Good morning, friends.
I'm on vacation for the next week and a half, and as always, it's much needed. Like many in the medical profession, I struggle with burnout. It's a significant dilemma for me because the work is so deeply meaningful, and I also love the people I work with.
As medicine becomes more bureaucratic, complex, and bottom-line-driven, it can feel like I'm swimming upstream to do what I actually want to do, which is care for and support my patients.
A fundamental question we all face in our lives from time to time is this: is it worth it? I've worked with an underserved population my entire career as a nurse practitioner, and the complexity and severity of what ails these people, in combination with the limitations of resources, is a serious challenge both professionally and emotionally.
For now, what I love about what I do is still winning out, but I'm realizing that for my own sake, the time is nigh when it will be time to hang up my stethoscope and pursue other things. I have much else to offer my community aside from my medical skills and other interests that I feel increasingly need my attention.
But for now, I rest and recharge and then get back out there to try and heal others as best I can.