When a neurosurgeon tells you she thinks she would possibly wish to depart surgical procedure for inside design, you pay attention carefully.
Not as a result of it’s outrageous, however as a result of it’s trustworthy. Many physicians carry comparable longings. They ponder whether it’s OK to desire a totally different life.
In medication, conformity is anticipated and sometimes a way of survival. Particularly for girls in male-dominated fields. The unstated expectation is to mix in, push by, and by no means query the mould.
This neurosurgeon didn’t find yourself leaving. By reflection, assist, teaching, and a willingness to query long-held assumptions, she redesigned her relationship along with her profession and created a profession that match her genuine self.
She now practices in a nontraditional mannequin: Commuting for one week of scientific work, then returning house for a full week of relaxation, connection, and private life. What at first appeared like an imperfect compromise has develop into the inspiration of a deeply fulfilling life.
She is extra current along with her household. She has cultivated significant friendships. She reconnected with hobbies she as soon as believed didn’t belong within the lifetime of a neurosurgeon. On prime of all of it, she enjoys her scientific work once more.
Profession shifts aren’t merely logistical. They require us to vary our inner settings as nicely.
Virtually everybody who leaves a task in medication experiences the all-too-familiar narrative that in the event you step off the standard path, you have to not have been capable of “hack it.” The sensation of disgrace is common in medication.
Disgrace, blame, and guilt preserve many physicians working in conditions that aren’t aligned, not wholesome, and sometimes even poisonous. The disgrace we really feel shouldn’t be a sign of failure. It’s merely cultural conditioning.
Simply because medication, and particularly surgical procedure, wasn’t constructed for girls, it doesn’t imply we’ve got to stroll away. We are able to redesign our function in it.
Once we do that, all of us profit. Our sufferers obtain extra presence. Our households obtain extra connection. Our groups obtain extra grounded management. Extra importantly girls physicians get to like their work in medication and surgical procedure once more.
For those who really feel caught, misaligned, or quietly ashamed that the standard mannequin isn’t working for you, you’re not damaged. The system wasn’t constructed with you in thoughts. It wasn’t constructed for the sort of medication we follow in 2025.
This doesn’t imply there isn’t a path that may give you the results you want. It merely signifies that discovering an genuine path will take creativity, braveness, and assist.
Jessie Mahoney is a board-certified pediatrician, licensed coach, mindfulness and yoga instructor, and the founding father of Pause & Presence Teaching & Retreats. After almost twenty years as a doctor chief on the Permanente Medical Group/Kaiser, she stepped outdoors the standard medical mannequin to reimagine what sustainable well-being in well being care may appear to be. She may also be reached on Fb and Instagram.
Dr. Mahoney’s work challenges the tradition of overwork and self-sacrifice in medication. She helps physicians and leaders domesticate readability, intention, and steadiness—leveraging mindfulness, teaching, yoga, and life-style medication to create deep and lasting change. Her CME retreats provide a transformative area for therapeutic, self-discovery, and renewal.
As co-host of the podcast, Therapeutic Medication, she brings self-compassion and presence into the dialog round fashionable medical follow. A sought-after speaker and marketing consultant, she companions with organizations to construct extra human-centered, sustainable, and impressed medical cultures.
Dr. Mahoney is a graduate of Dartmouth Faculty and the College of California, San Francisco, Faculty of Medication.
