Jenn and I talk yoga wall, physical therapy, and yoga!
Yoga wall, physical therapy, and yoga – a talk with Jenn Chang, DPT, CIAYT, ERYT
Tag: femaledoctor
National Doctor’s Day
It’s March 30, 2020, and it’s national doctor’s day. But this year is unlike any other. It has been trying times recently for physicians. Even before the pandemic, burnout was 46% and the physician suicide rate is the highest of any profession. Physicians have been frustrated trying to shuffle paperwork, and serve hospital systems and insurance companies when all we really want to do is take care of patients.
Now our situation has shifted. In a pandemic, we no longer have time to worry about our failing American health system—we have to act. And physicians everywhere are acting. They are stepping up to take care of the surges of people with COVID-19 in our communities.
As a hospitalist on this Doctor’s Day, I start a string of shifts caring for patients infected with COVID-19. Every physician I know caring for COVID-19 patients is experiencing higher levels of stress ever (and we know stress). But we also feel more alone than ever as we distance ourselves from our families, friends and colleagues in order to protect them.
What can you do to support physicians for Doctor’s Day 2020?
1. Just reach out and connect. It means so much to us to hear from you, and to remember we are working for YOU.
2. Donate PPE if you have any. We can’t take care of you if we are ill ourselves.
3. Stay home. PLEASE. I am literally begging. The chant “We go to work for you. Please stay home for us” are just as much for as it is for us. There are only so many beds. Don’t make us choose who gets them.
4. Remember all of this when it’s over. Because this will end… and after the pandemic has subsided, please remember that physicians were there. Despite personal anxiety and concerns for our own safety and our families, we keep showing up to take care of you. So sometimes we have bad days too. We, like you, are human, and we’re doing our very best.
As for me, I will approach Doctor’s Day more seriously than ever. Some of my colleagues have died from COVID-19, and we will lose more before we’re through. I will continue to use Doctor’s Day as a time to reflect on my place in this calling. I hope we all remember—not just on Doctor’s Day—the sacrifices physicians make. . . . .
Happy Women Physicians day
Today, a dear friend reminded me that today is National Women Physician’s Day. I am honored to celebrate this day as both a member and admirer of physicians. By 2050, women will consist of more than 50% of the physician workforce… while still being mothers, sisters, daughters, caregivers, side-gigers, philanthropists, volunteers, activists, friends, badass multi-taskers, and so much more. This profession is not just a job, it is a calling. In my late 20s, I changed the direction of my life to pursue this calling. From attorney to physician, it was the best decision I could have ever made. I am now one of those rare people that can say she absolutely loves her job. And with the hard work and sacrifices that came with this life change and the grueling medical training, I can now say I live my life in complete alignment with my values. The journey was wrought with seemingly impossible obstacles and turbulent waters. Time after time, challenges arose that caused me to doubt myself and my journey. And they still do. But I keep coming back. To the patients. To the humanity. To the inspiration that I gain day after day in this work from my colleagues and patients. I am proud and blessed to be doing what I love. To be part of this community of caregivers who work hard day after day. Not just to study and improve for the sake of their patients. But who maintain open hearts and thin skin — so that compassion and love can continue to permeate. So that each individual patient is a human, and not a number. So that we always know and remember the value of human life and human emotion. Because healing is not just about prescriptions, but about the openness of your heart and the depth of your gratitude. And I am grateful. Happy Women’s Physician Day!!
I am giving it all I’ve got.
This decade has been a doozy for me. Has it been for you, too? Over this past decade, I left the practice of law, broke off an engagement to pursue my dream of medicine, attended and graduated medical school and two residencies, wrote and published a book, moved into and out of a three states, completed my yoga therapy and 500-hour teacher trainings, led many yoga retreats, made friends, lost friends, fell in love, had my heart broken… and in some ways, I ended up right where I began. That’s right, 10 years ago, I was living in San Diego, and 10 years later, I have found my way back here. Teaching at the same studio (Prana), enjoying time with some of same people (that’s you, Nico), driving home to see my parents with the same dog (Rusty)… yet I, the Ingrid that was a decade ago, is so different. My heart is different. My soul is less rigid. My heart feels flexible and accepting. My soul feels open and ready. Instead of judging, I seek to listen. Instead of fear, I choose hope.
Halfway through my medical training, I almost lost hope. Seeing so much “unfairness” and suffering life (and death)… watching how human stories unraveled in the most heartbreaking ways… it almost broke me. But somehow, with the support of amazing friends and mentors, I went from thinking: “We’re all going to die, what’s the point?” to “Wait. Yes. We are all going to die… THAT’S the point!” I went from thinking that everything was hopeless and meaningless to realizing that our time is so short, so fast. And that was incredibly freeing. It made me embrace all the clichés, all the inspirational quotes. Because life IS short. So, I had better do what I can with the time I’ve got.
So here I am, giving it all I’ve got. Staying open to it all. Not knowing where this decade will take me. Knowing there will be twists and turns. Uncertainties and fears. But doing my best to keep my heart open to whatever may arise. Because… that’s the point