Your experience, as a physician, is like no other. Doctors in our culture are simultaneously held in high regard and routinely belittled or even abused.
I’ve worked with hundreds of physicians at Yale and beyond, I’ve worked at Yale New Haven Hospital for 20 years, and everyone in my immediate family is a doctor or nurse. The good news is I know a lot about your culture, workplace, and lifestyle. You won’t have to explain to me what an attending is, how a code is run, or what “DNR” means. That being said, I’m far enough outside your world to have a perspective that you don’t, so I can point out patterns and norms that you may not be aware of.
Few people outside of medicine understand the immense sacrifices that must be made in order to succeed as a doctor. Aside from the sleepless nights and long hours, you may find yourself missing out on important social milestones in the lives of your loved ones; weddings, births, deaths. You may struggle to maintain connections to parents who live far away or are of another culture.
In your work, there is little (or no) room for error. Your training was always to give 100 percent, to make no mistakes, and to be the best. It may have worked for you most of your academic life, but as you move through residency, it’s no longer possible to live up to these perfectionist ideals. No one around you is going to tell you that it’s okay to take it down a notch or cut corners.
I’ve been able to help doctors find unique ways to cope with anxiety, interpersonal conflict, setting boundaries, and managing the particulars of hospital life/work. Whether you are in residency or beyond, I can help you work through the issues that are specific to your career and upbringing.