STEPPING OUTSIDE YOUR COMFORT ZONE
Career Aspirations
by JOHN J . WERNERT , MD
Have you ever thought about how life would be if you decided not to be a doctor ? I love being a doctor , but I often think of myself in another career . Don ’ t take me wrong , practicing and working in American health care can be an exhilarating career , and most often evolves to satisfying mission work in our care of other human beings . Even today with record levels of stress and burnout in the physician ranks , most doctors feel lucky to be caregivers and healers . Yet , doctors have always been smart students , hard workers and capable of doing many interesting jobs . Yet , as a psychiatrist and professional coach , I sadly hear from providers in all stages of their career that they are missing that feeling of accomplishment and fulfillment . Obviously , this depends on specialty choice , but with the stresses and workload , it is hard not to become jaded about our work in American health care . Maybe it ’ s time to get out of our comfort zone and do something different ?
I always thought that I was a pretty talented guy , and could probably earn a living doing lots of things . However , the business and myopia of college and medical school kept me on a narrow path , and it was not until several years out of training that the reality of life started to broaden my view of other exciting things to do . I was comfortable practicing medicine , but I needed something to challenge me in other ways than caring for patients .
I tried my hand in consulting with insurance plans ( boring ). I started several small companies ( not a great entrepreneur ). I got an MHA and tried administration ( bearer of bad news ). The one itch I never scratched was diving in to the messy business of politics .
I was politically involved from an early age . My mother was a Republican precinct judge here in Louisville , and we hosted some candidate events that really excited me . While in college at Bellarmine , I became the Republican precinct Captain of our Cherokee Park neighborhood – mainly Democrats then so we never won , and the work load was not very heavy . I got to attend some leadership conferences in Washington , D . C . and met with local candidates : heady stuff for an older teen . However , out of the University of Louisville School of Medicine , I matched at Indiana University and moved to Indianapolis . I started to practice adult and geriatric psychiatry with two respected senior partners and grew a family and a career . Busy and distracted , I never lost the yearning towards the machinations of the “ world politique .” It was not until after 10 years of practice that I felt compelled to step outside my comfort zone .
Politics is a messy business , a public enterprise played out in glaring social view by flawed individuals – just like you and me . Many citizens have become quite jaded in their assessment of our two-party system . Yet , we all recognize that our physician voices and opinions need to be heard and absorbed by those in the public policy realm . Some providers are actively engaged with political campaigns – contributing money or hosting events . Some have clinical relationships with politicians as patients , but only have
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