Don’t Forget to Be a Great Doctor

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Only Focus On What You Are Doing : Jerry Seinfeld. #inspirational#success#mindset #mindsetshift#quote

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DPC is a breath of fresh air, especially as compared to being in the system. It is not perfect, however. Being a doctor is still hard. You see bad things happen to good people. Even though 98% of your patients may be wonderful, the 2% who are annoying, rude, entitled, and needy tend to ruin your mood as you focus on them. Sometimes, all this makes us think we should just make a lot of money and retire early. I have seen this phenomenon a lot. It’s natural. You get tired. You get burned out from those 2% (maybe it’s 20% for you) and you start thinking of greener pastures again. It’s called the Hedonic Treadmill and it’s a trap. I wrote a lot about this in my Churn Book if you want to read more.

Be very careful about the “if only” mentality. What do I mean? If you let your brain get used to the same patterns of thinking you’ll be happy “if only this hadn’t happened in my past” or “if only this happens in the future” then you will never be at peace. All you have in this life is this moment. Being present is your only chance at peace and probably happiness.

So, what can you do?

Be a great doctor. You finally have time in your life. Read. Dig deeper into pathologies, treatments, procedures, etc. Start questioning the dogma that is supposed standard of care. Here’s an example. Why shouldn’t you screen for with a TSH? Our experts say that it is too costly. But not in DPC. When you take the insurance and greed out of medicine, the paradigm changes. Are all vaccines needed? Maybe. But RSV? Are there natural treatments that Big Pharma doesn’t have a grip on that you can use for things?

You get my point.

Be the best doctor you can be. Read, learn, teach. Don’t get greedy. Be present. And be happy.

About Douglas Farrago, MD

Dr. Farrago is a retired family physician based in Forest, Virginia. Since 2021, he has run DPCnews.com, a leading resource for the Direct Primary Care (DPC) movement. He is the author of three best-selling books on Direct Primary Care: The Official Guide to Starting Your Own Direct Primary Care Practice The Direct Primary Care Doctor’s Daily Motivational Journal Slowing the Churn in Direct Primary Care (While Also Keeping Your Sanity) In 2016, Dr. Farrago conceived the idea for the Direct Primary Care Alliance and co-founded the organization alongside other pioneering DPC physicians. He is widely recognized as a leading expert in the DPC model and frequently lectures to medical students, residents, and practicing physicians on how to successfully start and run their own DPC practices.Dr. Farrago sold his Direct Primary Care practice in October 2020 but continues to receive care there as a patient.