Today we have a very special guest, Dr. Pooja, who faced tremendous challenges including being let go from two residency programs and facing a very dark period in her life. Despite these obstacles, she found her way forward to a career path where she is using her medical training in a way that she finds very fulfilling and affords her a great work-life balance. Let’s delve into Dr. Pooja’s story of resilience and perseverance, and uncover the steps she took to move forward when she was filled with uncertainty and doubt. Her journey is a powerful reminder that even when things seem hopeless, your skills are valuable and there are always paths forward.
In this episode we’re talking about:
- Dr. Pooja’s background and the challenges she faced in her residency programs.
- The impact and importance of advocating for oneself.
- How personal and professional setbacks can intertwine and affect overall well-being.
- The pivotal moment that led to Dr. Pooja’s turnaround.
- Strategies for moving forward when feeling uncertain and doubtful.
- How to identify and leverage transferable skills.
- Compensation insights and work-life balance in nonclinical roles.
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This is helpful for residents struggling in their training. I think a lot of people in faculty don’t have a full view of what residents are doing. If you get one or a few bad reviews, then they start picking you apart. And that’s unfair. If you’re able to get through medical school and get into residency, I think you have shown that you have the potential to be a good doctor and you deserve support to get through it. Not all educators are perceptive and some try to make decisions without knowing why a resident may be struggling. That really pisses me off. We work SO hard for so long. And some people don’t know how to support us through it. This also disproportionately affects residents of color. You have to be twice as good as your white peers to be considered half as good. They will single you out for having the SAME exact struggles that EVERYONE ELSE has. I really hate that. People who lack insight, empathy, and patience shouldn’t be in educator roles. Advocate for yourself. You put in the blood, sweat, and tears to be a physician. You deserve the opportunity to succeed.
Thank you Bea for listening this episode with Dr.Pooja and taking the time to share your comments. You are right that so much time and effort is put into training that any decision to terminate a resident needs to be carefully evaluated as the ramifications are enormous. Unfortunately, not all programs or individuals are fair and biases and prejudice do exist. For anyone feeling discriminated against, or worried about how their performance is being perceived, I agree with what you said about advocating for oneself and get the help you need to make sure you can succeed.
I had to cut short this podcast as Dr Pooja repeatedly refused to answer the questions posed in the beginning as to exactly what happened in the residencies. She kept answering a different question centering around what she could have done differently. It doesn’t really help gain insight into exactly what or how she overcame.
I felt the same way. A lot of platitudes but no specifics.
Thank you for commenting.
I agree. Without more info on what happened we do not know if some people just are not a fit for clinical medicine or general medicine. I got a MBA and only got to use it as Director of Nuclear Medicine. Each person is different but it would be useful to us if we knew her real issues during her residency.
Thank you for your comments.
Agree. I’m out (from listening to the podcast) and I’m not “Inspired” by the story because subject has not established credibility.
Thank you for commenting. I hope that you will find other episodes of the podcast helpful and to you liking.
I have just listened to this podcast, number 190… well done and insightful
The physician is indeed resilient, and a set up for the politics of training/ and practice in medicine.
I personally experienced a practice challenge that few will write about, misuse of computers… my own discovery and rsponse , and how officials responded… which to this day is beyond noteworthy.
Still processing this from a few years ago, considering non clinical work for awhile…”at crossroad” is accurate
with appreciation,
Thank you for your comments.
Dear Dr. Meaney-Elman,
I too am at a significant crossroads in my 23 year post residency career and would love to connect.
It’s wonderful to see this doctor land on her feet and have a fulfilling life, but I’m troubled by how she was treated. If she was allowed to complete the full 3 years of the second program, she certainly should have been given credit for that, and allowed to go forward in her career. If there were a problem during those three years, she should have been held back, or dismissed earlier. You don’t let somebody go all the way through the program, and then not give them credit for it at the end. It sounds like she’s moved on, but the people who accredit postgraduate medical education need to take a close look at that program. The next person they mistreat may not be so lucky.
Thank you for commenting.
It is hard to make any call on this story:
Residency types and reason for dismissals. It is not common to be dismissed without good cause if, for no other reason, because the open slot may frequently not getting filled.Were the 2 residency requirements the same or different? (I did a general surgery internship and had to be an intern for 1 month due to not meeting all family medicine requirements). Requirements for transition from one residency training type to another type are usually determined by the academy of the 2nd residency program.How is it that the physician was dismissed if “many staff physicians” were supportive?It seems like part of this article is to point physicians, with or without residency training/board certification, to move to non-clinical careers. While this particular physician increased her income by 5 years, I have no idea how much the initial income was, especially compared to earning potential had this physician completed her residency and practiced in her field.
Articles such as this are of little actual use if pertinent issues are not addressed.
Thank you for your comments.
As a program director of a Residency program, I read this article in hopes of gaining insight into how I can better help my residents who might be struggling (in a way like Dr. Pooja did). Unfortunately, I only was provided with an opportunity to have sympathy for someone who likely was never a good fit to be an American physician (as we are talking exclusively about the American GME system) in the first place. I was overjoyed to hear that she was able to transition her life path in a productive way but frustrated that this article did not deliver any insight to how programs can better serve residents. Disappointed that Dr. Pooja wasted this opportunity to actually make a difference in how the system works or how to help protect people who find themselves in a similar situation and were looking for guidance. If you want to help, then speak out and share your valuable truth. I hope she reads this.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this episode!