Here’s a physician who’s living what many doctors daydream about. He didn’t just get out of medicine.
Read Matt’s post below to inspire your own dreams.
Enjoy!
Getting out of Medicine
I have a friend who, like me, is an emergency physician. He’s also a racecar driver – and a damn good one. He’s good not just because he’s got talent on the track but because he spends hundreds of hours working on and understanding his car.
For my friend, racing has been an antidote to the strain of medicine. But it’s not enough. He’s been burning out.
At some point it occured to me that my friend and his car are not so different. They function in high-pressure, high-stakes situations, asked to perform optimally. Mistakes are not tolerated. Performance is the priority.
Medicine and racing have a lot in common.
The difference is in the maintenance. For example, my friend knows how important it is to change the oil in his car. He knows that if he doesn’t there is a very predictable series of events that will ensue.
First, as the oil degrades, its ability to cool the engine decreases and the risk of overheating increases. Second, as more debris accumulates in the oil, it thickens, decreasing the efficiency of the engine. Finally, as metal on metal friction increases, engine damage occurs. Ultimately, the heat generated can essentially weld the pistons and cylinders together.
Catastrophic failure.
As I worried about my friend, it struck me that many physicians I know are like vehicles in various stages of neglect. They are not functioning as well as they could. Grinding on. Damaged.
Physicians commit suicide three times more often than the population at large. Something about modern medicine is toxic to our own well-being. There is an epidemic of catastrophic failure.
Why do so many of us take better care of our cars than ourselves? I think our system is inherently designed this way.