Are you feeling it too?
Something has definitely shifted into a new, unstable and uncertain tilt
and there appears to be no going back.
Is THIS ... is the post-Covid "New Normal"?
- Pervasive short staffing - across all services in all locations.
- ER's across the country look like war zones with dozens boarded in the back hallways.
- The Boomer retirement cliff of doctors and nurses that ensures there is no light at the end of the short staffing tunnel.
- Mergers, acquisitions and failures of even the largest healthcare organizations and of up to 200 rural hospitals this year alone. No job is truly stable.
- No way for anyone to comprehend the impact of A. I. on any of this.
- (Add your own bullet point here ...)
From the emails and voice messages we get every day ... the level of struggle, frustration and exhaustion among physicians has racheted up several clicks just here in 2024.
Let me give you a different perspective on this generational tipping point in the practice of medicine - one that can offer a huge amount of optimism to your thought process.
WHAT IF, everything in your life to this point was to prepare you for what comes next?
WHAT IF, this untethered sensation is what it feels like as you approach the end of your beginning?
WHAT IF we can relax and be curious about the next phase - in whatever form it may take - stay alert and nimble, support each other and be ready to take decisive action when the time is right?
First, take a big breath and let's remember:
there is no patient care without a care-giver - that is you.
Physicians are responsible for essentially every dollar of income realized by every single healthcare delivery company.
Your career as a Lightworker, helper and healer is not in danger even though it may sometimes feel like you are approaching that last straw moment.
This is a GREAT JOB MARKET FOR DOCTORS and will only get better.
The massive growth in Virtual Medicine, means changing jobs no longer means you must uproot your family and move to a new town.
However, being a productive employee is no longer enough to guaranteed respect, good pay and a stable job long-term.
You can do your best - just like a good resident - and still lose your job in an instant when your employer sells out, or goes bust or makes the business decision to short staff your team to boost profits.
Let's start building your Home Base here - a place of self awareness and personal clarity that give you solid footing on this unsteady ground.
It can start as simply as answering a couple of uncommon questions.
I encourage you to grab your journal - or grab some paper, write today's date at the top and write out and answer the following questions
[Make sure to discuss the questions and answers with your your spouse/partner/significant other to get the most out of this exercise]
Let's start by establishing what is clear to you now.
Write out and complete the following sentences without thinking too hard ... let it flow ... write as much or as little as wants to come out at this time..
~ My current Job is ....
~ Current employer is ...
~ My quality of life ...
~ My relationship with my career is like ...
Nicely Done!
Now, let's check for what is wanting to shift for you now.
Now just write down and answer the two questions below:
~ What crossroads am I at right now?
~ What is at stake, why does it matter?Don't forget to show all your answers to your spouse/partner/significant other and remain open to all input from this very interested and invested 3rd party. It is the most important second opinion you can get.
I have been at the end of my beginning several times in my life and career - these transitions seem to happen at 10-year intervals in my case.
I have found over and over that this reframe to "that's strange, I must be at the end of my beginning again - I'm excited to see what happens next" can take feelings of impending doom to an exciting search for clues of what is coming my way. It can provide an emotional turnaround in these transition points.
Remember you're not all alone, wandering in the wilderness here.
There are a million doctors just in the US who are on the same journey of exploration and struggling with the same day-to-day challenges.
Our "never show weakness" programming, installed in the medical education process, keeps us from confiding in each other at work. I encourage you to grab a friend and compare answers to the questions above - you will be amazed at the connection that follows.
And if your workplace is truly not a safe place to disclose struggle or dissatisfaction, we've got your back with our support community that has been up and running continuously since 2017.
My pledge to you is this:
I will continue to provide trainings, community, coaching and support to any physician who wants to build their ideal practice and defend their ability to make a living as a helper and healer.
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Watch your email here in the weeks ahead as we take our support options to a whole new level to match these challengings times.
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And consider this as your mantra going forward whenever things just don't feel right or make sense:
"Feels like the end of my beginning ... I wonder what comes next?"
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PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT:
What has become clear to you about your job/career/employer ?