Lessons I’ve Learned After Leaving the Career of Medicine
A little over 18 months ago, I decided to leave my career in medicine for good.
I graduated with my doctorate but did not pursue residency in any specialties, instead making the leap to build my own health and fitness business.
Here’s what I’ve learned since making that transition.
Lesson 1: The Reality of Healthcare Systems
After talking to some friends who are residents or attending physicians, I realized that the healthcare system has created a mental health crisis for those working in it.
When we hear about “underfunding” or “understaffing” in healthcare, it’s easy to dismiss these as abstract concepts.
But let me tell you, the reality is far more intense than these words suggest.
In medical school, I noticed people sobbing under their masks, buckling under the frustration of a pager all day long, and living in fear that a critical call for a patient could be missed.
And in recent decades, it is often insurance companies running the show.
Many people blame physicians for not doing their job, but in reality, they are often at the mercy of insurance companies.
Some person without any science degree decides what is warranted for a specific person’s condition, without having evaluated them.
Hospital systems are hiring fewer people to maximize profits, thus increasing strain on individual workers.
So building a private practice and being an independent physician is harder than ever.
This level of stress and responsibility is what those seemingly benign words truly represent.
It’s a weight that many healthcare professionals carry daily, often unseen by the public eye.
I’ve learned that sometimes, walking away can be a form of advocacy, drawing attention to these critical issues.
So if any of you are struggling in a career you don’t find purposeful, I’m happy to be a resource for you.
Lesson 2: It’s Okay to Prioritize Your Mental Health
One of the most crucial lessons I’ve learned is that it’s not just okay, but necessary, to prioritize your mental health.
As doctors, we’re often conditioned to put everyone else’s needs before our own.
However, I realized that this approach is unsustainable and potentially dangerous.
I experienced burnout to the point of withdrawing from friends and family, guilt for experiencing happiness when patients were suffering, and plenty of jealousy toward friends who had “normal” lives with regular schedules and routines.
I felt like a cog in a system. I put all this work and effort into something that I wasn’t even sure was helping people and aligning with my own values.
I like to think of us all as a full cup of water.
We pour some of our water into our family, relationships, hobbies, and work, and at the end of it all, there is very little left for us.
Taking care of your mental (and physical) health is topping off that cup, and as a result, you can pour just as much into all the other facets of your life but do a much better job at them.
Taking care of yourself is topping off your water.
Prioritizing your mental health isn’t selfish; it’s essential for providing quality care to others.
Lesson 3: The Sunk Cost Fallacy Is Real (And Powerful)
Leaving medicine allowed me to pursue my true passion: becoming my own boss and building a platform that helps people improve their lives through personal development, health, and fitness.
One of the biggest hurdles I faced when considering leaving medicine was the idea of “throwing away” years of hard work and dedication…and a lot of money.
This is known as the sunk cost fallacy – the tendency to continue an endeavor because of past investment, regardless of whether it’s the best choice for the future.
And now that I’m on the other side of it, I think about this concept all the time.
I had to learn that past investment doesn’t justify future unhappiness.
It’s really never too late to change direction.
Plenty of people became successful later in life. Colonel Sanders opened up KFC at 62.
Ray Kroc built McDonalds in his 50s.
Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in prison starting in his 40s, before becoming president and being one of the most influential figures of the previous century.
And with that, skills and experiences are never truly wasted – they can be applied in new and unexpected ways.
I needed to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars and 4+ years of my life in medicine to be where I am now.
I learned a ton about how the world works, the human body, and how I can best serve people in my own business.
It’s only a failure if you don’t learn from it.
Lesson 4: Trust Your Gut
Throughout my time in medicine, I experienced what I now recognize as strong resistance to many aspects of the job.
This resistance manifested in various ways like overwhelming stress during shifts, dread before going to work, and relief when I had time off, only to be consumed by recovery.
I had to listen to motivational speeches on the way to the hospital, on the verge of tears. Obviously, something was wrong.
I’ve learned that these feelings are important signals.
If you’re consistently experiencing strong negative emotions about your work or anything that you are doing, it’s worth exploring why.
Your instincts might be trying to tell you something important about your path.
These can show up as unmanageable stress or burnout, and if you experience these, it might be time to evaluate small (or big) changes in your life.
I’ve learned that my gut and intuition have a powerful way of guiding me.
I’ve applied that now to any decision I make, big or small.
For example, moving from Chicago to Colorado was one where I trusted my gut.
I knew I had to experience something different in life, or I’d regret not ever trying.
Lesson 5: Work-Life Balance Revisited
During my time as a medical student, I was living the normal life of a student on top of managing a business.
The concept of work-life balance seemed like a distant dream.
I experienced working 40-hour weeks on top of the 50-hour work weeks of school.
There were plenty of irregular shift patterns that disrupted my sleep and personal life.
As a result, there was plenty of difficulty maintaining relationships due to exhaustion and lack of free time.
So I’ve learned something different than work-life balance.
And that is work-life harmony.
This comes from enjoying what you do.
My work life enhances my personal life, and vice versa, outside of just getting a paycheck.
You can achieve this harmony by being present and having set tasks and goals.
With my health and fitness coaching business, if I learn something about myself, I can teach it to my clients.
If one of my clients has a specific issue, I can very easily apply the same learnings to my own life.
Sounds harmonious, doesn’t it?
Lesson 6: Your Career Doesn’t Define Your Worth
As doctors, we often tie our identity and self-worth to our profession.
Many of my classmates did get into medicine for the prestige of satisfying their parents.
Leaving medicine forced me to confront this belief head-on.
Now I’m just some guy who has a business and posts on the internet, which does sound less cool than being the guy studying medicine, who has a business, and posts on social media.
I’ve learned that your value as a person is not determined by your job title.
There are plenty of doctors who aren’t the best people (although they may be good at their job), and there are plenty of people working a simple corporate job who have a massive impact on their community and love every minute of their day.
It’s possible to find fulfillment and purpose outside of a career that you do not enjoy.
It’s like a video game: you can create your own destiny.
What rings true for every career is that personal growth often requires stepping out of your comfort zone.
Do hard things.
It will make everything else in life a whole lot easier.
For me, leaving medicine and thinking “oh shit, I did this. This is real.” was a catalyst for more growth.
Lesson 7: The Power of Seeking Support
One of the most important steps I took in my journey was seeking support.
This came in various forms. I first tried reaching out and speaking to others who have left medicine.
I probably watched every single YouTube video with that sort of headline.
I spoke to other doctors about my feelings and experience, and surprisingly, I found that most resonated with my thoughts.
That’s when I started seeing a therapist, and she was incredibly helpful in organizing my thoughts and helping me make the best decision (even though I knew what it was in my gut).
I learned that it’s not a sign of weakness to ask for help.
In fact, it’s often the first step towards positive change.
Moving forward, I try to stay vulnerable.
If I have a problem or concern, I open up to friends and family.
Sometimes it’s cathartic just to get it all out, but other times you’ll get some useful advice.
Lesson 8: The Importance of Self-Reflection
Throughout my journey, I’ve come to appreciate the value of self-reflection.
Taking the time to really think about what I wanted from my career and life was crucial in making my decision to leave medicine.
I asked myself questions like “What aspects of medicine did I truly enjoy?” “What were my core values, and was my current path aligned with them?” and “Could I see myself happy in this career 10, 20, or 30 years down the line?”
I realized I enjoyed the intellectual challenge of medicine and loved the human body, but wanted more autonomy, time freedom, and location freedom with my career.
I didn’t want to be doing the same procedures or running the same blood tests in 25 years.
So I worked to build a lifestyle that would foster that.
This is one thing I do with every single coaching client I take on.
What have you tried in the past?
What has and hasn’t worked for you?
What do you feel like you need to be successful with your goals?
Regular self-reflection can help you stay true to yourself and your goals, even as they evolve.
So every quarter, I try to do a “Life Audit” and divide the categories into health, wealth, relationships, and self (goals, hobbies, mindset, spirituality).
I evaluate what is going well and what isn’t and try to make the changes to give myself more value out of life.
Lesson 9: Change Is Scary, But Often Necessary
Leaving a stable, respected career like medicine was probably the scariest decision I’ve ever made.
But I’ve learned that sometimes, the most frightening changes are the ones we need the most.
I discovered that growth often lies outside our comfort zone.
Since I’m a lifter, I use lifting weights as a metaphor for life.
When you start in the gym, you are weak.
As you challenge yourself by lifting heavier and heavier weights, you grow.
And this applies anywhere in life.
Embrace challenges, and while change can be scary, it can also be incredibly exciting and fulfilling.
The fear of change is often worse than the change itself.
Our minds want to keep you comfortable.
Lately, I’ve applied this with getting into running, which I still hate and find uncomfortable, but it makes me better because of it.
You can do this with a cold plunge, meditation, prayer, or just having a difficult conversation that you’ve been putting off.
Lesson 10: Your Skills Are Transferable
One worry I had when leaving medicine was that my skills wouldn’t be applicable elsewhere.
I couldn’t have been more wrong.
I’ve found that many of the skills I developed as a doctor are highly valuable in other fields like communication skills, problem-solving abilities, empathy and emotional intelligence, and the ability to work under pressure.
These skills have been invaluable in my new career in coaching and personal development.
This can apply to whatever career you are in.
As a McDonalds cashier, you are learning patience, communication skills, and discipline.
Take those lessons and get after what you want.
Lesson 11: The Value of Health and Well-being
Perhaps ironically, working in healthcare made me neglect my own health.
Since leaving, I’ve gained a new appreciation for regular sleep patterns, time for hobbies and self-care, the ability to eat meals at regular times, and having time to maintain and build relationships.
I’ve learned that these aren’t luxuries – they’re essential components of a healthy, balanced life.
This goes back to the full cup analogy I gave earlier.
Lesson 12: Everything is a Choice
The lesson I want to end on is one of the most empowering realizations I’ve had.
It’s that we always have a choice.
Even when it feels like we’re trapped, there are always options.
Staying in a situation that makes you unhappy is also a choice.
I’m sure you’ve seen the motivational quotes.
Getting in shape is hard, but so is being overweight.
Building a business is hard, but so is staying in a mundane job you hate.
We have more control over our lives than we often realize.
Much of where you want to be in life hides behind a few decisions that you need to make.
Making active choices, even difficult ones, can be incredibly empowering.
A caveat to this: I’ve also learned that fast decisions make for more success.
Analysis paralysis can often lead to more damage than just picking something and going with it.
Jeff Bezos, whether you like him or not, talks about two different types of decisions.
Type 1 decisions are not reversible, and you have to be very careful when making them (like my not going to residency).
Type 2 decisions are like a door — if you don’t like the decision, you can always go back.
The vast majority of decisions are type 2, so don’t stress too much when making them.
Conclusion
Leaving medicine was one of the most difficult decisions I’ve ever made, but also one of the most rewarding.
It taught me invaluable lessons about myself, my values, and what I want from life.
If you’re a healthcare professional struggling with similar issues, know that you’re not alone.
It’s okay to question your path, to prioritize your well-being, and to make changes if necessary.
Remember, your experiences in medicine are never wasted.
They shape who you are and can inform whatever path you choose to take next.
Whether you decide to stay in medicine or explore other options, the most important thing is to be true to yourself and your values.
To those outside the medical profession, I hope this provides some insight into the challenges healthcare workers face.
Support for systemic changes in healthcare is crucial for the well-being of both medical professionals and patients.
Thank you for listening to my story.
Whether you’re considering a career change or simply curious about life after medicine, I hope these lessons resonate with you.
Remember, it’s your life, and you have the power to shape it.
If you’re interested in more tips related to becoming a top tier human, fill out my 1 on 1 coaching application from the button below to become fitter and healthier – guaranteed in 90 days.
All the best,
Dr. Christian