It rolled past me—the same dull, tan utility cart we usually use to haul IV pumps, portable monitors, or the occasional dead printer. No decorations. No sign. Just an enormous pile of candy and snacks.
To be fair, it wasn’t bad candy. There were Kit Kats. Some decent chocolate. But still, the message was clear: “We see you. We care. Here’s a Kit Kat.” And because our admin staff does care—a smile.
I watched it squeak down the hallway while the department churned as ICU holds stacked up, the waiting room stayed full to the gills, ambulance radios chattered, and nurses were already stretched beyond capacity.
Some of us grabbed food. But honestly, nobody believed a Kit Kat was going to fix any of it.
As my chocolate-loving, wellness-oriented brain internally snarked, “Have some insulin resistance with your trauma.”
But it wasn’t nothing. People were trying. In their own way, they were trying. It’s just that the gap between what helps and what’s actually needed has gotten so wide, it’s almost absurd.
Because the problem isn’t that we need more snacks. It’s that the job itself has become something most humans were never meant to sustain indefinitely.
This isn’t about blame. It’s not about the system being broken. It’s just the job—the reality of modern medicine. None of us chose that part. It’s simply the water we swim in.
We were trained to handle chaos. To over-function when everything is underwater. To stay late. To skip meals. To hold it together when the volume is crushing. We learned to survive the storm without ever expecting the storm to pass.
And that’s the part nobody really says out loud: The job isn’t designed to care whether we’ve eaten, slept, or seen daylight this week. Because the patient needs you.
So the candy cart rolls by—kind, well-intentioned, a gesture that matters. But also, it’s a Kit Kat. It’s not a solution.
I never planned to step away from the ER. Not for a second. If it were up to me, I’d still be there. I thought I’d retire from emergency medicine, from “my department.” I loved it. I still do.
When that chapter ended, I didn’t scramble to find another ER job. By then, I’d already seen the impact I could make in the wellness space, and I was hiring to keep up.
Here’s what nobody tells you: It’s not just possible. It’s happening—quietly, all around you.
Doctors are building remote-first practices, coaching, consulting, and running asynchronous models. They’re staying in medicine but letting go of the parts that don’t fit anymore. Maybe that’s full time. Maybe it’s the busy trauma center.
Not because they’re weak. Not because they don’t care. But because they finally realized that the candy cart isn’t coming to save them.
And neither is anyone else.
There isn’t going to be a magical day when someone walks in and says, “Great news! Your workload is normal now.”
My goal isn’t to pull doctors out of medicine. It’s the opposite. It’s to keep doctors on the ground. Shifts covered. Patients cared for. Staffed by physicians who are there because they choose to be and because their careers actually support the lives they want to live.
The candy cart was never the answer. It was never supposed to be. And, thanks for that Kit Kat. It really was good.
The real solution was never a snack, a gesture, or waiting for someone else to make the job feel manageable. It’s learning how to take ownership of your career in a way that actually supports your life.
That’s the work. That’s the freedom.
It’s your job to shape what’s next.
Maureen Gibbons has transitioned from a fulfilling career in emergency medicine to one where her skills, training, and passion for teaching yield unparalleled returns—physically, emotionally, and financially.
With over 25 years of mentoring experience across her roles as an athletic trainer, triathlon coach, sports nutritionist, and physician, Maureen founded Active Medical Solutions, a lifestyle medical practice. She also developed a simple yet powerful EMR designed for asynchronous care.
Dr. Moe’s own journey—marked by both successes and setbacks—has created a space for her to guide physicians and other high-level professionals toward improved health and transformative career paths.
She can be reached on TikTok, X @DrMoeGibbons, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and her website, Dr. Moe Coaching.
