“I know I still care about my patients, but I’m not sure if I love practicing medicine.”Paddy Barrett, MD shares his insights on balancing the work of medicine and the art of medicine.
Unfortunately, many physicians share your sentiment. It’s important to recognize the elements of a job that we love and those that cause us the most frustration. Too often, amidst the frustrations with poorly designed EMRs and seemingly endless battles with insurance companies, there is a casualty. And that casualty is our love for the art of medicine.
As physicians, when we begin to dislike that which we love, we find it difficult to recognize why we deal with all the frustrations we face on a day-to-day basis. The key to keeping your passion alive for the art we practice is realizing our irritations are with the work of medicine, not the art of medicine. How do we do that? It starts with insight and realizing what it is you can change about your work.
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