DOCTOR ME FIRST WORKBOOK

YOU HAD IT ALL PLANNED OUT

from the moment you decided to go to med school

Diploma? Check. A supportive spouse who loves me as I am? Check. Kids, check. Big girl doctoring job that would save the world? On the surface this looked like the final checkmark, but it didn’t turn out quite how you expected.

I get it! The professional track that I had worked so long and hard for turned from dream to feeling like a nightmare.

In 2014, I felt like a robot, working day in and day out, while my dream of helping others and making a big impact slowly eroded. That feeling followed me home. It didn’t matter how loving my kids and husband tried to be, I never had enough energy to be fully present. And yet, I kept holding onto this version of my life because it was what I had planned.

I wanted to keep believing this was my calling, even though deep down, it wasn’t serving me or my family. Being a doctor was supposed to the pinnacle of all my hard work in med school and residency. It was supposed to bring me fulfillment and all the good feels.

But I was running on fumes.

CAN YOU RELATE?

a note from the author

I’d drop the kids off at daycare, commute to work still exhausted from the day before, down several cups of coffee to get through the day, walk or jog during lunch (if I got a lunch) to blow off steam and then do the reverse 10-12 hours later. Rinse and repeat daily.

The underlying truth here: Life changed but my plans didn’t.

I had mastered the art of ignoring the signs and was slowly going numb except for the strongest of emotions.

Sunday night was the worst of it and came with feelings of dread and despair. I was frustrated with how the healthcare system tried to fold me into knots instead of just doing (and paying for) what was right for my patients. I was frustrated by my day-to-day office flow and the disregard I faced as a physician because I was the junior in the group. I felt completely unseen and misused. But, in my mind, this was a sacrifice I had to make for my family. These were my golden handcuffs. 

At first, I thought I was quitting clinical medicine all together. In addition to finding a coach, I started brainstorming alternatives and searching for resources to help me. I couldn’t find it...there was no guide of “How to Unf*ck Your Life and Not Drown in Med School Debt.” But I was finding ways to change. Sometimes they were big steps and others, micro movements. When I started coaching other women physicians in 2015, I realized that many of the same battles I had faced, they were needing help with as well. 

Hence, Doctor Me First was born.

I couldn’t find a sassy, no BS workbook I needed at the time so I just wrote one! These are exercises that I personally used to recover from burnout and that I use on a weekly basis with my coaching clients all in one place. I’m far from being a perfect mom or doctor (#thestruggleisreal). But making changes in my career allowed me to experience joy again. I’ve become the mom and physician that I wanted to be. More importantly, I’ve become the person I wanted to be. 

 Overall, I am truly happy now. I hope the same for you, friend. Try our the Doctor Me First workbook. It can help you take a step away from what is causing you to feel wretched and towards what will help make your soul happier. You don’t have to know the whole plan, just the first step. Doctor Me First is a great first step to move you out of surviving and into thriving!