In Buddhism, there is a middle path. Siddhartha Gautama, the historical Buddha, was born into a life of indulgence. Later in his life, he practiced extreme asceticism and deprivation. When he sat meditating under the Bodhi tree, he became enlightened, and he found a middle path.
The Middle Path of Empathy Read More »
Some of the worst times in my life have turned out to be the impetus for some of the best times. When I was diagnosed with cancer, I examined my choices in a close way. I didn’t make a lot of changes immediately, but I planted seeds that led to improvement in my lifestyle and
The Value of Reframing Read More »
Finding the Silver Lining Some of the worst times in my life have turned out to be the impetus to begin some of the best times in my life. When I was diagnosed with cancer, I stopped to examine my life in a close way. Although I didn’t make a lot of changes immediately, that
Emptiness Is Useful: The Value of Reframing Read More »
You may have noticed that I haven’t posted in a while. I made a public commitment to post monthly, and a private commitment to post twice a month. I succeeded for three months, then I fell off my schedule. I could say that life got in the way. That’s believable for a busy clinician. The
Happiness: Finding the Way Read More »
This week, our hospital again held Schwartz Center Rounds. The topic was organ donation, and we discussed the families of the donors, the pride in the legacy of passing life onto others through death. We discussed the unbearable waiting for the transplant recipients and their families, waiting that ended with either grief or gratitude, sometimes
You Don’t Know You’re Grieving Read More »
Here’s a paradox. People actually respect you more if you say no to them. Well, actually they respect the fact that you know your goals and are willing to fight for the resources to accomplish them. I’m at a phase in my career when I want to cut back on clinical hours, but I want
The Step-by-Step Guide to Saying No Read More »
If you’ve done any reading about healthcare recently, you know that medical culture can lead to burnout. You know that depression and suicides among physicians are rising at alarming rates. You know that work-life balance is practically nonexistent and self-care is almost impossible. In the last 10 years, doctors-in-training have been enabled and empowered to
How Coyote Taught Me a Lesson Read More »
This past Monday, I had the privilege of helping to facilitate Schwartz Center Rounds at my hospital. In 1995, Kenneth B. Schwartz, at age 40, was diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer. Before he died, he set up a foundation at Massachusetts General Hospital to strengthen the compassionate bond between patients and their caregivers. Today, about
Lose Track of Time Read More »
Here’s the main thing, the essence. People become the victims of their own success, because if they do something well, they get asked to do more and more. This ultimately dilutes the original greatness. If everything is a priority, then nothing is a priority. You can spend your life moving one step in 360 different
Just Say No, Gracefully Read More »
Work life in health care is filled with stress. There’s time stress, lack-of-sleep stress, role stress, and computer stress. One of the most challenging stresses for caregiver professions, though, is people stress. Every student at her medical school interview will say she wants to be a doctor to help people. That remains true at some
“Difficult” Patients Read More »
