i am not happy working as a doctor , what should i do ,aged 32?

Question

i am fed up with medicine .
i am sick of work pressure .
i feel i am burnt out .
i am exhausted .
my mother has just died from a brain haemorrhage 2 months ago and she couldn't be saved , so i am feeling demoralised and whats the point .
we are all going to die anyway .ihave become fatalistic. what ever i do , isnt going to change anything anymore.
but i dont know what else to do with my life .
i am not thinking clearly , but i need a break and cant afford not to be working .i am confused and lonely.

Answer 1

Oh Sweetie... I'm so sorry about your mom. I went through the same sort of thing with my mom. She passed suddenly on Mother's day, it was totally unexpected. Of course you feel fed up and burnt out. I've friends that are doctors - it's the nature of my business... I think that even without the stressors you've experienced, it's a tough job.
You know... when you're a student, intern and resident, it's like being an indentured servant. No sleep, low pay, on call, running around like a crazy person and hoping you're not going to hurt someone or make them worse - while the on staff treat you like worms.
Then when you're actually in practice, your student loans start chasing you. It's a field where people think - heck you're a doctor you must be rolling in the dough. Right.
.... Anyway. You do need a break. In the past 3 years I've lost my mom, my sister, my son and my dad. All sudden - two suicides. I wish that it was still the custom to wear black armbands - to let people know that you're in mourning and to treat you with tenderness and consideration.
Folks expect you to be back to normal in too short a time. I spent a lot of time in shock and numb. Too numb to even cry.
Please allow yourself the feelings.

Here's a quote that helped me. It's by Mary Margaret Funk.

"When tears come, I breathe
deeply and rest. I know
I am swimming in a
hallowed stream
where many have gone
before. I am not alone,
crazy, or having a
nervous breakdown...
My heart is at work,
my soul is awake."

Please find someone you can talk to. Don't be brave. Don't put on a strong face. Lay your head in their lap and cry until you're done crying. Then rest. Then go back work AND.... put a plan into action to get out of the environment you're in and into one that is more about treating the spirit not the disease.

Please feel free to email me. I can speak from the heart.

Answer 2

Actually all you need is to refocus your strengths in helping others. I think volunteering in some other area as a doctor can bring joy back in the profession for you. I am a nurse and believe sometimes I just want to hit a patient in the head with the bed pan. But you did all that work so you must be good at it even a little! Sorry about your mom. The loss of a mother can be very overwhelming and unbearable. I hope, truly, that you have someone you can talk to.

Answer 3

I'm sorry to hear about your mother. Want to make a difference again? Try alternative medicine.

In 1990, I had Hodgkin's Lymphoma, stage 3-B, but I've survived. During the year in treatment, I started learning about alternative medicine.

Here's what I've figured out--FIRST, somebody--probably from the AMA--is getting my answers deleted as 'not a question or an answer', because they don't want you to know about it. So if you want to keep this information, you need to copy it to a wordpad document quickly, before it disappears. Hopefully, they'll give up and stop that nonsense soon. Now, here goes--

Cancer is caused by poor nutrition (including oxygen) and stressors. Stressors can be environmental, like heavy metals, food additives or pollution, or emotional or job stress.
Our bodies have 60 trillion--yes, trillion--cells, and there are always some mutating into cancer cells, but a healthy immune system kills them before they have a chance to get a foothold in the body.
It takes a LONG time, usually, or an exrtaordinary amount of stressors, to degrade the immune system to the point where it won't do its job, but once cancer has formed, it can spread rapidly.


THIS IS IMPORTANT! There are ways to BEAT cancer that the AMA is keeping from the American public, that are being used in Europe and around the world. Here is some information that is getting hard to find--

"The Cure for All Cancers", ISBN 0963632825;
"A Cancer Therapy", ISBN 0882681052;
"Hydrogen Peroxide--Medical Miracle", ISBN 1885236077;
"The Natural Cure for Cancer--Germanium", ISBN 0533071410;
"Killing Cancer", ISBN 0705000966.


Type 'used books' into your browser and find a good site, then type in the ISBN numbers and get some great help cheap.

I know of people whose cancer has 'spontaneously remitted' (WENT AWAY for no known reason) after they went on a program of herbs and nutrition.

The American Medical Association (AMA) and the pharmaceutical companies control medical law in this country, and they are in it for the money, and don't care about individuals. You and your family must look out for yourselves to stand a chance of being healthy.

This is not a joke, and I'm not selling anything. Look into it. Best of luck

Answer 4

Perhaps if you are no longer happy in your job, you need to look at what would make you happy. Try maybe taking stress leave, perhaps talking with either friends and family, or a psychiatrist, and look at what you want in life. Dealing with a tragic loss like you have, and with there having been nothing that could be done, it makes it hard to see things in a positive light. Perhaps if you have not dealt with the loss, that is something you need to do. As for us all dying anyways, yes.... at some point we will. But there are things that can be done to prolong life for some.... As for the not being able to afford to work, maybe check into what would be available while you are not working, such as medical stress leave, medical EI, etc, depending on where you are from, and what you have available to you. Hope this helps.....

Answer 5

It's understandable. You lost your mom and medicine did not save her.

Sometimes I feel like you, too. I feel that no matter what I try, things happen anyway. And when you know a little piece nobody will listen. And then, when I make a mistake it feels so overwhelming.

But in spite of that, I go on. Some people do get better. Somebody's pain is relieved.
I hope to become a better doctor. It doesn't matter if I am not perfect right now.

Please don't give up.
Medicine is worth it.

Answer 6

When was the last time you took a long vacation ? You need a break, you need a changed environment to get yourself out of the sorry state you are in. You need to get up and leave ... give yourself space and time, pamper yourself. You have done well being a doctor, you have saved lives, you have given comfort to others. It is time you give comfort to yourself. A smart person like yourself will surely not allow yourself to stay long in the situation you are now in. Get out, live on a low budget for a while, you don't have to work as a doctor if it depresses you. Survive on odd jobs until you feel better. Time is the best healer. The best is yet to be.

Answer 7

Your feeling are understandable and perfectly normal considering your loss. I work in a doctors office. Are you self employed or do you belong to an organization? It sounds like your schedule is running you-not you running it. A change could be helpful such as longer appointment times for every other patient, coming in later and starting later for one afternoon a week and taking the afternoon off Mondays following an on call weekend. One of my physicians has off two pm a week and stays an hour longer twice a week. You could help yourself by getting involved in grief counseling. EAP was very helpful and confidential for me when I had a family loss. I hope you do well.

Answer 8

Please get help!
You can make a big difference in the world. Maybe you need a change of scenery. You have had a big misfortune, with the death of your mother. Yes, we are all going to die, but you can make a difference while we are here.
Maybe you should look for work in a different city, state, or even country. Get a fresh start if you need to, but don't give up. What is your specialty. I live in a great affordable area, and my husband runs a few physician practices. They are always looking for someone, so you can, and you should, stick with it!

Answer 9

Dear Doctor, I am a nurse and have been in medicine since 2001.
We all feel that our profession can be hard to deal with, especially when we have major issues in our own lives to contend with.
PLEASE REALIZE THAT YOU ARE A PERSON:A HUMAN BEING BEFORE YOU ARE A DOCTOR. People not in medicine don't understand that we are people too, and they just look to us to solve their problems witout consideration that we have families and parents and problems in our lives too
Please take a medical leave and get counseling, talk to someone or I like to take vacations to clear my mind,go somewhere peaceful or bring closure to the death of your mother( visit her grave or make a donation in her name.
Please don't give up,I had to deal with my father's death from cancer last year while I was working in Hem/Onc in the hospital.
I understand how you feel. You will get through this, fix yourself before you try to fix your patients.

Answer 10

Most doctors hate their jobs. Why? because medicine sucks. Most of the people that go into the field only go into it because they fantasized it. They spend so much time watching tv (which is unrealistic medicine), that they start to think that medicine is something its not. Being a decent doctor means you have to constantly keep up with changes in medical technology, and most doctors don't, leaving a lot of people with substandard medical care from old doctors that are too lazy to keep up with med advancements.