How to Be on Fire Without Burning Out

By Kristin Gershfield, MD; and Sofia Khan, MD

An Affirmation for Women in Healthcare

In medicine today, women are (almost) everywhere.

We make up

Over 30% of physicians Over 75% of PAs Over 90% of NPs

88% of the healthcare workforce

But there’s one place we’re underrepresented.

The boardroom.

94% of working moms make healthcare decisions for others.

They’re the CMOs of their families.

However.

Only 4% of healthcare CEOs are women.

In fact, women hold only 20% of healthcare leadership positions.

Why?

Well, the reasons are pretty complex. But one thing we know: Women want to lead.

Medscape surveyed over 3,000 female physicians about this.

88% said workplace leadership was important for women.

Medscape also asked,

“What would be the biggest challenge of taking on a leadership role?”

The top two answers

Not having enough time to get things

done.

Work getting in the way of my personal

life.

These women wanted to burn brightly.

But they worried about burning out.

Maybe because their lives looked like this …

“Mom’s at work. Dad’s at work. But when the kids get sick or need to come home from school, guess

who they call?”

Kristin Gershfield, MD Hospitalist Medical Director, CEP America

So before we go much further, introductions.

Hi, I’m Kristin, and I’m a hospitalist medical director in California.

Hi, Sofia here.

I’m ED Medical Director and Chief

of Staff at my hospital in Georgia.

When it comes to being on fire, we don’t have all the answers.

But we can both say that:

We passionately love what we do.

So if you’re thinking about leadership …

Or if you’re already in the

trenches …

Here are our tips on maintaining passion, energy,

and balance.

The following is adapted from our presentation at

CEP America Women in Medicine Forum

(Curious? Read more about it here.)

1. Accept that You can’t do it all.

“It’s quite alright if someone else does the grocery

shopping or cooks a meal if it means you spend quality

time with your children.”

Sofia Khan, MD System Medical Director, CEP America

Smart Outsourcing If you’ve never hired help, consider it. What are some tasks

you don’t enjoy? Who or what could do them for you?

Smart Outsourcing Make outsourcing a financial priority, even if it means living below your means. Consider putting a shift’s worth of pay

toward it each month. Or give up a regular expense.

Smart Outsourcing

One of the hardest things about burning brightly is having so many things going on at once.

Find someone to help you manage everyday tasks. It could

be a house manager or a virtual assistant.

It could also mean working more closely with your practice administrator or onsite assistant.

Smart Outsourcing Even occasional help can make a difference. Consider using a

cleaning company or errand service. Or shop online.

Smart Outsourcing Finally, don’t be afraid to ask friends and family for help. Even younger kids can help with simple chores like picking up toys,

making beds, and pet care.

2. Keep your balance

Balance matters

Have you ever experienced a breakup that was extra painful because you had neglected other areas of your life?

It’s like that with work and leadership, too.

When you’re overinvested in your career, you neglect other

things that are important to you. Work problems seem bigger than they really are.

Balance Matters

When Kristin was a teenager, she read a book called Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway.

Here’s an exercise from that book that she still uses …

Life Grid Make a grid with nine squares. In each one, write down an

important area of your life. Here’s an example:

Life Grid

Take a look at your grid. Where does most of your energy go?

Are there areas of your life you’re neglecting?

To live a balanced and healthy life, you have to invest in

all of these equally.

Rest and Recharge Oh! Did you notice this square?

It’s totally OK to put this on your grid. (More about that later.)

“Every once in a while, I sit in my car and just check in with myself. I ask, ‘Why am I doing what I’m doing?’ If you keep that ‘why’ in the back of

your mind, that’s when the passion and the energy comes out and work

becomes fun.”

Sofia Khan, MD System Medical Director, CEP America

3. Focus on priorities

What’s Important?

Because you can’t do it all, you have to figure out what’s really important.

Your Life Grid can be a great guide.

Or maybe you just know in your gut.

What’s Important?

When you’re prioritizing, Stephen Covey recommends asking yourself two questions: •  Is it important? •  Is it urgent?

What’s Important?

When you try this approach, you might find yourself super-focused on URGENT tasks. That’s fine for tasks that are both URGENT and IMPORTANT.

These are things you really can’t let go.

Urgent Not Urgent

Important Medical Director Academy presentation File taxes Daughter breaks arm

Not Important

What’s Important? What takes discipline is letting go of tasks that are URGENT but aren’t important to you. Try

delegating these. Or just say no. (More on that in a minute.)

Urgent Not Urgent

Important

Not Important Phone call with marketing PTA needs event volunteers Colleague asks for a last-minute favor

What’s Important? Letting go of unimportant tasks will allow you to

focus on more of what’s important, even if it’s not urgent. This will reduce your stress level — and may

even reduce your time spent on urgent tasks.

Urgent Not Urgent

Important Planning Entertaining Working out Date night Reading Volunteering

Not Important

Schedule Your Priorities

At the start of each week, list your goals for the next seven days. Then schedule the important tasks that will

help you fulfill them. !

Wednesday !Relationships - Lunch with mom, 1 p.m.!

Wellness – Yoga, 6 p.m.!!

Guard this time as carefully as you do your work time.!

4. Learn the art of saying no.

Because we can’t do it all, we have to say no to many people. Sometimes it’s hard.

When we’re passionate about doing great work, we feel like we need to be part of everything.

But you can say no and still be on fire.

Remember, if the flame’s too hot, you get burned.

(Trust us on that one.)

One of the hardest times to say “no” is when we’re asked to lead.

Because didn’t we just get done talking about how we

need women leaders in healthcare so badly?

We do. But it doesn’t necessarily mean you need to lead this thing right now.

The toughest part of saying no is realizing when you need to do it.

Learn to listen to your gut.

Ask yourself …

Are you excited by the request?

If you like the idea of making change and motivating others around this goal, that’s a sign you should say yes.

But if you’re not excited …

Ask, why not? Write down your thoughts. Sometimes putting them on

paper puts them in perspective.

For example, let’s say you like the idea, but feel like the timing is wrong. What’s in the way?

EHR implementation!

Teaching load!Remodeling the house!

Son starting kindergarten!

Think About It. Is there a way to say yes without sacrificing?

For example, maybe your partner can be more active in

the remodel, allowing you to step back and focus on work.

Or maybe the big request can wait a few months until the EHR is implemented and your son is settled in to

kindergarten.

And if I’m still not excited?

Well, then maybe the answer is no.

How do you say no?

Honestly and directly.

Planning for No If you’re having a hard time saying no, try writing out a

script beforehand.

This sounds really exciting. I want to do this. But to be honest, given what’s on my

plate right now, I know I can’t give it 100%. And it deserves 100 %. !

Saying No Can Be Positive Especially if you do it the right way.

When you value your time and energy, you teach others

to value it, too.

No supervisor worth his or her salt is going to look down on you for good self-management.

If fact, they may value you more after the conversation.!

5. Let go of guilt.

If the thought of “not doing it all” makes you feel guilty, we can

totally relate.

We do it at work.

“When my kids were smaller, I worked part-time. And actually, I think that was harder in some

ways than working full-time. You feel like you have to do everything the stay-at-home moms do — and

do it just as well.”

Kristin Gershfield, MD Hospitalist Medical Director, CEP America

We do it at home.

“I have two little girls, and I really want them to know that going to

work for mom is the same as going to work for dad. My husband never feels guilty when he goes to work. It

took me 6 years to say, ‘I’m not going to be guilty anymore.’”

Sofia Khan, MD System Medical Director, CEP America

We feel guilty about “me time”

Because, isn’t it selfish to shop or get our nails done or watch Real Housewives of Atlanta when we could be

spending time with our loved ones?

Well, no. Everyone needs downtime to recharge.

When you feel good, you have more positive energy to give to others.

Newsflash: No One’s Perfect

Absolutely no one can do it all.

And everyone makes mistakes or lets priorities slip.

Letting go of guilt and accepting your imperfections can be an important step in your personal growth.

“Medicine is full of perfectionists. We feel guilty when we’re not

perfect. But accepting imperfection in ourselves and others actually helps us stay

happy and productive.”

Kristin Gershfield, MD Hospitalist Medical Director, CEP America

Accepting your imperfections can also be a good role model for others.

“My girls pretend play at going to work. One will pick up a grocery bag and put it on her shoulder and say,

‘I’ll be back in a little bit. I’m going to a meeting.’ I love when they do it

with such confidence.”

Sofia Khan, MD System Medical Director, CEP America

So at this point, you may still be a little skeptical.

You may wonder …

Is it really possible to be on fire without burning out?

We think so!

And if we can return briefly to that Medscape survey we mentioned in the intro ….

Women Leaders Agree

When Medscape asked woman healthcare leaders about the challenges they faced …

The leaders perceived issues like time management and

work-life balance as less significant than the non-leaders.

In other words, a lot of the challenges we anticipate may

actually be manageable in practice.

So We Believe in You

We know you can do it.

You can make a real difference for patients and our profession.

You don’t have to superwoman.

Just Be You.

To learn more about leadership opportunities with CEP America, visit our website.

Thank You!