Heather is a certified coach and owner and founder of Doctor’s Crossing. It's there that she works with physicians who are seeking to renew and reinvigorate their careers and avoid burnout.

After practicing for 9 years in her own successful dermatology practice, she made the difficult decision to leave her practice and pursue a calling to serve others in a different way.

Having gone through a career transition, she is able to integrate her experience, training, and abiding interest in her work to help other physicians find happiness, success, and fulfillment in their own lives and careers.

After reading her blog post, I thought it would be helpful to physician leaders and to physicians considering a career transition. Here are her recommendations on the subject of personality types and burnout. 

Burning Out? Recommendations For Your Personality Type

I really, really wish I could change the healthcare system so it would stop burning out so many hardworking doctors. I would gladly be out of a job if it meant this soul-crushing medical system cared half as much about doctor satisfaction as it did about patient scores.

But sadly, I know I alone will not change the system. So every day I ask, “How can I help my doctor clients avoid burnout?”

It’s not a magic wand, but what I offer here is a tool to help you better understand your risk factors for burnout based on personality type, and provide recommendations for healthy coping strategies.

My approach is based on the Enneagram Personality System, which has 9 basic personality types (ennea means nine). If you don’t already know your type, you can take the most accurate $12 Full RHETI test – by clicking here. Alternatively, you can read through the descriptions and see which ones best fit you. Even though you will only have one primary personality type, aspects of the other types are present in you to a lesser or greater degree. This is a long blog, so it is fine to just read the section for your type!

The Reformer/Perfectionist: High standards, wants to do the right thing, disciplined, focused on improvements. Wants to avoid mistakes, can be self-critical, judgmental of others.

Risk Factors:

• Working in an environment where integrity & respect are lacking
• Being obsessive/compulsive regarding charting and tasks
• Feeling guilty when relaxing and not being “productive”
• Having difficulty delegating and trusting others to do a good job
• Having a harsh inner critic

Recommendations: Since you have a very high degree of integrity and care deeply that things are done correctly, you can suffer greatly in a work environment that is not aligned with your values. You may be spending extra time and energy trying to change a system that does not see things as you do. If this is the case and conflict is arising, you may need to find a different approach or a better job fit.

You have high standards for your work, including documentation, but if charting is taking an inordinate amount of time, do a trial period of more succinct notes for two weeks. You can always go back to the longer notes, but perhaps shorter notes (with even a few typos) may be acceptable.

The Type One has a very strong inner critic, which can be very hard on itself (and others). See how it feels to take on a kinder, more forgiving tone with yourself. There is often a subconscious fear in Ones that if they give themselves a little slack, they will turn into slackers, but this is not a risk! Allow yourself more freedom for guilt-free indulgence, and simple, pure fun.

The Helper: Enjoys doing for others and being needed. Warm, compassionate, connecting. Can over-do and get caught in people-pleasing.

Risk Factors for Burnout:

• Becoming overcommitted
• Having difficulty saying “No” and setting boundaries
• Allowing others to take advantage of the desire to please
• Losing focus on your own needs and wants
• Being overly empathic and suffering compassion fatigue

Recommendations: You truly enjoy helping others, connecting and seeing how you can meet the needs of others. As a physician, this can put you at high risk for compassion fatigue and burnout from giving too much. Examine your current personal and professional commitments. Where are you being stretched too thin? What can you let go of?

Before saying “yes” to additional commitments, press the pause button and consider whether this obligation serves you. Is it something YOU want to do? Take stock of your self-care and personal time. Is all your time going towards work and family, with little left over for you?

Try putting yourself first for a few weeks and see how that changes things. To do this, you will likely need to ask for more from others and redefine some boundaries. If others’ needs are so important, why would yours not be just as important?

The Achiever: Focused on accomplishments and getting things done. Motivating, efficient, adaptable. Likes to check off boxes and climb the ladder. Image conscious, competitive.

Risk Factors for Burnout:

• Looking to achievement for self-worth
• Being a workaholic
• Losing self in the pursuit of goals/status
• Letting relationships suffer from neglect
• Having difficulty slowing down and just “being”

Recommendations: You excel at setting goals and achieving. You thrive from performing well and having the high regard of others. Doing so can result in career success and a great CV, but it can also leave you feeling empty and disconnected from your heart. Ask yourself what is important about your goals, why do they matter to you? What have you had to sacrifice to achieve your goals? Are there other things more important to you now?

As an Achiever Type, you may have put your feelings aside to reach your goals. Slow down in order to find out what is driving the achievement. Ask yourself if there is something else your heart desires. Even in spite of significant achievement, Threes can have self-esteem issues.

A good counter to this is fully accepting who you are, and letting go of comparisons with others. Finding your own authenticity and being comfortable with all aspects of yourself, including your appearance, will create more inner peace than any outer achievement.

The Individualist/Romantic: Values self-expression, creativity, and finding meaning. Well-developed aesthetic sense, stylish. May be moody and overly sensitive.

Risk Factors for Burnout:

• Working in an environment that is a mismatch for your True Self
• Being hypersensitive to criticism, feeling shame from mistakes
• Being prone to moodiness, melancholy, depression
• Becoming quickly dissatisfied with accomplishments, circumstances or people
• Allowing emotions to get in the way of staying on task, not being disciplined

Recommendations: You are highly creative, intuitive, and seek meaning and connection in your work. As you like to express your ideas and unique approach, a work environment that is too confining and does not value your individuality will not be a good fit.

Having a job primarily for income will not be sustainable. Look for ways to custom tailor your work to match you. Allow yourself time for creative pursuits in your personal life: writing, music, interior design, acting, cooking, etc.

If your emotions are getting in the way of finishing more mundane jobs such as charting and completing projects, habitually schedule specific times for these tasks on your calendar. Melancholy is pretty common for this type; but if you find yourself slipping into depression, seek help. See where you can acknowledge the goodness in yourself and what you have created in your life and find satisfaction there, without anything having to be different.

The Investigator/Observer: Tireless learner and experimenter. Perceptive, innovative. More comfortable acquiring knowledge and working with ideas than interacting with others. May feel socially awkward. Likes time alone for thinking.

Risk Factors for Burnout:

• Excessive patient and staff interactions (strong introversion)
• Having to be in a noisy, busy clinic or hospital setting
• Feeling intellectually stagnant in routine practice
• Avoiding dealing with issues because of emotional content
• Being preoccupied with “what if’s” – worries, scary thoughts

Recommendations: You are an innovator and deep thinker. Your ideal work setting is one where you can focus deeply without interruptions and work independently in your area(s) of interest. A clinic setting with high patient volume, interruptions, and too many routine cases is going to burn you out quickly.

Diversifying patient care with research, teaching, and projects can be helpful. Try to find a quiet place to do your work and ask others to minimize their interruptions.

Wealth and prestige are not huge motivators for you, but internal success is. You do what you do because it fascinates and intrigues you. If your work is not feeding this need, it may be valuable to reexamine your job/career.

The Loyalist/Questioner: Dependable, hardworking, reliable. Wants to know the rules, do what’s expected. Engaging, loyal. Concerned with security and preparing for the future. Prone to “what if” thinking and anxiety. ***At least half of my clients are Type 6’s. Very common for doctors.

Risk Factors for Burnout:

• Over-working and preparing in order to exceed expectations
• Worrying about patients and catastrophizing
• Focusing on problems instead of possibilities
• Staying in a bad situation out of loyalty
• Being uncomfortable with uncertainty – (change is hard)
• Experiencing self –doubt (second guessing decisions)

Recommendations: You excel in organizations due to your hard work, problem-solving abilities, people skills, and desire to exceed expectations. Able to make sense of large amounts of complex information, you can readily explain things to others in simple terms. You easily over-work yourself, so set healthy limits on your own expectations and set boundaries in your work environment.

Because anxiety and self-doubt can be an issue, make a realistic assessment of your abilities and have more confidence in your own decision-making capacity. Try to avoid spending unnecessary time second-guessing yourself and asking other’s opinions. Pay attention to how often you are worrying about the future.

See what you can take care of in the moment to relieve your anxiety, and counter the habit of perseverating. Trust that you have the resources, both internal and external, to meet what the future holds. This trust can help you move forward if you need to face uncertainty in order to make positive changes.

The Enthusiast/Adventurer: Optimistic, social, multiple interests and activities. Resists limits. Can become easily bored, scattered.

Risk Factors for Burnout:

• Becoming bored from limitations of routine practice
• Being impatient and seeking adventure can lead to impulsive decisions, risk taking
• Getting scattered from too many spinning plates
• Becoming dissatisfied with present, focusing on future
• Avoiding underlying issues/anxiety by keeping busy

Recommendations: You are a glass is half full kind of person and bring energy, high spirits, and a sense of adventure and fun to those around you. You will do best in a work environment with a lot of variety, stimulation, and interaction with others.

Jobs where you can take on new projects and then move on, such as consulting, or jobs with excitement and the fast pace of the ER are good options. If you’re feeling bored in your career, take time to understand yourself and your needs before leaping into something else.

Be careful not to overload yourself with so many activities that you get scattered, impatient and drained. The desire for adventure and excitement, and avoidance of anxiety and pain, can make it hard to be present and enjoy the now.

The Challenger/Asserter: Assertive, big energy, likes to be in control, lead others. Entrepreneurial, may be a risk taker. Will suffer in order to protect others. Not overly concerned with others’ opinions. Avoids vulnerability.

Risk Factors for Burnout:

• Pushing beyond healthy limits, overworking
• Getting into conflict/power struggles
• Not wanting to show vulnerability, not seeking help
• Taking risks that jeopardize financial stability

Recommendations: As a Type 8, you like challenges, autonomy, truth, and being able to be your own boss. You may be in a surgical subspecialty and or have a leadership role. You are no stranger to hard work, and may put in longer hours than your colleagues. However, know that you’re human too, and need rest and healthy limits.

Take a look at your weekly schedule. Are you overdoing it? Is there any downtime? Try to understand what is driving you to push yourself so hard. What do you want to achieve from your efforts? If you tend to be overly self-sufficient, see where you might allow others to meet some of your needs and provide support for you.

There may be times when you are feeling passionate about something, but others may interpret this as anger. A rousing discussion to you could feel like an argument to someone else. If you are experiencing conflict with others, it could be helpful to hear their perspective and solicit feedback.

The Peacemaker: Grounded, calm, agreeable. Goes-with-the-flow and keeps peace at any cost. Able to see all sides of a situation. Patient. Non-confrontational.

Risk Factors for Burnout:

• Putting others needs, wants, and preferences first
• Failing to advocate for self by being conflict avoidant
• Having difficulty knowing what you really want
• Procrastinating, escaping reality (reading/TV, etc)
• Discounting your value, selling yourself short

Recommendations: You bring a calm, accepting energy to your workplace and like to be in a comfortable environment where you feel connected to others and valued. You listen deeply and have a gift for seeing things from someone else’s perspective without judgment. These are great things, however your adaptability and sensitivity to others can cause you to lose sight of your own needs and wants.

Often there is something you need to express or ask of someone else, but you discount its importance or do not want to stir up conflict. Try writing out exactly what you want to say or ask for, whether it is to your boss, spouse, colleague or friend. Find a diplomatic way to then address the issue.

It is important for you to know that you can have a voice and express yourself. As a type 9, you may be staying way too long in a job that you don’t like. Inertia can take over and days can turn into years. Procrastination is rarely due to laziness. There is usually some underlying fear, concern, or false belief that is maintaining the status quo. Give yourself a pinch, set a deadline for action, and know that when you align with your own inner driver, you are unstoppable.

Final Note. One reason I like the Enneagram system is because it is a tool for personal transformation. For each of the nine types, the Enneagram system describes nine levels of psychological health, offering a roadmap for moving up the levels, thus enabling us to live from our highest, truest self. The things that challenge us about our type, often become our greatest gifts, as we learn who we really are, beyond the structure of the personality

Want to learn more?

Enneagram Institute Website

Books:

The Wisdom of the Enneagram by Riso and Hudson

Bringing Out the Best in Yourself at Work: How to Use the Enneagram System for Success by Lapid-Bogda

The Career Within You: How to Find the Perfect Job for Your Personality Type, by Wagele and Stabb

The resources above were used to help create the content of this blog. The focus on physician burnout is my own and does not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the authors. [Heather Fork]

VPE : I hope you enjoyed this post. I think it provides a useful framework to use when thinking about our own personality types and how we respond to stress and burnout. I'm very grateful to Dr. Fork for allowing me to reprint it here.

Please sign up for the newsletter, to keep you updated on the latest posts and podcast episodes, and to provide other useful information shared ONLY in the newsletter.

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Next Steps

Please add your thoughts and questions in the Comments. I will respond to them all.

Don't forget to SHARE this post, SUBSCRIBE Here and complete a SURVEY .

Contact me: johnjurica@nonclinical.buzzmybrand.net

Thanks for joining me.

The post Personality Types and Physician Burnout with Heather Fork appeared first on NonClinical Physicians.

Besides, numerous surveys of, and interviews with, successful business leaders and entrepreneurs report the importance of following one's passion. 

But there are two serious statistical concepts at play that place such advice on shaky ground.

Bad Advice

The first is that correlation does not equal causation. To the contrary, it's quite possible that success fosters passion. It's perfectly logical to become passionate about a career that has brought fame and fortune.

The second is survivorship bias. Yes, a high percentage of successful persons declare that passion was responsible for their success. But for every successful business owner, there are often many unsuccessful business owners.

About 60% of new restaurants fail within 3 years. Most of the founders were probably passionate about starting a restaurant. But if they were all passionate when they started (including the failures), then the correlation with success is zero at best.

Yet we never hear from the unsuccessful business founders or career seekers. Who would interview someone about being a failure?

So, the presence of passion itself probably does not correlate with success, just as the TV show American Idol has demonstrated that passion for singing does not correlate with the ability to sing well.

This particular example was mentioned by Ben Horowitz  when he spoke at some length about passion while presenting the commencement address to the class of 2015 at Columbia University .

He described why passion is probably overrated as a reason to follow a career path or create a business:

1. You probably have several passions, so which do you choose?
2. Passions change over time.
3. Your passion does not always correlate with your abilities.
4. Following your passion is too self-centered.

Horowitz’s advice was to “follow your contribution.”

Lessons From “Dirty Jobs”

Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs fame, seems to agree with Horowitz. Based on his talking with dozens of people doing “dirty jobs,” he's found that his hosts often developed a love for a particular job after they had done it for a while and become reasonably good at it. He clearly advises against following your passion.

He recommends following opportunity to select a job. Look for what's needed in a market, get good at the job, and prosper by being good at it. The excitement and passion follow because the job has become so prosperous. He also agrees that passion and ability often do NOT correlate, so pursuing a career based on passion, but lacking in ability, can be a terrible waste of time.

Unexpected Findings

Several years ago, I was reviewing the results of our recent Top 100 Hospital designation. At the time, there were nine categories that hospitals and health systems were ranked on. These nine compromised a pretty good balanced scorecard and we had put several specific programs in place to address the Top 100 measures.

As I looked over our results for each of the nine categories, I was surprised by the following observation. We had performed slightly below average to somewhat above average on most of the measures. There were only two in which we had performed significantly above average.

Yet, here we were, one of the top performing hospitals in the country based on this basket of quality, financial and satisfaction measures. And we were certainly not top ranked in most of them.

I found that it was more important to rank average to above average across the board, than to perform exceptionally well in one or two measures. Apparently, most hospitals have difficulty performing average to slightly above average in all measures, even though they may be spectacular in one or two, because very few hospitals are able to achieve a Top 100 rating even once.

By consistently pushing on all of the important domains, from mortality rate, to length of stay, profit margin and patient satisfaction, we were able to outperform most of the other hospitals in the country in terms of overall performance.

That was an eye-opening realization for me.

Unorthodox Career Advice

The second bit of advice concerning preparation for a career change has to do with those who have not yet decided exactly which career to follow. Especially if you're early in your clinical career and uncertain of which direction to go, the tactics for finding a new career, in addition to forgetting about your passion, may be to abandon goals and start acquiring skills.

Just as the top healthcare organizations don't have to be the best in every major hospital performance measure, the most successful leaders may not need to be experts in every leadership skill.

In his book How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big, Scott Adams describes how he came to be a nationally recognized, award-winning writer of the Dilbert cartoon.

He explains that it wasn’t his passion or intense study of humor or drawing. It wasn’t his having spent 10,000 or 20,000 hours learning his craft.

It resulted from his being mediocre to reasonably good in several, apparently disparate, fields:

1. Drawing
2. Business
3. Writing
4. Early adopter of technology (the Internet)
5. Sense of humor

He writes that combining his mediocre skills in each of these areas enabled him to achieve outstanding success in the area of writing a funny comic strip about characters in an imaginary work setting. And he had no idea that these skills would come together to make him wildly successful. He also suggests that his success contributed to his eventual passion for writing Dilbert.

Increase Your Odds of Success

His rough estimate is that each additional skill doubles our chance of success. Here is the list of skills that Adams recommends everyone become reasonably good at:

• Public speaking
• Psychology
• Business writing
• Accounting
• Design (the basics)
• Conversation
• Overcoming shyness
• Second language
• Golf
• Proper grammar
• Persuasion
• Technology (hobby level)
• Proper voice technique

To reiterate, Adams is a proponent of “stacking average skill sets” until a combination of skills creates an above average mix.

My Take On Choosing Skills to Stack

I don’t completely agree with Adam's list, especially for physicians looking to move into a new (nonclinical) career. I would probably make some adjustments, dropping golf and combining some items to come up with my starting list:

• Writing (includes, spelling and grammar skills)
• Public speaking (includes “voice technique”)
• Second language
• Accounting (and finance)
• Psychology and persuasion (includes negotiating skills)

I'm assuming that most clinicians have already developed a set of skills that serve them well and are already in play:

• Leadership
• Composure (ability to work under pressure)
• Strong work ethic
• Communication (one on one)
• Logical thinking and a working understanding of the scientific method
• Human physiology and biochemistry
• Focus/Concentration

Then stacking additional skills would open the possibilities for other career choices:

• Legal concepts and resistance to criticism, to be an expert witness
• Healthcare finances, running meetings, project management and writing, for hospital or medical group management
• Case management and conflict resolution, to be a medical advisor
• Basic or applied research, writing, and statistics and epidemiology, to be a medical writer

In reality, many of these careers share certain skill sets, as shown in the following graphic.

Final Take-aways

When considering a career in management, or any other nonclinical field, I recommend this unorthodox career advice:

1. Don't spend too much time worrying about finding your passion. Ultimately, your passion may find you, or develop along the way.
2. Identify and develop useful skills that will compliment those you've already acquired during years of education and training.
3. Focus on acquiring additional skill sets (quantity) rather than on perfecting a smaller set of such skills (quality or mastery).

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Can you think of times when adding new skills was more important that honing established ones?

Was there a time when following your passion was a waste of time, or even harmful?

Next Steps

Please add you're thoughts in the Comments.

SHARE this post, SUBSCRIBE Here and complete a SURVEY .

Email me: at johnjurica@nonclinical.buzzmybrand.net or record a voice message.

Until next time.

The post Effective But Unorthodox Career Advice appeared first on NonClinical Physicians.

But my wife answered. She determined that the caller wanted to speak to me. After clearing my head for a few seconds and focusing on what the caller was trying to tell me, I finally heard:

“This is Maya. I am calling to tell you that my father, Kan, died earlier this week.”

I quickly apologized for not recognizing her more quickly. She apologized for calling in the middle of the night (it was 4:30 PM in Japan where her call originated).

I thanked her profusely for informing me and expressed my condolences. I told that her father was truly a good friend and special person who would be sorely missed.

Digesting the News

Returning to bed, I was unable to sleep for several hours. I dozed for an hour or two, then got up at 5:30 A.M. and had a cup of coffee.

Shake out the cobwebs.

Kan and I met when I was working as a food chemist at Kraft Foods Research and Development in the late 1970s. I had graduated with a bachelor's degree in chemistry and started working at Kraft shortly thereafter. During my orientation, I met another newly hired food scientist, Thomas Stratton, Ph.D.

I didn’t meet Kan until some months later when Tom arranged a meeting of the three of us to discuss rooming together. I was the youngest and least educated of the three of us. Kan was also a Ph.D. chemist.

At our meeting, Kan seemed to be an aloof, highly intelligent scientist. After a short conversation, we agreed to work out an arrangement in which we would rent a house together less than a mile from Kraft R & D in Glenview, Illinois.

Having grown up as the oldest of ten children, I had developed some independence. I had been working since I was 12 years old (sweeping floors in the Catholic grammar school I attended). I saved my money, put myself through college with a little help from my grandfather and was financially responsible for myself throughout.

But I was still living at home. So at 22 years of age, I was ready to move out. Living in a four-bedroom bungalow with my parents, two brothers and seven sisters, all sharing two bathrooms, was a strong incentive to get out.

It was one of the best decisions I ever made.

Time to Move Out

Following that initial meeting, we found a large two-story house and the three of us arranged to rent it, sharing all of the expenses equally.

A Glenview home.

Needless to say, I came to know Kan very well. At twenty-nine years old, he was a brilliant, intense, traditional Japanese gentleman. He was also inquisitive and at times eccentric.

A Unique Roommate

He taught me to appreciate Japanese cuisine, eat gohan (rice) with hashi (chopsticks), and cook Tonkatsu.

He was intensely committed to learning, and fascinated with computing. Having obtained the 8080 and earliest 8086 microprocessors, he built his own desktop computer, and began programming.

He wanted to be ambidextrous, so he stopped using his right hand and forced himself to do everything with his left hand for several months.

I learned that while in graduate school he wanted to learn piano. So he used his knowledge of music from his early school days and began playing and memorizing Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, one measure at a time. Within 10 months, he was able to play it flawlessly.

Self taught piano.

That taught me that anyone can learn a new hobby or vocation.

He was the consummate skeptic, always asking “why?”.

I remember one day I suggested that he wash his car. It literally had several years of dust and dirt that had accumulated since he bought it. We had a frustrating conversation in which I explained that it was best for the longevity of the car that it be kept clean.

But he repeatedly asked “why?” “What was the purpose?” The finish would be unaffected by not washing it. And the time devoted to keeping it clean could be spent doing more important things like programming, cooking or playing the ancient Japanese game Go.

I learned acceptance and detachment from Kan, and to remain curious.

His courage to move to another continent and create a new life, while maintaining connections to his old life in Japan, taught me how to conquer fear.

He taught me the value of experiencing other cultures. Getting to know Kan was like spending a year partially immersed in another culture. I was only 22 years old and soaked it up.

Living Together

Our agreement was that each of us would do all chores and evening meals for a week at a time. So, every third week, Tom and I got to enjoy home cooked Japanese meals. The other weeks we would feast on Tuna Noodle Casserole (one of Tom’s favorites) or meatloaf, corn and mashed potatoes (my version of my mother’s cooking).

That same week of cooking, I would spend a little time each day, sweeping, replacing paper towels and toilet paper, stocking the refrigerator, vacuuming and picking up the 2-story house.

I learned about teamwork, responsibility and hard work.

During that time together, we shared wins and losses, good times and bad, like brothers. Together, Tom and Kan helped me by providing perspective when my first serious relationship ended, by listening and sharing stories about their break-ups.

It was an experience of a lifetime that would never be repeated or equaled.

Failure Promotes Discovery

I never would have worked at Kraft, never would have met Kan and Tom, never would have experienced the maturity and wisdom of two older surrogate “brothers,” if not for one massive failure:

Being rejected by all of the medical schools to which I had applied.

My entire high school and college career had been focused on getting into medical school. At the time, it was the thing to do if you had a high grade point average and a bent for science. But it was also my family’s dream for me, and my dream for myself.

I was placed on a waiting list, but ultimately denied admission. So, I needed to get a job, save some money, buy a car and contemplate my next career move.

That's when I saw the ad for a food chemist at Kraft, and applied.

Failure Breeds Character

I cannot fully measure the positive impact of my experiences during the two years between graduating from college and beginning medical school in the fall of 1979. When I entered medical school, I was still an immature, sheltered, lower middle class kid with a lot to learn.

But I was much better prepared as a result of my time with Kan and Tom.

We never know how life will shape and mold us. But it is the rare “failure” that doesn’t teach us an important lesson.

It is best to embrace our failures, learn from them, and overcome or transcend them.

Moving On

Kan left his food science career shortly after I left for medical school. He transitioned to his true love: computer programming. He designed arcade style coin-operated video games in the early 1980s for D. Gottlieb & Co. These were the “old school” video games that replaced pinball machines. He was the proud creator of Mad Planets.

One of Kan's creations.

He later developed computer programs used by other computer programmers, and sold and supported a suite of software tools for almost 30 years.

Losing Touch

Kan and I did not keep in close touch over the years. We moved away from each other. He married and had three children. I married, attended medical school and residency, divorced and remarried.

I visited him on occasion. He and his wife visited us a few years ago. I spoke with his daughter about her career plans on the phone.

As he became older, he developed some medical problems and moved back to his home in Japan. We followed each other via Facebook.

I was saddened by his passing. But I never got the impression that he feared or dreaded death. He was fascinated by his illness and the beneficial effects of his home oxygen. He spent his last days with his family and friends, playing Go, and posting his oxygen levels as his illness progressed.

I believe he was satisfied with his life.

I know that I was privileged to have been a part of it.

And it was all due to a massive “failure” in mine.

The post Failure Promotes Discovery and Breeds Character appeared first on NonClinical Physicians.

My commute is rather long (over an hour each way). On 2 or 3 occasions I have been severely delayed due to major accidents on the tollways that I take to work (Quel embouteillage!*). So I make it a point to leave extra time for my commute.

When I walked into my dark, quiet clinic today, I was struck by the benefits of arriving early. Today, I had some left over paperwork from home that I needed to do, and a blog post to publish! I also wanted to clear my desk  and respond to some email messages. I was able to do most of that before the first employee arrived a little before 8:00 AM.

How Being Early Really Helps

1. Get the best seat.

I usually arrived early to take examinations, including board exams. Back when most of the exams were held in large conference rooms with hundreds of people, it was really useful to be able to select a comfortable seat, in a location near the door and/or restrooms. By arriving early, I get the best seats at the concert, the game, the lecture and on the Southwest flight.

2. Chat with the host.

Arriving at a party early allows my wife and me to have some one-on-one time with the host before he or she gets too busy. Arriving early to a hospital board meeting allowed me to interact with the board members informally before the meeting.

3. Make final preparations and fix technical issues.

There have been several times when presenting at a conference that technical difficulties and room adjustments needed to be addressed before starting. Had I not been early, I would have made my audience wait and embarrassed myself.

4. Enjoy the sense of calm.

My deadline looms. A sense of anxiety keeps popping up as I remember the reports I promised to deliver, and projects I committed to complete. But, I feel so much more relaxed if I get the project done early. Recently, I was asked to write a guest post for Doximity and it felt so good to submit it two days earlier than requested.

5. Enhance the quality.

When I get something done early, I have more time to reflect and go back and fix little mistakes. Whether it is  installing a reclaimed wood floor, or writing a blog post, it's nice to be able to make those final improvements that set my work apart from others'.

6. Early attempts are better.

For certain assignments, early completion is MUCH easier. I am the secretary for an investment club, so I get to record and publish the monthly minutes. They are WAY easier to complete (and more accurate) if done right after the meeting.

7. Looking good.

I think people around me believe that I am dedicated, hard-working, organized and accountable when I arrive early, deliver early, and finish early.

And you know what they call the one who gets to the finish line early? Answer: WINNER.

Next Steps

Now go out and develop the new habit of being early.

1. Commit to yourself to adopt the habit of arriving, delivering and finishing early.
2. Arrive 5 to 10 minutes early for routine meetings, 10 to 15 minutes early to major committee meetings, board meetings and conferences you are attending, and 20 to 30 minutes early if you are presenting a lecture or speech.
3. To help lock in the habit, arrive early for movies, concerts, birthday parties and other informal events.
4. Complete all minutes within 24 hours of the pertinent meeting.
5. Deliver updates, management reports, and white papers at least one day before the deadline.

Can you think of a time when being early really worked out for you? Tell us in the comments.

_________________

*French translation: What a traffic jam!

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Email me directly here: john,jurica.md@gmail.com

The post How Being Early Builds Success appeared first on NonClinical Physicians.

There are a lot of personal attributes that physician leaders need to foster in themselves and encourage in others:

• Accountability
• Integrity
• Passion
• Patience
• Discipline

But there is one that I think is often neglected: Vitality

Vitality is defined as “the power to endure or survive; mental or physical vigor; energy.” But vitality is not as easily maintained as some other leadership attributes.

After all, integrity, accountability and other such characteristics are mental states or personality traits. Not that they cannot be nurtured and enhanced.

But vitality is another thing. Sure, it is partially a state of mind. But true vitality depends on physical energy, fitness and health. It is nearly impossible to demonstrate vitality if you have no spring in your step, no volume to your speaking, and no sparkle in your eye.

It is definitely a trait we should seek to promote. How much more effective will you be if your passion is expressed with energy and enthusiasm? Some of the best leaders, physician or otherwise, are those with intensity, stamina and charisma. All of which depend on vitality.

For physicians, the lack of vitality may become a result of self-neglect, living with frequent interruptions of sleep, little time to exercise, etc. But it is a dilemma because we ought to be an example for our patients and others that we lead.

The Bad News About Maintaining Vitality

Unfortunately, you can only will so much vitality into your being. In order to improve your vitality, you will have to take some steps that, perhaps, you have neglected or postponed.

“I'll stop eating fast food when things slow down,” you tell yourself. “I'll start biking next summer when the weather is warmer.”

As we get closer to retirement and schedules finally start to slow down, it does not become any easier. Decades of patterns of sedentary behavior and high fat, high carb diets are difficult to reverse.

My Advice

1. First, unless you are already on home oxygen for emphysema or bed-ridden, dispel for yourself the idea that it is too late to make a change. It is only those self-limiting beliefs that will keep you from moving into a new direction. There are thousands of examples of dramatic improvements in fitness and vitality. Don't procrastinate.
2. Start slowly. Try to stick to one or two small changes at a time. It may take weeks or months to develop new habits, but once one seems to be sticking, add the next.
3. Diet may be the most important to start with. Make small changes. Drink more water. Shift away from fast foods. Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, beans and nuts. You know the reasons why.
4. Get at lest seven hours of sleep. If you miss a few hours one night, make it up over the next few days. Stay on a stable sleep pattern. Circadian rhythms work best when they are consistent. If your BMI is over 30 and/or you snore, get a sleep study. There is no sense “sleeping” eight hours each night if the sleep quality is poor and ineffective.
5. If you have not been exercising, start slowly. Consider a stress test first if you have risk factors or suspicious symptoms. But be consistent, at least 4 times per week. Find something you enjoy doing. Gradually increase time and intensity. Include both aerobic and strength training. Get a trainer if it will help. And change-up your routine.
6. Be as compulsive about exercising and following a good diet as you have about anything else in your life (education, spouse, children, or work). It needs to become a major priority. Schedule your time to exercise and do not allow that time to be compromised. Make it a regular habit that you will miss when unable to do it.

Final Thoughts

You want to be an effective leader. To do that, you need energy and endurance. That requires mental and physical sharpness and stamina. Make these changes now.

Then go out and buy some new clothes after your waist shrinks.

Sorry for being so preachy, but it had to be said.

Comments?

The post The Need for Vitality appeared first on NonClinical Physicians.