A Physician’s Journey to Getting Unstuck

There was a time when I felt stuck, when I felt trapped in my job. Working countless extra hours I did not sign up to finish the patient charts, the inbox tasks and the phone calls – not what I anticipated when I signed up to be an attending doctor. I felt especially stuck because what I was experiencing was not unique to my workplace. Sure, different medical practices have different characteristics, and it is a matter of choosing what is more tolerable for you.

Feeling stuck is not a pleasant feeling. Imagine yourself being trapped in quicksand, or a box that you barely fit in. That almost suffocating feeling I was experiencing for a while. How did I get unstuck – without changing my job?

Awareness is always the first step. Have the awareness of how you are feeling, what you are feeling and why you are feeling it. When you are feeling stuck, get to the bottom of the reason behind it. Be as specific as possible. Why? Instead of thinking that “my job” makes me feel stuck, ask yourself which part of your job is doing it. For me, the biggest challenge was working all those extra hours. When I work, I work hard. I remember there were days I would work for hours non-stop, skip lunch and use the bathroom for the first time at 3 pm. Looking back, that was really detrimental to my health. I felt stuck because I felt trapped in a job working the unrecognized hours that I did not volunteer. It was as if I had no life. I could not spend more time with my family. I could not enjoy time outside of work. The once joyful experience of patient connection became a routine I wanted over with, because I was beyond exhaustion. I was barely surviving.

I still remember there were days I was still hopeful, hopeful that I would finish work earlier. I tried to do things a little differently. Nothing seemed to be working. That added more to feeling frustrated, flustered and annoyed. Those emotions certainly added oil to the fire that kept me feeling stuck. Was there really no way to get unstuck other than quitting my job? The location and the financial compensation were things I could not find easily with another job. Not to mention I enjoyed working with my coworkers.

Another thing I learned is to stay curious and keep an open mind. Even though I believed that I had tried “everything”, there was likely at least one other thing I had not tried. Along with being curious, it is essential to believe that there is another way. You may not have figured it out yet, and that way is out there for you to discover. Without this belief, it is easy for you to give up prematurely. I would have quit my job many years ago. What if you could have figured it out after the twentieth attempt and you quit at nine?

Besides being curious, having an open mind and trying different ways, learning from your experiences will expedite your growth and narrow the path of what to try or not to try.

Like doing everything else, when you are feeling really stuck, ask for help. That was what I did. I identified what caused me to feel stuck – I thought that I had no life working all those extra hours at nights and on the weekends only to catch up with work. I knew way too well how stuck felt. I tried different things by myself and nothing seemed to work. So I looked for help. When you feel stuck, when you have tried different things, ask for help. Ask someone who is an expert in the field. Someone out there is offering a solution you are looking for – you just need to find who it is. I asked for help from a physician coach and I never looked back. That was the best thing that happened for work. Now I am working at the same place, seeing the same number of patients, and going home by 5 pm without having to bring work home. I get to enjoy the doctor-patient connection again. My life is back. I get to spend more time with my family. I get to do things I enjoy. I even get the privilege to coach other physicians to do the same.

You can do it too! You do not have to feel stuck and stay stuck. If you have not figured out how to get unstuck, ask for help. There is someone waiting to help you. Together, we have power. We help one another so we are all winners who can move forward to better things.