Reflecting back on 2022, I am thankful. This has been a year of stretching and new beginnings as I launched Way2HealthMD. Years of squeezing too many patients into too little time, trying to give each one the attention and care they deserve yet never having nearly enough time had nearly broken me. In 2021 I realized that my joy for medicine was being suffocated by charting and time demands by an insurance driven system that cares not one whit about people. My patients are my neighbors, my friends, people I interact with and care about. I find joy in each home visit, some sipping herbal tea while others hike with me after our visit, finding a way forward together to heal chronic health stressors.
This year has been wonderful as I have rediscovered my love of medicine! I find joy and deep satisfaction in making a lasting improvement in someone’s health. I have enjoyed the fruits of my labor, seeing my patients get well! This is what a doctor needs to be not only satisfied but find true joy in practicing medicine. Stepping away from visits in a cold office setting has been wonderful. Making home visits shows me the deeply personal side of my patients, allowing me to better understand and know their hearts. I also love having a flexible schedule to be more available for my husband and kids. Last, upping my game with technology has been hard yet also successful!
I look forward to 2023! My goal is to live in the moment, to stop and reflect and be thankful at each step of the way. My children are growing up and I am not getting any younger, now is the time to enjoy my family, my friends, my career, and all life brings.
As Thoreau says in his masterpiece Walden, “In any weather, at any hour of the day or night, I have been anxious to improve the nick of time and notch it on my stick too. To stand on the meeting of two eternities, the past and the future, which is precisely the present moment. To tow that line.”
