Preventing Physician Burnout Through Self Care

What if your medical career checks all the boxes and makes perfect sense on paper, but you are still feeling physician burnout. Just because something looks great on the outside, doesn’t mean it feels good on the inside.

Throughout her medical training, our guest this week, Dr. Chelsea Gonzalez experienced gentle nudges from her soul telling her to slow down. She felt this restlessness and this sense that something wasn’t quite right for her in medicine. Finally, one year after completing her fellowship training, she decided to listen to her soul. She took a leap of faith and left her clinical practice. What she didn’t know at the time was how monumental this decision was. It catapulted her on a path of self healing, self discovery and coming home to herself.

Listen in as Chelsea and Chelsea talk about reconnecting to yourself, listening to your soul, releasing perfectionism and the need for external validation, the importance of filling your own cup and so much more.

This episode is one that will nourish your soul and it’s one you do not want to miss! Tune in by using the audio player above or by searching “Life After Medicine” wherever you listen to podcasts.

What was causing her physician burnout?

Throughout her medical career, Chelsea experienced this underlying sense of physician burnout. She wasn’t able to take care of her own physical, emotional, mental and spiritual needs due to the high demands of medical training. She kept getting nudges from soul to slow down because something didn’t quite feel right. Through perfectionism, people pleasing and over committing, she gave too much of herself away and never filled her own cup.

As soon as she completed her medical training and got her first clinical job outside of medicine her burnout increased. The nudges from her soul transformed into screams and finally she chose to listen. She realized that for years she had been self betraying and self sabotaging by ignoring her intuition and it was finally time to listen. One year out from her training, she made the decision to leave clinical practice which triggered a journey of self love, self discovery and coming home to herself.

Listening to her physician burnout

For a while it was hard to admit that she was feeling burnout. Many physicians wear their burnout like a badge of honors. In the medical profession service gets blurred into self sacrifice and we expect ourselves to give until we are completely empty. Chelsea didn’t tell anyone she was struggling with burnout because she was worried it would make her appear weak.

She also didn’t quite understand her burnout and felt confused as to what was off in her career. On paper, her career checked all the boxes. She loves to learn and enjoys helping people, so why wasn’t medicine the right fit for her?

Her soul nudges came to her in the form of anxiety. She had panic attacks and had this underlying sense of restlessness, like she was looking for something. Now that she has the perspective of hindsight, she realized, she was looking for herself. Through her medical training she burned herself out trying to be perfect and lost herself trying to be good enough.

It took courage for Chelsea to finally be vulnerable and admit out loud “I am not ok.”

I burned myself out trying to be perfect and I lost myself trying to be good enough.
Chelsea Rose Gonzalez, DO

Creating spaciousness and presence after medicine

In order to leave her clinical practice, Chelsea took some time to map out how she was going to make it work financially. She had student loan bills to pay and needed to make ends meet and be responsible. However, she realized there are so many opportunities for alternative physician careers and was easily able to find her own blend of work to make ends meet.

After dealing with the practical/ responsible duties, she knew she needed to prioritize my own well being. Her soul was craving spaciousness. She wanted space to explore and play and create. First, she got clear on her values and looked at what was really important to her. Then she started exploring whatever she was curious about. Learning about shamanic medicine, Qigong, meditation ,yoga and breathwork all provided her pathways home to herself.

Since leaving her clinical job one year ago, Chelsea is so much more connected to the present moment. She feels more grounded in her body and what is unfolding around her. For so many years her life felt like a checklist which caused her to constantly be living in the future. Now she is learning how to live and bring herself back to the present moment.

Preventing physician burnout

In order to prevent physician burnout we must prioritize filling our own cups. Medical culture emphasizes over giving and self sacrifice, but this model of service (even with the purest of intentions) is simply not sustainable.

When our cups are empty and depleted we are not of service to anyone. Giving from a place of lack leads to unspoken resentment, bitterness and ultimately physician burnout. We are giving with expectations and when people don’t respond to our service in the way we think they should- it creates even further resentment.

When our cups are full and we prioritize ourselves there is plenty that overflows. Unconditional love involves giving without expectation. Giving because it feels good and it feeds your soul and it is just who you are. This type of giving comes from a drastically different place and has the potential for greater healing because of the abundant nature of its energy.

Taking charge of your own happiness

One of the biggest lessons that we can learn as adults is that we have the keys to our own happiness. At some point along her medical training, Chelsea realized she was in a cage. The cage was her comfort zone. It felt safe in the cage, but also she felt restricted and like she wasn’t able to grow any longer.

She realized that she had the keys to let herself out of the cage and even though it was scary to step out she took the leap. Being outside of the cage feels like freedom. She has also learned to create a sanctuary within herself where she loves and trusts herself. Then, no matter what is happening in the outside world, she can return to her own place of safety within herself, without compromising her freedom.