Physicians know what success looks like on paper.  We spend a large part of our journey in medicine taking action to be competitive for medical school, the top-ranking residency training program, and the prestigious attending position.

Then the reality of a medical career sets in.

The focus on patient volume to generate revenue, the precise documentation needed to justify coding, and the micromanagement of the team to ensure patient satisfaction is a far cry from the desire to feel successful as we make a positive impact in patients’ lives.

It becomes less important which medical school or residency training program you graduated from when the career you‘ve spent years building falls flat with stress and overwhelm.

Instead of appreciation for the team who took care of the sick patient overnight, the incoming physician that you give sign-out focuses on the delay in admitting the patient into the computer, completely overlooking the fact that there was no delay in patient care.

What is physician success?

It is more than what is reflected on your CV.

It’s more than the routine activities that you tirelessly engage in to promote optimal patient outcomes.

It’s more than the revenue generated for the corporation.

Physician success is the positive, life-affirming feeling you experience when operating in your life calling and genius zone.

It’s the privilege of taking care of patients when they are at their most vulnerable.  It acknowledges that patients trust you to show up at your best to deliver the best care to them.

Physician success is accepting the responsibility to not just master the medical knowledge and procedural skills required to execute care.  It includes making the shift to live into your best self so you can be present for your patients.

It is a commitment to consistently grow and develop and heal physically, mentally emotionally, and spiritually to demonstrate to patients and colleagues the best possible in medicine.

Physician success is more than what we document on paper when the credentialing cycle comes along.  It’s being able to use the energy of peace, love, joy, and faith as you make the transition from work to home to work again, knowing that life is good, especially in the face of the greatest challenges we may ever face.

Stephanie Wellington is a physician and can be reached at Nurturing MDs.

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