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

Advice to aspiring medical students on work-life balance

Kelly G. Elterman, MD
Physician
November 18, 2020
16 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share

I recently met a student and aspiring surgeon who asked me if I was happy with anesthesiology and a career in medicine in general. I told him that aspiring to medicine is wonderful and that while I am indeed happy with my career choice, it does come with daily challenges, both professional and personal. This led to a discussion of work-life balance, particularly with regard to family life, in which I told him what a surgeon had once told me in medical school, “if you want to be a surgeon, you need to love surgery more than anything else in life.”

My encounter with this young man is not very interesting – we had a conversation many have had in the past and will have again in the future. However, what is interesting is the reaction of a colleague who, after hearing about this conversation, said, “Why did you sugarcoat it? Why didn’t you tell him the truth?”

Initially surprised, I countered by saying that I had told him it isn’t easy, but many physicians do manage to “make it work” between career and family.

“Yes,” she agreed, “but did you tell him how they make it work? With antidepressants, alcohol, and divorce.”

At this, I was momentarily silent, but ultimately I had to concede. She was right; I didn’t tell him about the statistics on career regret or that the majority of physicians would not recommend the field to their children. I failed to mention the friends and colleagues I have seen medicine steal sobriety, marriage, and even life itself. Days afterward, I found myself still thinking about this conversation. I thought of my medical school classmates, my co-residents, my colleagues. I thought of the divorces, the alcoholism, the drug abuse I had witnessed, and the suicides I had heard. The silence that surrounded it all.

It was a sobering realization. Certainly, I had read about the statistics of physicians struggling with substance abuse or depression and had seen friends or colleagues encounter personal “challenges,” but never did I think of it as anything more than an unfortunate coincidence. Someone I knew through medicine had a problem, so what? Correlation doesn’t mean causation.

Yet somehow, being put on the spot to describe life as a physician and feeling that I could not be completely truthful – how could I tell someone so young and idealistic that his dream may one day destroy his marriage or drive him to take his own life? –  made me realize that those “coincidences” are not a coincidence at all but rather evidence of the problems plaguing our profession.

Medical training is rigorous, and rightly so. It is meant to instill aspiring physicians with the knowledge and stamina necessary to care for patients. It requires motivation, ambition, compassion, and a drive to succeed, all characteristics of successful medical students. Yet somewhere along the path from medical student to seasoned physician, like stones beneath a waterfall, these traits are slowly eroded by the increasingly difficult, borderline unrealistic, demands of medical practice today.

I have always wanted to be a physician. The day I graduated from medical school and joined the noble profession I had long admired was one of the happiest and fulfilling days of my life. Since then, I have devoted years and countless hours to my training and my patients, routinely adjusting other aspects of my life to fit medicine’s demands. I love what I do, but I cannot say that I would be willing to sacrifice my marriage, my relationship with my children, or my life for it.

In speaking with that young man, I told him about what one memorable surgeon had told me, but I didn’t mention another one. On that same rotation, I worked with a surgeon who, after asking me about my career plans, said, “well, that’s all well and good, but once you get married and have children, all you will want is to spend more time with your family.” It was a simple comment made over lunch in the hospital cafeteria. He probably doesn’t even remember saying it, much like I don’t remember what I was eating at the time. Yet, I look back on that moment over a decade ago as a pivotal point in my career because I realized that work-life balance was an important consideration.

The concepts of burnout and physician wellness have fortunately become more mainstream conversations in recent years, even more so amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Work-life balance is not the only cause of burnout, as it certainly is not the only struggle that physicians face, but it is a significant factor. As a result of the current demands of practice and lack of balance, many physicians are pursuing opportunities outside of clinical medicine. Somehow, I doubt that the majority of those physicians planned such a career course from the start.

Burnout is not unique to medicine. Other professions have recognized the value of preventing burnout through implementing strategies to improve work-life balance. Slowly, work culture in America is changing. Clinical medicine needs to embrace this change because prioritizing work-life balance opportunities would improve physician wellness, and in turn, the health of the system overall.

I hope that eventually, work-life balance in medicine improves such that if my son ever becomes like the young man I met, someone can honestly tell him that a career in medicine is indeed still a wonderful pursuit.

Kelly G. Elterman is an anesthesiologist.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

The problem with allowing COVID-positive health care workers to continue working

November 18, 2020 Kevin 1
…
Next

The long months of winter are coming. Will we be ready?

November 18, 2020 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Anesthesiology, Surgery

Post navigation

< Previous Post
The problem with allowing COVID-positive health care workers to continue working
Next Post >
The long months of winter are coming. Will we be ready?

More by Kelly G. Elterman, MD

  • Am I a doctor or a mother first?

    Kelly G. Elterman, MD
  • The far-reaching consequences of medical school debt

    Kelly G. Elterman, MD
  • How do you define success after residency?

    Kelly G. Elterman, MD

Related Posts

  • Advice for first-year medical students

    Jamie Katuna
  • Advice for graduating medical students

    R. Lynn Barnett
  • 3 pieces of advice to new medical students

    Natasha Abadilla
  • Does work-life balance really exist for young mothers pursuing medical careers?

    Sheindel Ifrah
  • Physicians and medical students: Unlearn helplessness

    Jamie Katuna
  • An open letter to graduating medical students

    Lilian White

More in Physician

  • Unlearning our habits: a journey from intelligence to wisdom

    Brian Sayers, MD
  • Beyond pizza and pens: National Doctors’ Day should be about saving lives

    James Young, MD
  • Maximizing physician potential: How coaching can aid in conflict resolution, enhance health care leadership and build stronger teams

    Asha Padmanabhan, MD
  • Physicians are a finite resource we need to protect

    Jack Resneck, Jr., MD
  • Tom Brady’s legacy and the importance of personal integrity in end-of-life choices

    Kevin Haselhorst, MD
  • The hidden truths of hospital life: What doctors wish you knew

    Emily Stanford, DO
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • What is driving physicians to the edge of despair?

      Edward T. Creagan, MD | Physician
    • The untold struggles patients face with resident doctors

      Denise Reich | Conditions
    • Beyond pizza and pens: National Doctors’ Day should be about saving lives

      James Young, MD | Physician
    • Physicians are a finite resource we need to protect

      Jack Resneck, Jr., MD | Physician
    • From clocking in to clocking out: the transition to retirement

      Debbie Moore-Black, RN | Conditions
    • Tackling the health care crisis with artificial intelligence: Combating physician and nursing shortages in the United States

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Tech
  • Past 6 Months

    • 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
    • It’s time for C-suite to contract directly with physicians for part-time work

      Aaron Morgenstein, MD & Corinne Sundar Rao, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Tackling the health care crisis with artificial intelligence: Combating physician and nursing shortages in the United States

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Tech
    • From hope to heartbreak: a story of loss in the ICU

      Ton La, Jr., MD, JD | Conditions
    • Unlearning our habits: a journey from intelligence to wisdom

      Brian Sayers, MD | Physician
    • Lessons from an orthopedic surgery journey [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Beyond pizza and pens: National Doctors’ Day should be about saving lives

      James Young, MD | Physician
    • Maximizing physician potential: How coaching can aid in conflict resolution, enhance health care leadership and build stronger teams

      Asha Padmanabhan, MD | 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 1 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

  • Why I Don't Identify With Women's History Month as a Black Doctor
  • A Drink or Two a Day Won't Help Prolong Life
  • Sleep, Exercise, and Death; Pope Improving, Eats Pizza; Obesity Med Strategies
  • U.S. Study Backs 'Helper' Virus Theory in Kids' Mystery Hepatitis Cases
  • Moderna's Steep COVID Vaccine Price: Corporate Greed or Capitalism?

Meeting Coverage

  • VTE Risk in Recurrent Ovarian Cancer Increases With More Lines of Chemotherapy
  • Obesity's Impact on Uterine Cancer Risk Greater in Younger Age Groups
  • Oral Roflumilast Effective in the Treatment of Plaque Psoriasis
  • Phase III Trials 'Hit a Home Run' in Advanced Endometrial Cancer
  • Cannabis Use Common in Post-Surgery Patients on Opioid Tapering
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • What is driving physicians to the edge of despair?

      Edward T. Creagan, MD | Physician
    • The untold struggles patients face with resident doctors

      Denise Reich | Conditions
    • Beyond pizza and pens: National Doctors’ Day should be about saving lives

      James Young, MD | Physician
    • Physicians are a finite resource we need to protect

      Jack Resneck, Jr., MD | Physician
    • From clocking in to clocking out: the transition to retirement

      Debbie Moore-Black, RN | Conditions
    • Tackling the health care crisis with artificial intelligence: Combating physician and nursing shortages in the United States

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Tech
  • Past 6 Months

    • 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
    • It’s time for C-suite to contract directly with physicians for part-time work

      Aaron Morgenstein, MD & Corinne Sundar Rao, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Tackling the health care crisis with artificial intelligence: Combating physician and nursing shortages in the United States

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Tech
    • From hope to heartbreak: a story of loss in the ICU

      Ton La, Jr., MD, JD | Conditions
    • Unlearning our habits: a journey from intelligence to wisdom

      Brian Sayers, MD | Physician
    • Lessons from an orthopedic surgery journey [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Beyond pizza and pens: National Doctors’ Day should be about saving lives

      James Young, MD | Physician
    • Maximizing physician potential: How coaching can aid in conflict resolution, enhance health care leadership and build stronger teams

      Asha Padmanabhan, MD | 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

Advice to aspiring medical students on work-life balance
1 comments

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

Loading Comments...