Addiction to success as a Doctor and Regrets. #413 Part 2 - podcast episode cover

Addiction to success as a Doctor and Regrets. #413 Part 2

May 28, 202416 minEp. 413
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Episode description

SEND US A TEXT MESSAGE!!! Let Drs. Nii & Renee know what you think about the show!

Nii and Renée navigate the demands of careers that breed success addiction, particularly medicine. With candid discussions on the pressures to prioritize work over life and the generational shifts in work attitudes and approaches.

Things to expect in this episode:

  • Doing too much as a doctor.
  • Striving to be the best in medicine and regrets.
  • Justifying your existence in medicine.
  • Addiction to success as a doctor.


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Transcript

Life Regrets and Advice Reflection

Speaker 1

All right , y'all , it's your boy . Nii , I am back . We're here to finish up this episode , this conversation that we started from the previous episode . So you don't know what we're talking about . Go back and listen to the previous episode to get the full context of what we're talking about .

But according to the algorithms , y'all , y'all like it short and y'all like it sweet . So , listen , we're trying something new , we're trying shorter episodes , so make sure you let us know if you like this format or not . All right , alfred , run the tape . Yo , we are live and after dark we want to talk about some stuff .

Speaker 3

We're going to talk about some of the ish on our uh feed I was married to my ex-wife , claire , for four years until I found out she had been cheating on me with an ex-boyfriend . Before all of this , I had promised to pay for cindy's medical school cost .

Once I found out that out that Cindy was complicit in hiding Claire's infidelity , I felt betrayed and decided to revoke my offer . So am I the wrong person ?

Speaker 1

What say you , Dr Ne ? She was a part of the whole scheme and the secrets and lies . No , not paying nothing .

Speaker 2

The only thing I would like to know is yo , Cindy , what school you go to , Because we need to have you on the show Cindy , not in school .

Speaker 1

That's why .

Speaker 2

I want to know who Cindy is .

Speaker 1

You need to be beholden . What's the second one ? Because we got to keep it moving . We got to keep it moving .

Speaker 2

Okay , okay , okay , okay . What's the second ? Oh , this thing . So if you could live your life again .

Speaker 4

If I were to choose to live my life over again .

Speaker 2

There we go were to choose to live my life over again .

Speaker 4

I wouldn't live it in this way . Do you know ? Winnie the Pooh ? Yeah , okay , not personally . No , no , the book , the end of that book , brings tears to my eyes . For years , christopher Robin , I used to go to school and he's telling his friends , the toy animals , that he won't be able to play with them so much anymore .

And what I wasn't aware of when I went to medical school and when I was a physician is how driven I was to justify my existence in the world . I wish I hadn't worked so hard . When you're driven to work too hard , you actually ignore what matters .

And what matters is what you were telling me last night about how every summer , you take a bunch of weeks away from your podcast and you just spend time enjoying your kids and your wife and your family . I didn't do that . I always felt I had to keep working .

And the book ends with the statement and whatever they do , wherever they go in the enchanted forest , the little boy and his bear will always be playing together . And that phase would bring tears to my eyes . For years , people sacrifice their playfulness , their joyfulness , being driven by unconscious needs to validate your existence . And where does that come from ?

Again , that comes from childhood trauma . Play is so important and joy is so important In that sense we can always keep playing in the enchanted forest , and that's just essential , I think I think we get the point .

Speaker 2

What do you think about that one ?

Speaker 1

um , I think so it go . It boils down to you know what I always say , which is like when you're giving advice to people , I think you know , when you're 10 years out or you're 20 years , I was like trying to talk to a medical student . Remember that post we did .

You're trying to giving advice to people , I think you know , when you're 10 years out or you're 20 years out , it's like trying to talk to a medical student . Remember that post we did . You're trying to give advice to a med student . You're like yo don't stress so much about you know the match .

And it's like the resident is going to be like , or the medical student is going to be like listen man , like you've been through this already , so of course it's not a big deal to you , but for me , like this is my like big issue right now , of course it's going to be a big deal to me and stuff .

Speaker 2

Right .

Speaker 1

So I think that yeah , I mean obviously he has 50 year or 30 or 40 years of experience to go back and look back and say , yeah , I made like the biggest mistake and that is not connecting with my kids and all those different things . I think that's that goes without saying and I think he's right . But it's really tough .

It's really tough right Because you are , in essence , telling people who have delayed so much and then they get to a point where they need to start working hard , making money and all those different things . It's like yo , slow down , really focus on what's really important .

When you're trying to pay off student loan debt , you're trying to kind of set your family up and yourself up in the future . It's really a tough thing and basically what it boils down to is listen , like when do you want to hear this information ? Right ? Do you want to hear this information while you are in school ?

Do you want to hear this information right when the money's right in front of you , or do you want to hear this information like halfway through the process ? I think those are the important questions that I oftentimes think about is like what are people most receptive to hearing this information ?

Right Cause , if you tell a medical student this thing , whatever move on . That's how I think about it .

Speaker 2

I mean maybe , maybe . I mean I've , I've always been a person to you know who kind of um listens to people who are several steps ahead of me , so that I'm almost committing their mistakes vicariously , right .

So if I hear someone say , like man , I spent so much time just chasing my career , chasing my career , trying to justify my existence in the world based on this one aspect of who I am , then I'm more the person who's going to be like , ooh , you sound like you have a lot of regret . Yeah , and honestly , I probably would have appreciated that .

Even as a pre-med , I think I would have appreciated that . I do agree with you that there are people who are like , ah , what are you ? Just an old man who's just whatever . But for me , that's where I would have appreciated that

Overworking and Success Addiction in Medicine

. I think he makes such a great point about the fact that people work so hard to justify their existence . They dedicate themselves so much to this one thing that they just can't see themselves as anything else .

Building outside of this thing called medicine , you know , being a husband , being a father , being a grandfather , being , you know whatever else , you know having some other skill . They compartmentalize that so much , and not just compartmentalize it , but they trivialize it , as if it's not as important as this thing that I'm doing as a doctor .

Like , I think it's a , it's an addiction .

Speaker 1

I think that's what it is . It's addiction where right , right , career addiction . You're addicted to success and it's never enough , yeah , right , like you look at some basketball players or even professional sports players , you know they're playing 20 years in and it's just like well . So what's the ? What's the end goal here ? What's the issue ?

Speaker 2

well , so what's the ?

Speaker 1

what's the end goal here ? What's the issue ? Right Like cause . It's like well , why won't you retire Like you have enough ? I think . Right Like , you've made millions upon millions . You're in the hundreds of millions of dollars . No-transcript your own personal life . Right , right . So that's the thing .

A lot of times I'm wondering like , would a patient be cool with , like , a doctor being kind of halfway in , halfway out ?

Speaker 2

Yeah , so , or is it halfway in , halfway out ? Dr Love says yes , addiction to success is a thing , it absolutely is a thing . But so love , like , if you're balanced if you're .

Speaker 1

I think the more important question is if you're balancing right . If you're more balanced , are you halfway in , halfway out ?

Speaker 2

So I would say no . So Dr Love probably remembers this , but we met an older gentleman who also is an OBGYN . We met him when he was , when we were in New Orleans . He was not at the SMA conference . He didn't know anything about the SMA conference . He was not at all involved in SMA . I don't even think he knew what SMA was .

But he looked like us and he was an OBGYN and he said the only thing that's wrong with our profession he's like I'm just going to say this outright . He said there's too many women in our profession . Yes , he said there's too many women .

So I looked at him , cause I knew there was more ignorance about to come out of his mouth and I was like , really , why is that ?

Speaker 1

And he's about . He's about 30 years , your senior .

Speaker 2

Yeah , maybe um not 30 . I'd say probably about 20 , 25 . Yeah , 20 , 25 years , my , my senior . And so I say , really , why is that ? He goes ? Because it takes two of you to do what one of me can do . And I said to love , cause love was like yo , what was that about ? And I said to love , I'm like sound like he doing too much .

If it takes one of him to do what two of me can do , dude , you doing too much . And I don't think that that's halfway in , halfway out .

I think that there is such thing as doing too much and then actually devaluing what it is that you're doing , that you're not giving the right amount of care , the right amount of attention to things , and patients not only complain about it , but we also know , especially in maternal health Black maternal health in particular that this could be very detrimental , very ,

very dangerous and have grave consequences . So , yeah , maybe you're doing a little bit too much . I mean , this is what it is .

Speaker 1

So you just turned from podcast to Claire Huxtable .

Speaker 2

This is not , and if you don't get it together and drop these macho attitudes , you are never going to have anybody bringing you anything , anywhere , any place anytime ever , this is not a podcast , it's a live stream .

Speaker 1

Let the record show and stuff Ain't nobody talk about , and also and also let the record show that women physicians have better outcomes .

Speaker 2

Oh , for the record show that women physicians have better outcomes .

Speaker 1

Oh , for the record , everybody , all of my doctors , are so he's doing too much . All of my and not doing it right enough . We can't hear you if you're talking over . Okay Yo , so for the record , all my doctors are women and I must say I'm extremely happy Like they do an adult job . But yeah , when he made that comment Exactly love . What did he say ?

Speaker 2

He said he lucky . We was chilling , because let me tell you we wasn't chilling that day . And if he wasn't a CI , he lucky . I respect my elders . I just kept my mouth shut . I was like he , an old , bitter man about to retire .

Speaker 1

He sent him on his way .

Speaker 2

He sent him on his way he out to pasture . You know what I'm saying ? You shoot him in the leg and let him bleed out slowly .

Speaker 1

Well , I think , bringing it back to what we was talking about , which is do you have a ? What do you call it ? Do you have any regret or anything like that , I think that the key question is part of it is we kind of medicine attracts these type of people , right ? So , like that's just the way , how it is Right .

Like type A individuals who you know , they strived really well , they did well in high school , more than likely , they did really well in med school or in college .

They did really well in medical school and they strove to be the best you know and , as a result , like these things occur Right , and because of how somebody did it before you , you're going to take on that personality , except for Jen .

The millennials Right , they do things differently , right , but because they do things because of who , how they were taught by the previous generation , that's how they're going to move forward and do things . So I think part of it is that's how we recruit , right ?

Speaker 4

No matter who it is right In medicine , right ?

Speaker 1

These are the personalities that we even I'm the same way . Like I had to slow down and be like yo , like if I don't pick things , if I don't change course , I'm going to end up either divorced or my kids are going to hate my guts .

So I got to figure this out and figure out a way that I can be there for my patients , be the best surgeon that I can be , but also , at the same time , be Dr Dad , be , you know , the best husband I can be , which I am , no matter what I'm saying .

Speaker 2

I mean , somebody got to give you kudos . You know I'm the best . No , but seriously at what point do you stop resume building is my question . At what point do you stop resume building ? Right , we had this conversation . Me and you had this conversation , maybe about what , nine , 10 years ago ? Right ?

And the conversation came about because you were thinking about doing something extra or whatever . And I asked you I'm like at what point do you stop resume building ? Like , the resume is built . Like , how much more do you need to do in order to prove to people that you are worthy ?

Like for me , I stopped resume building and I literally made a hard stop after I did my fellowship . I was like I am no longer resume building , I'm stopping here .

Speaker 1

This is it , but I think the times now are way better . Now , Like people are really considering . They're not considering Like if you stay in academic medicine , then yeah , in essence you are resumé .

Speaker 2

Of course , you're always resumé .

Speaker 1

You have to resumé , build , or you know you will perish . What did I say ? Publish or perish . So that's kind of how it works there .

But I think once you go into you know community type medicine , or into you know something outside of academic medicine which I think a lot more people are going into , you start to realize that , hey , like I'm competing against myself , yeah , right , and I think now you're starting to see much more . What's the issue now ?

Speaker 2

No Love said . Keep grinding , keep going back to his job , be at work . I'm looking at Instagram .

Speaker 1

Oh , man In the ER . But I do think that the whole resume building thing , that's something that people have to be really cognizant of . So who is that ?

Speaker 2

Aaron Brinkhouse .

Speaker 1

Hi from California . What up , what up , what up , what up .

Speaker 2

It's Aaron right , yes , aaron . Darren who is it Aaron Brinkhouse ? I think it's Aaron .

Speaker 1

I don't have my glasses on .

Speaker 2

Tell me if it's .

Speaker 1

Aaron , but anyway , we have to actually end this very soon , really .

Speaker 2

You didn't want to do one more . No , no no . You're done .

Speaker 1

We got to end this , guys , listen , you see this right here . I am the Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion . This is part of me doing balance show . I am on the future app If anybody's using future appco , it is dope . So I got to work out , and I work out six days a week , including tonight , so I'm gonna get my workout on .

Speaker 2

You want to do the challenger ?

Speaker 1

Oh mine is dope .

Speaker 2

No .

Speaker 1

Is that the control ?

Speaker 2

No , no , okay , we're going to have to work on that . We're really going to have to work on that . That's what that is . Oh my God . Oh , it's Isabel . No , don't go , I just joined .

Speaker 1

Yo , we'll catch you . Listen , isabel , we will be back . Just make sure you subscribe to our channel . We'll be back , but I got to get my swole on . Come on now . I got to get my swole on that's part of my balance . I should just stay on and talk bad about him . That's part of my balance

Social Media Promotion and Confusion

. All right is making sure that I exercise , so y'all can catch me and follow me , or follow us on Instagram , Follow us on YouTube and you can also see us on . Can they see us on T-Side ? Yeah , we got to do a better job . Somebody Darko's on . Who's that ?

Speaker 2

Darko , obie Darko , are you family Ooh .

Speaker 1

I don't know anybody named Obie Darko . Did I promise to pay your ?

Speaker 2

education . All right , y'all , she's not going to get it .

Speaker 1

She didn't see the first part .

Speaker 2

She didn't see the first part . All right , we got to go y'all . Bye , guys , Wait bye .

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