Episode #77: She didn’t leave medicine, she found joy in a new path

While many physicians experiencing burnout feel the best path for them is transitioning to a nonclinical job, others realize they have a clinical passion outside of their current specialty that reinvigorates their love for practicing medicine. This is what happened to today’s guest, Dr. Dana Muhlfelder, an EM physician who found joy and balance by pursuing work in the hospice and palliative care field. She’ll share how she realized she needed to explore additional career options, why she loves hospice and palliative care, and what she did to create a career that works for her. We’ll also learn about some steps you can take to explore this expanding and much needed area in medicine. You can find the show notes for this episode and more information by clicking here:

www.doctorscrossing.com/77

In this episode we’re talking about:

• What led Dr. Muhlfelder to search for professional fulfillment outside of the ER
• Why Dana finds end-of-life care to be so meaningful
• How she found a fellowship program that fit her needs
• What it was like completing a fellowship while working as an attending
• How Dr. Muhlfelder balances her two roles now
• Why Dana feels finding her new path saved her career
• How to pursue this career option if it interests you

Links for this episode:

American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine

Death Cafe

 

Book Recommendations

ON LIVING by Kerry Egan

BEING MORAL by Atul Gawande

MORTALITY by Christopher Hitchens

WHEN BREATH BECOMES AIR by Paul Kalanithi

IN SHOCK by Rana Awdish

THAT GOOD NIGHT by Sunita Puri

A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO THE END by BJ Miller