Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
KevinMD
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking
KevinMD
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking
  • About KevinMD | Kevin Pho, MD
  • Be heard on social media’s leading physician voice
  • Contact Kevin
  • Discounted enhanced author page
  • DMCA Policy
  • Establishing, Managing, and Protecting Your Online Reputation: A Social Media Guide for Physicians and Medical Practices
  • Group vs. individual disability insurance for doctors: pros and cons
  • KevinMD influencer opportunities
  • Opinion and commentary by KevinMD
  • Physician burnout speakers to keynote your conference
  • Physician Coaching by KevinMD
  • Physician keynote speaker: Kevin Pho, MD
  • Physician Speaking by KevinMD: a boutique speakers bureau
  • Primary care physician in Nashua, NH | Kevin Pho, MD
  • Privacy Policy
  • Recommended services by KevinMD
  • Terms of Use Agreement
  • Thank you for subscribing to KevinMD
  • Thank you for upgrading to the KevinMD enhanced author page
  • The biggest mistake doctors make when purchasing disability insurance
  • The doctor’s guide to disability insurance: short-term vs. long-term
  • The KevinMD ToolKit
  • Upgrade to the KevinMD enhanced author page
  • Why own-occupation disability insurance is a must for doctors

Showcase happy doctors and find out what they’re doing right

Pamela Wible, MD
Physician
May 9, 2014
Share
Tweet
Share

Recently, a friend posted a story on my Facebook page: “How Being a Doctor Became the Most Miserable Profession,” Oh no. “Another article on miserable doctors,” I thought. I’m an expert on miserable doctors. I used to be one. Why should I read this? What could I possibly learn? I decided to ignore it.

The next day another friend posted it. Then another. Okay, now it was assigned reading. I steeled myself and plunged in. Two sentences in, I clicked on sheer unhappiness and I was taken to my own photo. It was above a piece I wrote, “Why Doctors Commit Suicide.” In a way I was honored — officially recognized in the miserable doctors’ hall of fame.

Yes, doctors are overworked. Yes, patients get quickie visits. Yes countless doctors dream of retiring or quitting. Many contemplate suicide, and tragically, some even act on those thoughts. So what’s new? Why isn’t the author writing about solutions? Frustrated, I checked my email. Waiting was a message from Daniela Drake, MD, the piece’s author. She wanted to write a follow-up on solutions, and asked to talk about my work helping doctors create more ideal practices.

“Sure, call now,” I responded. It was midnight. We talked for nearly two hours like best friends who hadn’t spoken in years.

One week later, a second Daily Beast article shared my trajectory from misery to joy as a self-employed solo doc in a clinic designed entirely by my patients. At last — solutions!

So why aren’t there more solution-oriented articles? I suspect it’s because so few people are talking about the problem. It is, after all, hard to solve a problem nobody knows exists. When patients see us, it’s in such a professional element — white coats, machine-filled rooms, and buzzing activity. Moreover, people visit doctors to learn about their own health. It’s not part of the deal to think about the stresses inherent to the other side of the exchange.

Now that the conversation’s started, however, it seems to me that we we have two choices: We can try to determine what’s wrong by focusing on miserable doctors and their presumably miserable patients. Or we can showcase the happy doctors and patients to find out what they are doing right.

Throw a pity party and see who shows up, or celebrate solutions? It’s time for the latter. Not solutions by experts, consultants, and politicians. Solutions by real physicians who are seeing real patients and feeling real satisfaction from their jobs.

There are many happy docs out there with replicable, innovative models. How many do you know?

Pamela Wible pioneered the community-designed ideal medical clinic and blogs at Ideal Medical Care. She is the author of Pet Goats and Pap Smears. Watch her TEDx talk, How to Get Naked with Your Doctor. This article originally appeared in The Doctor Blog.

Prev

We do not have a health care system

May 8, 2014 Kevin 8
…
Next

Disclosing calories in food: An unsung legacy of Obamacare

May 9, 2014 Kevin 5
…

Tagged as: Primary Care

< Previous Post
We do not have a health care system
Next Post >
Disclosing calories in food: An unsung legacy of Obamacare

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Pamela Wible, MD

  • When health care professionals lose everything

    Pamela Wible, MD
  • Surgeon suicides: Unveiling a silent crisis

    Pamela Wible, MD
  • 13 tips for depressed doctors who need confidential mental health care

    Pamela Wible, MD

More in Physician

  • Night shift health tips: How to protect your circadian rhythm

    Chinyelu E. Oraedu, MD
  • Health care market distortion: How government intrusion hurts medicine

    Allan Dobzyniak, MD
  • Securing physician autonomy with employer-sponsored direct primary care

    Dana Y. Lujan, MBA
  • The mathematics of merit: Quantifying bias in medical malpractice

    Howard Smith, MD
  • Medical relevance and evolution: Why physicians must reinvent themselves

    Adam Bitterman, DO
  • Navigating the patchwork of CME requirements by state

    Vladislav Tchatalbachev, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • The dangers of vertical integration in health care

      Stephanie Waggel, MD | Policy
    • How board certification fuels the physician shortage crisis

      Brian Hudes, MD | Physician
    • Why does sex work seem like a more viable path than medicine in 2026?

      Corina Fratila, MD | Physician
    • The future of U.S. medicine: 10 health care trends in 2026

      Richard E. Anderson, MD & The Doctors Company | Physician
    • The quiet paradox of physician mental health and medication

      Timothy Lesaca, MD | Physician
    • The Platinum Rule in health care: Moving beyond the Golden Rule

      Harvey Max Chochinov, MD, PhD | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Missed diagnosis visceral leishmaniasis: a tragedy of note bloat

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Conditions
    • The dangers of vertical integration in health care

      Stephanie Waggel, MD | Policy
    • Menstrual health in medicine: Addressing the gender gap in care

      Cynthia Kumaran | Conditions
    • From Singapore to Canada: a blueprint for primary care transformation

      Ivy Oandasan, MD | Policy
    • How board certification fuels the physician shortage crisis

      Brian Hudes, MD | Physician
    • Why does sex work seem like a more viable path than medicine in 2026?

      Corina Fratila, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Night shift health tips: How to protect your circadian rhythm

      Chinyelu E. Oraedu, MD | Physician
    • How to master a new health care leadership role [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Medical school endurance: lessons from training for a 10K

      Riya Sood | Education
    • Health care market distortion: How government intrusion hurts medicine

      Allan Dobzyniak, MD | Physician
    • The dangers of vertical integration in health care

      Stephanie Waggel, MD | Policy
    • Securing physician autonomy with employer-sponsored direct primary care

      Dana Y. Lujan, MBA | Physician

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 20 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • The dangers of vertical integration in health care

      Stephanie Waggel, MD | Policy
    • How board certification fuels the physician shortage crisis

      Brian Hudes, MD | Physician
    • Why does sex work seem like a more viable path than medicine in 2026?

      Corina Fratila, MD | Physician
    • The future of U.S. medicine: 10 health care trends in 2026

      Richard E. Anderson, MD & The Doctors Company | Physician
    • The quiet paradox of physician mental health and medication

      Timothy Lesaca, MD | Physician
    • The Platinum Rule in health care: Moving beyond the Golden Rule

      Harvey Max Chochinov, MD, PhD | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Missed diagnosis visceral leishmaniasis: a tragedy of note bloat

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Conditions
    • The dangers of vertical integration in health care

      Stephanie Waggel, MD | Policy
    • Menstrual health in medicine: Addressing the gender gap in care

      Cynthia Kumaran | Conditions
    • From Singapore to Canada: a blueprint for primary care transformation

      Ivy Oandasan, MD | Policy
    • How board certification fuels the physician shortage crisis

      Brian Hudes, MD | Physician
    • Why does sex work seem like a more viable path than medicine in 2026?

      Corina Fratila, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Night shift health tips: How to protect your circadian rhythm

      Chinyelu E. Oraedu, MD | Physician
    • How to master a new health care leadership role [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Medical school endurance: lessons from training for a 10K

      Riya Sood | Education
    • Health care market distortion: How government intrusion hurts medicine

      Allan Dobzyniak, MD | Physician
    • The dangers of vertical integration in health care

      Stephanie Waggel, MD | Policy
    • Securing physician autonomy with employer-sponsored direct primary care

      Dana Y. Lujan, MBA | Physician

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today

Copyright © 2026 KevinMD.com | Powered by Astra WordPress Theme

  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Showcase happy doctors and find out what they’re doing right
20 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...