Me and My Stethoscope

 In my ideal world, I would live and work a life that I don’t *need* to take vacation from. This is a goal I’m striving to meet. In the meantime, I’m dealing with “burnout” the best way I know how. (On a side note, “burnout” is a systems and processes failure, but that’s a conversation for another time.) 1. Understand how much workload you’re willing to take on without it affecting your mental health. If 50% FTE is what you need, work 50%. It’s ok if you work less so that you can work a longer duration (ie. decades). 2. If additional projects will cause untoward stress, it’s ok to say no when asked to do. “No” is a complete sentence. 3. Get efficient with charting. I close each chart with the end of each patient encounter. Document the important things and document enough. Nobody ever won a Pulitzer for the perfect medical note. 4. Home is home. Don’t bring additional work home. Leave it at the office. Go home and be a family member with your loved ones. Give them the gift of presence.

  On Jan 1, 2020, I dragged myself to the gym by 9 am. A brand new year. Always feels so full of promise. During my cool down, I reflected on everything I wanted to achieve in my personal and professional lives. I felt so hopeful and determined. Little did I know just two months later, everyone’s lives would be in disarray. I have weathered some tough times in life but 2020 has definitely been the toughest. Learning about a virus I didn’t study in medical school. Shelter in place. Families and friends separated. Sickness, so much sickness, with slow recoveries. The conspiracy theories that are literally killing people. Government’s haphazard careless response to the pandemic. #BLM and I’m still learning how to be an ally. Election drama. 3rd surge of Covid19, worse than the first. People out partying like it’s 1999 and healthcare workers and capacity stretched beyond comfort.  Thanksgiving is usually my family’s favorite holiday. I’ve been cooking our family turkey since 2012. In light

 Is it just me or is it starting to feel completely demoralizing being a physician right now? All week long, I’ve seen patients who have been out and about like a pandemic isn’t happening and people aren’t dying from Covid19. True stories:  One person took the elderly mother out for a night of gambling. One person took the family to Las Vegas for a week. One person drove into Mexico to surf and drink. Multiple people attending parties at other people’s homes or hosting parties at their own homes. And everyone developed a symptom followed by the frantic phone call to the doctor requesting Covid19 testing. “Because I want to take every precaution,” as one person said to me.  Precaution is keeping your body home. Away from others. Not going out partying and then requesting testing once you have already exposed others.  I have taken three, yes three, days of vacation in 2020. We are ten and a half months into the year. And I’ve taken three vacation days. I stayed home those three days. So

  I’ve had a lot of messages lately saying “I’m interested in real estate.” Before investing in anything, I suggest getting  crystal clear  on two things: (i) Your goals — Why are you interested? (ii) You level of risk tolerance — Does risk terrify you? Or are you willing to stare it in the face? (iii) Your desired level of involvement — Do you want to be completely hands-off? Are you ok getting your hands a little dirty? A lot dirty? My husband and I had not planned to have our AirBnB. We are both risk averse. We were looking for a property that:  (i) was closer to family so we could meet midway (ii) serve as a hub for my husband’s photography and meditation retreats (iii) serve as a weekend respite from a busy week  From there it turned into an AirBnB. Though this was not our original plan. Once you are clear on your goals, your acceptable risk levels and level of involvement desired, then we can review the various types of real estate investments.

 What a day! I've always prided myself on being detail-oriented and responsible. I am a woman of my word. I pay my bills on time. I've misplaced my wallet once in my lifetime (I left it in the cart at Trader Joe's after checking out). And, until today, I've never locked myself out of my home or vehicle. The day began with optimism and a very full itinerary. I've never been a morning person, but I can certainly appreciate initiating a busy day with an awesome work-out. Feeling refreshed, I made my way to my car, lost in thought, thinking about my to-do list for the day. As I placed my gym bag in the trunk, so too did my keys somehow find their way into the trunk just as I was closing it. I hadn't unlocked my doors prior to this incident. So I was legit, bona fide, for real, uber locked out of my car. Ugh. With 20% phone battery remaining, I attempted calling AAA. They certainly were in no mood to answer their phone in my time of need. I hung up and called the sal

 Last week I wrote a blog post about how misogyny is alive and well in the medical profession and society as a large. My post was viewed >47,000 times and shared 152 times. (I tried to post as much as IG would allow but it’s incomplete here. Link to full post in bio.) There has been much discussion on this topic and I have had several days to think over this issue. The first rebuttal I’ve heard is that, well, the company apologized so they should be forgiven. Let me ask you this. If I were in a relationship with an abusive partner, would you tell me to forgive and forget? If I were in an abusive workplace, would you tell me to give grace? Sure, forgiveness is a tool that we can use to set ourselves free. But should you forget someone’s colors after they’ve shown them to you? Some of you are probably thinking “well was that really abuse?” The answer is YES. Being demeaned and the subject of a “joke” based on your gender and credentials is abuse. The partner who tells you that you’re