Dear Future Doctors
Dear Future Doctors
Tracy Sanson, MD, FACEP
There are children just beginning their academic lives who have already decided they want to join our ranks. Somewhere, a kindergartener has declared to her mother that she will be a doctor someday. She has the same calling—a life in medicine—that each of us had and chose to pursue. This dedication to easing the pain of others is beautiful but not without peril.
The American healthcare community is facing a crisis. Physicians and residents are taking their own lives at an alarming rate. We must act to change the culture of healthcare. We must not allow future generations of doctors to face the same fate.
Delineating and describing the future we would want for tomorrow's doctors will clarify the steps we need to take today. This is the goal of the Dear Future Doctors project. Through letters to the physicians of the future, we can lay bare our hopes for them, pass along our knowledge, and begin the process of rectifying how we practice medicine in America in 2018.
Join me.
Write a letter to future physicians. What do you want them to know? Let’s clarify our hopes for the future of medicine. Let’s work to make those hopes realities.
A few prompts to consider:
- What do you hope the practice of medicine to be like for physicians 50 years from now?
- What are the realities of practicing medicine in America in 2018?
- What moments have inspired you? What moments have been your most challenging? What moves you?
- What are you committing to today to make the practice of medicine better and more sustainable for physicians in the future?
- What are the best ways to avoid burnout?
- What words of wisdom, truth, and encouragement do you have for the doctors of tomorrow?
Send us a letter using the form above and we’ll include your letters in our online Dear Future Doctors archive.
What are your hopes for tomorrow’s doctors? Send us your letters and tweet @TracySansonMD with the hashtag #dearfuturedoctors.