Hi there! i am currently a part time ospitalist raising 2 young kids. Just browsing to see what other oppurtunities exist for a mom with young children, ready to resume her career.

HI this is my first day on MomMd.
I practiced ER med for about 20yrs before discovering I had contracted HEP C somewhere along the way. I was a tx- nonresponder and due to a great disability program and due to ER fatigue decided to take a few years off to raise my son as a single mom. Also studied integrative medicine for 2yrs at program in DC.
Now that son is in college I find myself wanting to return to medicine (not ER) but have been away too long to return without some type of re-entry or retraining program. Hoping to find some advice or feed back. Thanks so much, SGI-Val

I am a pediatrician with 30 years of practice. I am experiencing burnout and I am looking for help or mentoring. I was a member of a large physician multi-specialty group that was physician owned and run. 10 years ago this group merged with a hospital to create a large comprehensive system. Now physicians are simply employees, and I feel I am not treated with any respect. An example is as follows: my junior level administrator felt that a nurse needed my newly installed office computer more than I did, and gave it to her, placing an older model in my office with a smaller screen, a dirty keyboard, and inappropriate settings for my needs, without asking me. I had an office desk set from my previous practice before the merger, but it was too large for the very small office I was moved to. I agreed to share my office with another physician as well as to let it be set up for nurses to use to triage patients when I was busy in exam rooms. When I took the large desk set out, I was given a left over credenza for a desk and mismatched bookshelves for my office. I have been in this community for 28 years, and my life is established here. I have been required to sign a non-compete clause, and I cannot quit this job and remain in my community. I feel enslaved by this situation.

I am well liked by patients, and I currently work in an urgent care setting with walk-in patients. I am well paid, but this does not compensate for the total lack of respect I feel I receive from administration. I have been told by many physicians in our community that I am perceived by them as one of the best pediatricians in my community, so I know my problems are not caused by poor clinical performance on my part.

These issues have resulted in me being irritable at work, and perceived by nursing as difficult to work with. This was not always the case. In my former practice, I was well liked by my nurses and they looked to me to help solve any problems they had with other physicians, co-workers, and patients.

I currently feel very isolated. I don't have a mentor or advocate. I spent 20 years in a busy full time practice (60+ hours a week, call every 4th night, including critical care, accepting patient transports, etc. with no support for night time phone calls). Call nights were usually sleepless, and we were expected to show up for a full, "triple booked" office day whether or not you slept. My husband did not work outside the home but was not really a "home maker". When I got home from work, the house, laundry, children and dishes were still my responsibility. I know I was a fool, and he does much better now. My partners were all male, and any attempt I made to get our practice more organized, disciplined was met with resistance. I was exhausted, and my children suffered. When my 13 year old son was hospitalized for a suicide attempt from depression, my partners on rounds asked who this was on our list, and when I explained that it was my son, the response I got was "Oh". No one expressed sympathy, or suggested I take the day off to be with my family. I think this was due to the fact that they were all as stressed as I was, and were unable to be empathetic.

Not long after that I had a forced extended leave of absence due to my depression and irritability. This occurred at the time our practice merged with the hospital. I was not given any disability pay. I was given a meager monthly stipend that I had to completely pay back when I returned to work. During that time I had to pay my taxes with my VISA card!!!

When I returned to work, I accepted a position doing Pediatric Urgent care with no call. This schedule has been much easier, but I am the only pediatrician doing this. I find the medical side of this to be very unchallenging (tedious and boring). I am sick of coughs and runny noses and parents who think an antibiotic is the answer to everything and expect instant gratification. I work every weekend, and have no flexibility in my schedule. I have repeatedly asked administration to discuss the development of a fully staffed pediatric acute care, and have not received any interest on their part. I feel that they perceive this position as a place to put me until I retire. My current situation is not fulfilling, and I am sad that this is how I am ending my career.

@kinderdoc - oh, how frustrating! I'm sorry to hear about what's been going on. I'm sure if there were any easy answers you would have seized on them by now, but I wonder... what do the other MDs in the practice overall say about how things are going, how they feel about it? Noone wants totally demoralized docs working for them - perhaps if there could be a group of doctors making specific recommendations for improving workplace function/morale...?

The noncompete clause is definitely a tough one. I do know also that sometimes people are let out of this if it is a mutually agreed upon leave taking - but it's a huge step to bring this up, and one you wouldn't want to go anywhere near at this point, I presume.

And... err... welcome to mommd! I'm sorry it's under such circumstances!

I’m not a physician, so hopefully this is not inappropriate to participate in this forum. I am a married mother of three. I earned my MHA from Trinity University, and I have 13 years of business and research administration experience. I have a phenomenal idea for a unique pediatric practice. I have never really considered an entrepreneurial venture, but I thought of a great business model for a practice. Although I would be open to working with either gender, I think a female physician would have more of an immediate buy-in to my idea. This model would be ideal for a physician who is interested in opening her/his own practice but does not want to deal with the hassle of starting a practice by her/his self and does not want to hassle with the administrative burdens inherent in running a practice. I’m looking for a true business partner who would be willing to develop and grow a practice from soup to nuts in the next four to six. Getting things started on the right foot would be my top priority, so I would eventually like to retain a business attorney to draw up a contract, etc. One of the initial challenges, naturally, will be to secure funding for start-up costs. Please contact me on this forum if you’re interested in hearing more or if you know of someone who might be interested.

Hi,
I'm a family doctor who has been practicing clinical medicine for 24 years. I have three children and just saw the last off to college. I have worked part time since my oldest was born and always thought I would increase my hours when I had an empty nest. That day is here and I have to admit that I need a change. My husband is a gastroenterologist so my income has always been much less than his. I feel like I'm at a crossroads, stay as things are and supplement with something else or give it up all together and try something new. I have never felt so confused!

Hi all,
I'm an internist practising in a rural area on a 3-yr contract. Just completed residency 1.5 yrs ago, so all this is pretty new to me. As I've seen on many posts here, real-world practice is very different from medicine in residency and I am quite disillusioned by it. Makes me wonder why I wanted to be a doctor all these years, and was I blind to how stressful and exhausting it is. I try to remember how much worse it was during training, and appreciate the blessings I have now, but there are still days when I want to scream and quit. I end up coming home and venting on my poor hubby instead. I am glad I found this site though cos it helps to know others are going through the same thing. Hopefully I stay sane a few more years at least. Wouldn't want all those expensive years of education to go waste!

Hello, I am an emergency medicine physician with 12 years in the trenches. I practice in an inner city setting with residents, whom i enjoy. Starting to look forward to see what else i could do, non clinically as i age and those night shifts start to take their toll. In emergency medicine there really isn't anyone that serves as a role model for "aging" female er docs. Hoping to meet some! Thanks!

Hi - I am a 25 year-old incoming M1 who will start classes end of July. My husband and I are expecting our first child any day now - I'm due in a few days. So, I will be starting school with a 3 month old. Both of our families live within a couple hours away and my husband has been very supportive of my decision to pursue medicine. I decided against deferring a year because I feel it will be difficult with or without a baby no matter when I start and I am excited to get the ball rolling.

I'm hoping to meet some women who have been there, done that. I know I will have very different interests than my fellow students and may not be the coolest M1 when I go breast feed my baby on lunch breaks. I'd love to meet young and old mom/doctors who have made it work in medical school and beyond and get your tips. I look forward to feedback that will help me keep realistic expectations of what is possible for my career.

Thanks!

Well, I stumbled across this website and I am intrigued! I've been thinking about the road to becoming an anesthesiologist and I feel overwhelmed and wonder if I am crazy! I have had a number of set backs in my life and I am only a high school graduate with a few college credits. I am 25 and the mother of a 13 month old. I've been a stay at home mom for the last year and it's been wonderful raising my daughter but I have this desire to succeed at something for myself. Am i crazy to take on something of this magnitude?????