Month: August 2019

Life Lessons

Friends in all the right places

August 18, 2019 by 4 Comments

While I keep my eyes open and my ears to the ground, for new opportunities, nothing else seems to quite fit.  Being a locums physician suits my lifestyle.  It allows me the freedom to practice clinical medicine on my terms, to travel, to write and to spend time with friends and family.  I’m sure I get asked at least once a week, “So, you like all that travel…?” or “When do you plan to settle down and get a real job?”  For now, I’m content.  Though, I’m making new friends, and creating new families, I still like to keep the old ones too. 

A few weeks ago, I stopped by my last place of permanent employment.  The visit brought back feelings of anxiety and excitement, just like a visit home.  Though I’ve been gone for almost four years, returning to the hospital always feels like going to visit family instead of past co-workers.  Initially, I was worried that things may have changed and I wouldn’t remember my way around or maybe no one would be working that day that I knew.  But I found my way around just fine.  I was greeted with surprised eyes, smiles and hugs.  And just like visiting relatives, my plan to stop by for a minute, turned into a two-hour visit.  Complete with the “since you’re here, go say hi to…” and “let me call Denise and let her know you’re here…”

There are those who have moved on like me and those who are moving on soon.  One day I will return and I may not know anyone or I may forget my way around.  But I am grateful that day has yet to come.  I’m not sure when I’ll make my next trip back to Norristown.  This trip was prompted to clean out my storage unit, the unit I opened the day before I moved out of my apartment almost four years ago, to start my locums journey.  At the time, I thought I’d give it a year or two to see how it goes…  Four years later, I’m happily nomadic, and it was time to officially cut the physical ties to my old home.

The End of an ERA!!!

Moving on can be bittersweet, but just like the places I lived before, Norristown will always have a special place in my heart along with all the wonderful people I met there. Though the physical ties have been cut, the friendships are forever.

Life Lessons - Locums Lessons

Why can’t you just follow directions?

August 4, 2019 by 0 Comments

As a frequent traveler, I know my way around many airports.  The process is ultimately the same, right? Check your bags, go through TSA, wait at your gate and board the plane.  Recently, I flew out of Atlanta.  The TSA pre-check line required you to collect a large bin from the bottom row of conveyor belts, put all your belongings in the bin and place it back on the top conveyor belt to be screened.  After passing through the metal detector, you collected your bags as usual.  Thankfully, this day I did not set off any alarms, and as I removed by backpack and shoulder bag from the tray, I noticed the woman in front of me was visibly upset.  “I don’t understand why people can’t just follow directions.  Why does it have to be so difficult?”  She gathered several empty trays, stacked them at the end of the line and walked off in a huff with her travel companion.

Being aware of more than one TSA system makes traveling less daunting.  In many TSA pre-check lines there are no bins.  All items, except wallets and keys, go directly on the belt.  In some small airports, there are no separate TSA pre-check lines.  Other than keeping your shoes on, there are no special perks for being pre-check.  In many airports, the TSA agents collect and return the empty containers. Your end goal is still the same, to get on a plane. 

  • Traveling from Nairobi, Kenya to Bujumbura, Burundi with Dr. Bella

Being aware of more than one system of medicine makes practicing less daunting.  As physicians our goal is to take optimal care of patients. The traditional system of medicine teaches us that we need to get the right (if not perfect) grades, a high MCAT score, pick the right medical school, a competitive residency and the ideal job that we can keep for 35+ years until we retire.  This system does not teach us that we can change our minds and not finish medical school, or transfer out of a residency program or work in more than one place by choice.  We are taught to work until we are exhausted and that’s just the way it is.  We are taught that locums is only for transitioning or for physicians who just can cut it.  We are taught that we should feel guilty if we consider non-clinical options.  This system is no longer working.  As we are beginning to see, there are multiple ways to practice medicine.  Even more, we have the ability to choose or influence the system in which work.  The end goal is still the same: to take optimal care of patients.

Rounding at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Mutomo, Kitui County, Kenya

We have the power to choose how we practice, when we practice and for how long we practice.  I joined a community-based practice in a suburban town, which I loved.  I enjoyed the diversity of the patients, the collegiality of my co-workers and the pace of the clinical requirements.  Over the course of a few years, the practice grew and changed.  The dynamics of the practice no longer fit my needs.  I approached the leadership to discuss the changes, looking for a new normal for me.  Instead, I realized my purpose could no longer be met by the organization and chose to move on.  One of my goals as a locums physician is not only to practice on my own terms, but also better understand the various practice models across the country so that I can help and encourage other physicians to choose to live a well-balanced life.  I want to see us practice safely; care for our patients, and ourselves and to feel like there are options to combat physician burnout other than leaving clinical medicine.

It struck me that the lady in the TSA line was accustomed to a single system, a single way of doing things.  Instead of acknowledging that others could be accustomed to a different system and adapting, she allowed her frustration to manifest in a way that was only destructive to herself.  As physicians, we may be overwhelmed and overshadowed by expectations of our groups, hospitals or accountable care organizations.  Exhaustion and frustration can lead to burnout, bailout and self-destruction.  When we recognize that we are not prisoners to the current system, we can adapt, change it or move on.  We don’t have to follow directions. We have options and burnout does not have to be one of them.

Enjoying the view, Jaco, Costa Rica