10 facts to face once you cut back On Practicing Medicine
2. Guilt about not practicing what I spent years learning.
3. Having to justify to others why I don’t work as much.
4. Not knowing how to fill my time some days.
5. Feeling unproductive and sometimes useless.
6. Petrified of losing my skills.
7. Anxious about every single shifts because with more time between shifts I feel rustier.
8. Having to figure out a purpose in life because my work has always been my main focus.
9. Losing my main source of social interaction.
10. Having no excuse to not live a meaningful life because work certainly is no longer my crutch.
My buddy S. and I would see each other nearly every week, working the same 10-hour shifts. He was the calm collected type, knew the shit out of his medicine, very warm and friendly. I was the spaz, running around everywhere and moving meat. Together we made a solid team. Even if all the other UC docs called out, S. and I could easily run the show alone.
I barely see S. now. It’s easy to overlook how hard it is to stay in touch with a friend that we make at work. I miss knowing that I can run cases by him and tell him about my many failed relationships.