An excerpt from Reclaiming the Joy of Medicine: Finding Purpose, Fulfillment, and Happiness in Today’s Medical Industry.

“You alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anybody.”
– Maya Angelou

When I was experiencing burnout, I felt something was wrong with me. I kept questioning myself.

Why couldn’t I fulfill all the demands imposed on me?

Why couldn’t I see more patients faster?

Why couldn’t I handle hundreds of emails and messages every day?

Why couldn’t I work faster on the factory line of the medical industry?

I felt like a complete failure – ashamed, isolated, and alone.

I wish I knew more about burnout before experiencing it. I wish there was a required class about burnout prevention in medical school. I wish another physician would give me some advice.

Since I never received that advice, I’m writing the top key points to my younger self and all of the other physicians and health care workers who might find it helpful.

There is a high likelihood that you will burn out at some point in your career. When you do, remember burning out is not your fault. The medical industry is broken, but you are not.

The health care system won’t be fixed without your involvement. Speak up and share your ideas for making health care better. Your voice matters. Your patients, your loved ones, and your colleagues need you to be involved in fixing the system.

Always do the right thing for your patients, no matter what. If you work at a place that doesn’t allow you to do the right thing, it’s time to find another place.

Stop being a gunner. Comparison and competition might have helped you get into a good school or land a good job, but now you must let it go. Like a double-edged sword, it will always make you feel less than others and exhaust you emotionally.

Seek care when sick, and don’t be afraid to call in sick. Ask for help when you need it. Others want to be helpful. Don’t allow shame or stigma to prevent you from seeking help when you need it.

Make time for your loved ones. If or when you have children, never miss their graduations, recitals, and birthday parties. These are not little things. These are the big things that matter.

Prioritize your health and well-being. Pay attention to your nutrition, sleep, exercise, and mind.

Practice gratitude.

Curb your enthusiasm for perfection. Sometimes good enough is the right choice.

When you lose your way and can’t remember WHY you do what you do, remind yourself of your purpose for going into health care. If you feel separated from your purpose, find your way back.

Read and reread this list periodically to remind yourself that your joy is yours.

Call your mother.

Having joy is your right.

You deserve it, your family deserves it, and your patients deserve it.

If you have lost your joy in medicine, reclaim it!

Alen Voskanian is a palliative care physician and author of Reclaiming the Joy of Medicine: Finding Purpose, Fulfillment, and Happiness in Today’s Medical Industry.