Is Medicine Taking More Than You Can Sustainably Give?
You trained for this. You wanted this. You worked hard to become the kind of doctor who shows up, thinks clearly, and cares.
Somewhere along the way, the cost of practicing medicine became heavier than feels reasonable.
If you’ve been wondering whether medicine is taking more from you than you can sustainably give…
You’re not making it up. And you’re not alone.
I hear this from physicians all the time.
Not just “I’m tired,” but a deeper depletion—one that starts to change how you feel about your work, your patients, and yourself.
Many physicians assume it means they’re failing. Too sensitive. Not resilient enough. That they should be able to handle it better.
This framing keeps you stuck.
This isn’t you “internalizing too much” or “caring too much.”You’re responding normally to a system that has become increasingly unsustainable.
We Were Trained to Think It’s a Personal Problem
We were trained to locate the problem inside ourselves.
If you’re overwhelmed, you need to be more efficient.
If you’re struggling, you need to be more resilient.
If you’re unhappy, you need a better attitude.
If you’re burning out, you need more mindfulness, more gratitude, more self-care.
When the system is the source of the strain, turning it into a personal deficiency is a setup.
It keeps physicians working harder, tolerating more, and doubting themselves—while the conditions keep getting worse.
The System Rewards Over-Functioning
A lot of physicians are living under constant low-grade pressure to do more with less, chart faster, see more patients, absorb the emotional weight, compete for shrinking scraps of time, autonomy, and support.
Corporations keep extracting more—more clicks, more throughput, more compliance.
Over time, that extraction changes you.
It impacts your sense of agency.
It distorts your identity.
It can make you feel like you’re becoming someone you don’t recognize.
If It Feels Out of Alignment, Pay Attention
There’s often a moment when a physician realizes:
I don’t want to accept “this is just how it is.”
Not out of entitlement.
Out of integrity.
It feels out of alignment to contribute to a culture that normalizes burnout, moral distress, and disconnection.
Acceptance is different from resignation.
Acceptance is: This is happening, and I’m going to meet reality clearly.
Resignation is: This is happening, and I have no choice.
If you feel internal pushback—the part of you that knows this isn’t sustainable—it’s not weakness. It’s information.
And There Is Something You Can Do
You don’t have to quit impulsively or blow your life up.
It’s possible to find a real path—meaningful and practical—toward a pivot that protects your health, your values, and your sense of self.
The pivot starts internally by reclaiming boundaries, reclaiming clarity, reclaiming choice in the work you’re doing now.
And then it may become external: a new role, a different practice model, a different way of working, a different definition of success.
Please stop pretending it’s fine.
Stop treating your exhaustion as a personal failure.
Start asking what is actually sustainable.
Where are you giving more than you can sustainably give—and calling it “professionalism”?
Where have you been trained to blame yourself for something that is actually structural?
What would become possible if you stopped normalizing what’s hurting you?
A Simple Next Step
This is the work I do with physicians in mindful coaching.
I help you get clear and honest about what’s not working—without spiraling into shame or urgency.
You learn to stabilize your nervous system and make practical changes that protect your life and your integrity.
You can do this on Zoom from home or in an immersive way at a retreat.
If your group or organization is open to authentic conversations about burnout, boundaries, and sustainable practice,
I can come give a talk or workshop that meets physicians where they are—without blame or platitudes.
While it might feel risky, in the end, your leaders usually thank you.
Nothing shared in this blog is medical advice.