(This appeared June 16, 2019 for the TransforMD inspirational blog)
TransforMD: Describe your traditional path in medicine
Errin: I went to Kansas City University of Medicine and Bioscience for medical school. I completed residency in Family Medicine at Deaconess Family Medicine Residency in Evansville, Indiana in 2014, and then took an employed rural outpatient family medicine position with Deaconess Clinic in Petersburg, IN.
TransforMD: What was the turning point or inspiration for you to make a major shift in your career? What are you doing differently now?
Errin: I finally recognized that I couldn't keep my head down and hammer through life & practice any longer...which was just a few weeks of starting my first job. I did what we tell our patients not to do and I got on the internet and started searching, hunting, seeking answers. I found (or stumbled upon) others who like me where searching. I found help through being professionally coached. Then I realized that I wanted to coach others. I refocused. (I am more than a moneymaker on the assembly line of medicine.) I redefined. (I am not the drug dealer providing supply in exchange for good Press-Ganey scores.) I clarified. (I am and always will be a healer with a servant’s heart and compassionate hands.) I made a lot of transitions in between my ears so then 3 years later, I could walk away from that position. I've done many things now. Not enough space to write about them :) What I'm most proud of is starting my own business and becoming a life coach entrepreneur. I now help physician colleagues move from a life of burnout, brokenness and despair to one that is joy-filled, sustainable and they truly f*cking love.
TransforMD: Did you have doubts or hurdles along the way? What was the biggest challenge? How did you overcome it?
Errin: Doubts---abso-freaking-lutely! Hurdles the size of mountains is what they felt like. My biggest challenge to date continues to be battling where my worth lies. For so long, my worth was defined but what I did. I was a physician. When I was contemplating stepping away from that, I had to get real about what truly is my self-worth, does that change if I never see another patient again ever, and how much validity do I give to others to have a say in my worth. I'm not sure that I have fully overcome this.
TransforMD: Imagine you could travel back in time and give yourself an important piece of advice. What would it be, and when would have been the most important time in life to receive it?
Errin: Here would be my letter to my past self and I would have had it delivered every year of medical school and residency if I had chosen to continue.
“Hey Girl, I know you are struggling right now. The struggle hurts but it doesn't mean you are failing. You hear that?!?!? Yes, this is hard and you can quit at anytime! Let me say it again... You can change your mind, quit and go in a different direction AT ANY TIME. You are not stuck. There are options and they will work out because you are an amazing woman who is so talented that you blow your own damn mind!! When you decide to step out, to run in your own lane and do something different, it means you can no longer compare to justify your success. You can no longer out hustle someone else to inflate your sense of achievement. You can no longer base your value off of the perceived value of others. Stay in the middle of your purpose. Reach out for help early and often. Set boundaries and keep them. Light this world on fire because it needs your special spark. Struggle but don't give up! I love you for you no matter and always!!”
TransforMD: How do you think the TransforMD Mastery Retreat can help women docs looking for a change in their professional or personal lives?
Errin: If you are contemplating making changes, the single greatest resource is having a strong tribe around you. By being a part of TransforMD, you will be plugged into one of the strongest and most powerful tribes available for women physicians.
You may connect with Dr Errin Weisman on Instagram at @truthrxs, on her website www.truthrxs.com, or on her podcast ‘Doctor Me First’.
June 16, 2019