coverage

  • Switch to IL-23 Blocker Yields Deep Responses in Recalcitrant Plaque Psoriasis
  • Biomarkers of Response With Enfortumab Vedotin in Advanced Urothelial Cancer
  • At-Home Topical Therapy for Molluscum Contagiosum Gets High Marks
  • Outlook for Itchy Prurigo Nodularis Continues to Improve With IL-31 Antagonist
  • AAAAI President Shares Highlights From the 2023 Meeting
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • The real cause of America’s opioid crisis: Doctors are not to blame

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds
    • The struggle to fill emergency medicine residency spots: Exploring the factors behind the unfilled match

      Katrina Gipson, MD, MPH | Physician
    • Healing the damaged nurse-physician dynamic

      Angel J. Mena, MD and Ali Morin, MSN, RN | Policy
    • What is driving physicians to the edge of despair?

      Edward T. Creagan, MD | Physician
    • Beyond the disease: the power of empathy in health care

      Nana Dadzie Ghansah, MD | Physician
    • Deaths of despair: an urgent call for a collective response to the crisis in U.S. life expectancy

      Mohammed Umer Waris, MD | Policy
  • Past 6 Months

    • The hidden dangers of the Nebraska Heartbeat Act

      Meghan Sheehan, MD | Policy
    • The real cause of America’s opioid crisis: Doctors are not to blame

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds
    • Nobody wants this job. Should physicians stick around?

      Katie Klingberg, MD | Physician
    • The vital importance of climate change education in medical schools

      Helen Kim, MD | Policy
    • The fight for reproductive health: Why medication abortion matters

      Catherine Hennessey, MD | Physician
    • Resetting the doctor-patient relationship: Navigating the challenges of modern primary care

      Jeffrey H. Millstein, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • The surprising power of Play-Doh in pediatric care: How it’s bringing families together

      Alexander Rakowsky, MD | Conditions
    • Breaking free from gaslighting [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The pros and cons of using ChatGPT for your health care needs

      Liudmila Schafer, MD | Tech
    • Dr. Glaucomflecken for president!

      Aaron Morgenstein, MD & Amy Bissada, DO & Corinne Sundar Rao, MD | Physician
    • What is driving physicians to the edge of despair?

      Edward T. Creagan, MD | Physician
    • Do residents deserve the title of physician?

      Anonymous | Physician

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today iMedicalApps
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

New doctors should listen to this advice if they want to last
5 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...