Hey guys. Welcome back. I'm sure most of you are on social media, and you've seen that one of the top trending topics right now on Instagram, TikTok, all of the above, is how to leave the healthcare profession, and I wanna kind of do a more uncomfortable episode to challenge you around that topic. if you are not happy in healthcare, that is one thing, but I think like social media does, it's giving us a false visual of what the healthcare profession is like. And so I wanna kind of focus on the positives and remind you why we're in this. So if you were listening to this and healthcare suits your personality, healthcare does fulfill you. Maybe you're just in a rough spot right now, this episode. Is for you. Not all of us have to leave our nine to five or our 10, 12 hour shifts, three times per week in healthcare. Whatever setup you have, not all of us have to leave that in order to be happy. So let's dive into the good stuff. So as you guys know, the first thing I want to mention, number one, healthcare is one of the most rewarding professions to be a part of Every single job that we decide to do should be a reflection of our personality, what fulfills us, what our motivations in life are, and for a lot of us, we like to give back to others. Healthcare is a great way to do that. Some of us are saving lives every single day. Some of us are providing relief. Some of us are providing answers for people's hard asked questions when it comes to their healthcare conditions. Regardless, all of us are making a huge difference in our patients' lives. That is something that should never, ever be forgotten and is one of the number one reasons why we go into this in the first place. Another thing to focus on is the fact that a lot of the times it's a very variable position or variable profession to be a part of. Some of us go through our schooling and training. We decide to go into clinical care. Some of us decide to go into nonclinical care. You can dive into education. You can tap into consulting. You can be an online influencer. In the world of healthcare, you can choose to have a mom and pop practice all by yourself if you want to. A lot of the time you can work for. Big time. Healthcare, corporations, hospitals, the list goes on and on. You can do travel work. I mean, seriously, it's one of the most versatile things out there. It's not like we get one degree and then we can only do one specific thing. That's something to remember too. So if you do feel like you're stuck in a hard place right now, maybe look at your degrees, maybe look at your credentials and see what else you can do. Maybe there's something small you can easily tack on to Open up the door for some new positions. Number three. One of the best parts about working in healthcare that I have especially been focusing on the last like three to four years, is that we tend to have higher on average wages and salaries. This has always been important to realize, but especially now more than ever since Covid, since some of the changes that are happening in the United States and inflation and all of that. Not to get political, but things are changing and we all know about that. and so how great is it to be a part of a profession that actually has opportunities for higher wages, whether it's hourly or salary? We are definitely in the upper category, than a lot of our colleagues and peers and other professions and some of our friends. we get to note that that is one of the privileges of working in the healthcare system. Number four, job security. We all know healthcare is not going anywhere. I think it's a wonderful thing to know that we chose a career and we chose degrees in a field that's always going to be there. So here are some of the reasons why this trend is really popular right now in general on social media. Everyone's trying to tell you, Hey, quit your job. Be an influencer. The reality is that it's just not there for everybody and that's okay. it's okay to be online. It's okay to do whatever you want to do. If you want to do those things, great. If you don't, you don't have to. but I think it's important to realize that. The social media world is making it seem like being your own boss or working on social media, or even just being a remote employee is the best thing in the world. And again, for some people it may be, but I think it's important to realize that it's not for everyone. Some of us do better with a nine to five. Some of us do better with working three days a week. 12 hour shifts. Hello nurses. there's so many options out there and we have to consider our family structure, what type of goals we have financially. do we wanna work day shift, night shift, have flexible hours, non flexible hours. I know personally, my short-term slash mini long-term goal. Is to finally get to the point where I'm working mostly nine to three. And that's because I have a goal of being the best mom that I can be. And I know for me in the future when my kids are in school busy with sports, I wanna be more present. So working throughout the evenings on the weekends is just not sustainable for me. But to some it might be the best thing ever. And it's important to really acknowledge too that seasons change. I think it's great to job hop. Don't come at me, but I think it's awesome because if you're in a season. Pre-kids, post kids, or maybe your happiness and your fulfillment goals change, why not get a new job? I don't think that it is realistic anymore to stay at the same job for 40 years. if you found the job of your dreams and can do that, that's awesome. It's just not for everyone. So remember that it is 2025. You can do whatever you want, and ultimately, at the end of the day, your job should be bringing you fulfillment in life. It should be making you happy. It shouldn't feel like a chore to attend your shifts every single day, week after week. That is why people are struggling with burnout and things like that. I do think it's important to touch on why social media is bringing these concepts to light. Obviously the elephant in the room, the number one reason people are mentioning healthcare being a less than stellar choice is of course due to return on investment And student loans. Yes, they're out there. I think we have more resources than ever before though, where we can be informed early on what those student loans are going to look like. Maybe that means if you have a partner doubling down on their income and their goals first before yours, or vice versa, coming up with a financial plan to prepare for those loans. I had a lot of friends that took out the max loans possible That ended up not being the best decision for some of those people. And for some of them maybe they needed that extra help. Maybe they didn't have a good support structure. Maybe they didn't have help from their parents. It's important to know what your future holds instead of being oblivious. And I feel like 10, 20 years ago, we just didn't know enough about student loans in general and how they worked and how to pay them back. So a lot of us did go into this a little bit more blindly, but what I'm loving is that there are groups online now to help healthcare providers mitigate these decisions. One of my favorite resources out there is called White Coat Investors. They have a Facebook group just chock full of information. You can chat with other people in your same boat. He's come out with books and all kinds of information. I believe he has a podcast as well. so that is one of my top resources that I recommend to my colleagues and friends who have some financial questions. Another thing to consider is burnout and exhaustion. Healthcare does take a lot out of us as clinicians and providers. So it is important to make sure we are striving for some kind of work-life balance and key thing here, picking the specialty that's best for you. And let's go back to the fact that not every position is the same. So making sure that, yeah, you love healthcare, yes, you love your specialty, but did you pick the position that's going to help prevent burnout and exhaustion? All of those things really, really matter. So personally, I'm really passionate about the W2 employee versus ownership. Side of healthcare. I think it's insanity to think that everyone has to own their own business in order to be successful. So personally, I strive to make sure that I'm diving into my employees, pouring into them, making sure that they have a great setup, but also educating others out there. teaching young providers how to negotiate their contracts. All of those things really matter to not only be successful and fulfilled in your job, but also to make sure that you're not being forced into a position that you don't wanna be in. I was one of those people that never saw herself being entrepreneurial. And so it's really funny to now be in those shoes. I fully embraced it, but when I look back on where I was five years ago, this was just not in the cards for me. And so I wanna make sure that we are taking advantage of all of the resources out there and making sure we know what options we have. Ultimately, at the end of the day, I just wanted to be here to remind you guys that follow all these accounts as much as you want on social media, but don't forget that at the end of the day, all that matters is that you're happy and that you picked a career that's going to give you joy. Thanks for listening. Looking forward to seeing you next time.