- Dr Karan's Weekly Dose
- Posts
- 16th Newsletter
16th Newsletter
The time I almost quit surgery
Why did I come close to quitting surgery?
Was it burnout? No
Did I stop enjoying operating? No
Life has ups and downs and will be filled with moments of struggle, that is the human experience.
I was distracted.Distracted by unreasonable expectations of what I thought surgery was going to be at that point in my life and the desire to be perfect.
I thought everything was going to be perfect, and it wasn’t. I have no right to expect life to be perfect.
Perfectionism threatens your creativity and passion for things.
It was only when I poured my anxieties and worries out to my parents that I wasn’t fulfilled and that maybe I should take a year out and do something else…it clicked.
The next day I was on-call and was busy operating and seeing dozens of surgical patients throughout the day.
The day was no different from many other on-call days…except for one thing.
Everything seemed easy.
I was no longer plagued with stresses about getting everything perfect and impressing the bosses with every action or word I said.
I worked diligently as I normally did but I was now content with what I was doing.
I wasn’t perfect. I wasn’t going to get everything right all the time, but neither was any other doctor in the world.
Once I realised that my imperfection was good enough, I’ve never looked back and love my job more than ever.
An old surgeon/mentor told me that year, “any surgeon worth his salt goes through moments of self doubt – but as long as you can stay patient & say you’ve given 100% of your effort every time you step in the hospital or operating room…that is plenty good enough”Patience & effort = success. A lack of one can sabotage the other.