by Diane W. Shannon | Nov 16, 2021 | Burnout, Identity, Thriving
To a super-achiever, the world can look like a series of tasks to check off, finish lines to cross, mountains to surmount. Seeing the universe through this lens has real benefits: being a go-getter and motivated to excel is highly rewarded in our society. It’s no... 
by Diane W. Shannon | Sep 29, 2021 | Gender, Thriving
Caren, 37, is a pediatrician with two daughters, 11-months-old and 3-years-old. She’s married to an orthopedic surgeon who’s in surgery 3 days a week. They moved to the state 5 months ago and have no family members or close friends in the area. Both daughters attend a... 
by Diane W. Shannon | Aug 23, 2021 | Burnout, Dealing with COVID-19, Thriving
If elephants are chained to a stake in the ground when young, they will not attempt to dislodge it when older. Their long-held belief that they are captive remains, even when their strength makes freedom possible. It’s their mindset that holds them in place, not their... 
by Diane W. Shannon | Jul 9, 2021 | Leadership, Thriving
Karen is a 35-year-old physician recently recruited to lead a newly formed department at a large academic health system. She was new to leadership and initially let the prevailing culture dictate the ways meetings were held. There were many tangential conversations... 
by Diane W. Shannon | May 14, 2021 | Burnout, Coaching, Thriving
Toward the end of my clinical career, I didn’t feel like I had control over much at all. The patient safety issues loomed large. We used ridiculous workarounds for broken processes. The constant vigilance to provide excellent care in a suboptimal environment was... 
by Diane W. Shannon | Jan 22, 2021 | Gender, Thriving
In a previous post, I recognized lactation support for women physicians as an equity issue. Many of the women physicians I’ve interviewed have identified returning to work while breastfeeding as a major challenge and a major source of stress. Providing accommodations... 