The story we tell about doctors who leave. What if burnout Isn’t the whole picture?

There's a common assumption whenever a doctor steps away from clinical medicine: that they must have burned out. It's the explanation people reach for first, rather than asking whether it's actually true. I understand why. It's the story we hear most, and it fits with the current narrative that everyone is leaving.

It's also, I've noticed, the angle people are often keenest to pursue when I've been approached to share my story — journalists, podcast hosts, people writing about doctors leaving medicine. Burnout makes for a more clickable headline than "I found something I wanted to do more." I understand why it's the angle others want. I'm just not willing to force my story into that mould, just because it's the one that gets more attention.

Because that's not my story.