Are you absorbing the system’s dysfunction?
Do you find yourself absorbing the collective frustration of health care dysfunction? Taking on the role of savior? Overextending to compensate for broken processes? Feeling personally responsible for guiding patients, family, or friends through the labyrinth of health care?
You’re not alone.
The power of choice in medicine
It’s rare that a practicing physician can change the system while practicing within it. The work is too all-encompassing, and the complexities of the situation are too immense. What we can do is choose how we show up within it.
What is ours to fix?
How do we want to contribute to change?
What do we actually have the capacity for?
What is reasonable to take on?
There is no universal answer. Each of us has a different role to play. Each choice is valid. The key is consciously choosing rather than unconsciously absorbing and reacting.
From judgment to curiosity
Systemic pressures and time constraints lead us to rush, judge, and miscommunicate. Choosing curiosity over judgment benefits patients and preserves physicians’ humanity.
Celebrate what works (not just what’s broken)
The system is deeply flawed. And, alongside the delays and dysfunctions, there are moments of compassion, collaboration, and impact. Noticing what works isn’t ignoring the truth. It’s expanding it. Celebrating small wins is essential for sustaining morale and meaning.
What’s yours to carry: Redefining responsibility in medicine
Physicians are taught to hold it all. To advocate endlessly. To fix everything. But most system problems are beyond our control.
Our over-responsibility and toxic independence become a source of great suffering.
Part of practicing medicine mindfully is asking daily: What’s mine to carry—and what’s not?
When we learn to define what’s reasonable to take on, set boundaries without guilt, and let go of responsibility for systemic failures, the practice of medicine becomes more sustainable and fulfilling.
Mindfulness tools for sustainable practice
Mindfulness and coaching aren’t just buzzwords—they’re essential skill sets for today’s physicians. They help you:
- Respond with clarity instead of frustration
- Set boundaries aligned with our values
- Recenter on what is in our control
- Let go of what isn’t ours to carry
This allows you to show up as a leader, a healer, and a human, without depletion.
Reimagining your role in medicine
The future of medicine doesn’t rely on physicians doing more. It depends on us showing up differently.
With presence. With purpose. And with discernment.
We don’t have to carry it all.
We don’t have to burn out to prove our dedication.
We can practice medicine in a way that honors both our calling and our well-being.
Jessie Mahoney is a board-certified pediatrician, certified coach, mindfulness and yoga teacher, and the founder of Pause & Presence Coaching & Retreats. After nearly two decades as a physician leader at the Permanente Medical Group/Kaiser, she stepped outside the traditional medical model to reimagine what sustainable well-being in health care could look like. She can also be reached on Facebook and Instagram.
Dr. Mahoney’s work challenges the culture of overwork and self-sacrifice in medicine. She helps physicians and leaders cultivate clarity, intention, and balance—leveraging mindfulness, coaching, yoga, and lifestyle medicine to create deep and lasting change. Her CME retreats offer a transformative space for healing, self-discovery, and renewal.
As co-host of The Mindful Healers Podcast, she brings self-compassion and presence into the conversation around modern medical practice. A sought-after speaker and consultant, she partners with organizations to build more human-centered, sustainable, and inspired medical cultures.
Dr. Mahoney is a graduate of Dartmouth College and the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine.