May is mental health awareness month. It was started in 1949 as a means to address the many challenges faced by millions of Americans living with mental health conditions.

I believe that health is so much more than the absence of illness or disease.

Today’s world presents many challenges and the physician population is not immune.

I held hope that the COVID-19 pandemic would shine a light on the problems within our healthcare system, especially the barriers that prevent physicians and other medical professionals from providing care for patients. 

If you’re a physician who has thought about making the leap to a nonclinical career, you’re not alone. 
In January 2022, the AMA published an article about medicine’s great resignation noting that 1 in 5 doctors plan to exit in 2 years. 
The surprising thing is that many physicians think about leaving medicine for years before they actually do it and some never take the steps required to make the change.
If you’ve been thinking about making the move for more than 6 months, here are a few myths that may be contributing to your delayed action.

When you’re unhappy with work, it takes a significant toll on other areas of your life. So much so, that it’s hard to find time to focus on finding something new.

When I meet with physicians to discuss the challenges they are facing in their career, one of the questions I ask is, “How long have you been thinking about making a change?”

Many have been thinking about it for several months to years before getting to the point where they were ready to take some (serious) action.

It all begins with an idea.