Tell Your Story

Do you have a story about thriving in scrubs?

We invite you to write about your experience in any format you like. We can read your work anonymously on the podcast, or you can come tell your story in your own words. Submissions should be no more than 500 words.

Here are the upcoming episode topics. Tell us a story that fits into one of these categories, or another story you feel called to share.

Normal People: People in medicine are often seen–by themselves, and by patients–as superhuman. But sometimes they just want to be able to act like “normal people”. How do you manage this tension between reaching towards lofty ideals as a clinician, and being “normal”?

To Err is Human: The secret is out: doctors make mistakes. But rarely do they feel able to speak openly and honestly about them–there is too much at stake: legal consequences, shame, a loss of respect. But keeping this reality a secret is killing both doctors and patients. How can we support each other to speak up, safely, for the wellbeing of us all?

In the Trenches: Friendship and trust can make the most difficult challenges bearable.  As clinicians we constantly rely on each other–but what happens when we can’t? In residency it’s often said we’re playing a “team sport,” but sometimes we just want to do our own thing. How can we balance taking care of each other without sacrificing ourselves?

Numb: What can we do when we’re just too tired to be empathetic with patients, friends, partners and/or family? And what does it mean to be moved by some patients’ stories, but not by others? By acknowledging the stress inherent in caring for others, we consider how overexposure to suffering can leave us desensitized, and the impact this has on patient care and clinician well-being.

Fake it ‘Til You Make It: Who’s “made it”, and who’s still “faking it”? At what point in your medical career did you feel like you finally had it together–or is that an impossible state of being in the medical world? What ideals do we hold ourselves to, and how have they changed from our first days as a clinician through to present day?

Navigating Uncertainty:   What happens when we face unpredictable circumstances? Medical providers are often expected to “know it all”, and it can be hard to admit that sometimes we don’t. How do we cope when a patient has more questions than we have answers? How do we tolerate ambiguity?

What Matters Most? How much of the time do you feel your work in medicine aligns with your values? How do you cope when it doesn’t? It can be challenging to put one foot in front of the other when we disagree with decision making or can’t relate to a patient, but we’ve dedicated ourselves to the care of others, and so we carry on. Can we acknowledge the things that bother us, work with judgment, and still be compassionate?

Please send submissions (and any questions or feedback) to thrivinginscrubs@gmail.com.