In the next several blog posts, I’m going to go through several different mistakes made by women in medicine who consistently have open charts and an overflowing inbox and are working way too long or too late (assuming they don’t want to be in this situation).
When you ask physicians or other health care workers why they have open charts or an overflowing inbox, the typical answers sound something like this: too many patients, too little time, too many things to do, too many boxes to check, the EMR (electronic medical record), too many issues to manage, lack of support, the system is messed up and so on and so on.
All of these answers are valid.
I repeat, these answers are usually all true, at least for the person experiencing them. Let’s assume there ARE too many patients to see and there IS too little time and there ARE too many boxes to check in the EMR.
The problem is, focusing on these issues will not get you any closer to getting your work done and home on time.
So now what? You could keep focusing on these issues which are mostly out of your control, OR you could shift your attention to the things you can control.
You could focus on your circumstance, which is often out of your control, or you could focus on your story about the circumstance, which is always fully in your control.
Mindful Doc Mom
You could try to change these circumstances (and I’m not saying you should or shouldn’t). Maybe you want to talk to your boss or hospital administrators or fight to change your local or more global health care system. Totally okay and totally up to you.
But right now, you have a situation in front of you. You have a certain number of patients. You have a certain amount of allotted time. You have an EMR. You work within a certain system that is unlikely to change in this very moment and there’s work to be done.
So you have a choice.
You could rage against the machine, so to speak, or you could focus on the story you are telling yourself about the circumstance in front of you.
Some stories are going to fill you with anger and frustration and cause you to hesitate and stall and procrastinate and keep you stuck right where you. Other stories will get you to focus and do the work and get you home where you want to be by a certain time.
It’s your choice.
You always have a choice in what you think.
You always have a choice in what you do and how you respond.
Showing up for work each day is a choice.
Walking into a patient’s room and choosing to care for them is a choice.
Choosing to close your charts is also a choice.
The story you tell yourself about any circumstance you encounter is also a choice.
What story are you telling yourself about your work situation?
Even if you strongly believe this story, is it serving you?
Is my story taking me closer or further away from the outcome I desire?
That is the only question you should be asking yourself when you decide which story you want to tell.
When you focus on the story you are telling rather than the circumstances outside your control, you empower yourself to create the result you actually want.
What are some of the stories you are telling yourself that are keeping you stuck? Leave a comment below or email me at mindfuldocmom@gmail.com.
