One of my partners is leaving the practice to go to greener pastures. In the last few years I just got my professional life manageable. There is no one to take on her 1500 pts. So I say to my nurse who is also hers, “Give me 50 who really need a doctor, just no drug addicts” So she really came through. Several paraplegics, folks with advanced cancer. Several bipolar pts. The kicker is a 40 year old woman whose kids were on the swim team I used to coach and has an incurable cancer. Really nice lady who doesn’t deserve that but then again who deserves that? Tell me your stories to make me feel better. Or just tell me to suck it up. I probably need that too.
Not sure what you do, but it sounds like a pickle. Take on the patients you can and have the partner send the obligatory “I’m outa here” letters to the rest.
Can’t help everyone.
Good luck!
As opposed to what? Healthy clients that don’t really need a doctor? I get that you don’t want drug addicts and chronic pain whiners. But the rest. They are the ones who need the assistance of the profession you chose, you worked hard to enter. You chose it for a variety of reasons, but I’ll wager that “helping others” was a significant part of the reason. So remember that and simply, do that. Help people who need, value and are deserving of your help.
What good will you be to any of your patients if you are run down from taking on too much? Better to be a good doctor to X number of patients than to be a run down doctor to X + Y patients.
On the other hand, I’m sure there are young doctors who would appreciate the opportunity to join your practice.
Suck it up. But out of all those you might have one really good story.
My wife just got a really nice call from her pulmonologist. (I documented her scare in another thread).
He said it was heartlifting for him to see her recovery completely and quickly because he said he and his team had initially chalked her up in the “going to die” camp. Said it felt great for them to get a clear win.
Do u own your practice or are u employed?
My good story is that I have an awesome primary care provider and it makes all the difference.
I would not be in the health I am without her.
She treated both my parents as they progressed through dementia with such kindness - and she saw me too and the strain it put on me and the invisibility of being a care taker and got me help I did not yet know I needed. I’m pretty sure I would have major medical issues and a divorce if she had not stepped in.
Is anyone else in the cancer patient family a patient of your colleague as well? Perhaps it would be healing to the family if they could all come over- if that patient was extra special to you. There is something to be said for seeing caretakers go from their worst to finding their feet after that is a positive. Not to put more on your plate- but I think my primary doctor also being the doctor of my parents and my husband allowed her to help me in a way she could not have if she was not.
It would avoid a stress too if having a spouse lose their doctor.
FWIW, doing the right thing is frequently hard. And why it is worth doing 