I gave up my dream of being a doctor at a local hospital just one year out of medical school. That decision cost me close to half a million dollars, but it was worth it.

The first two years of medical school felt like high school all over again. There was lots of studying as well as material to memorize.

Things got a lot more exciting but taxing from the third year onwards. That was when we got to shadow junior doctors at the hospital. We also had to spend full working days in the hospital before going home to study at night.

It dawned upon me then that we would be taking over from those junior doctors in just a few years. The burden and responsibility of having to take care of patients began to weigh on me.

Back then, our seniors in medical school would warn us about life after graduation. They would tell us about the terrible working hours that came with being on call, like having to work for two days straight without rest.

I began to worry if I could live up to the challenge. I remembered asking myself, “Can I physically cope with this? Can I mentally step up to this kind of challenge? Do I have the resilience and skills required to do this?”

Confronting the long hours and feelings of burnout

After resigning in July 2022, I took a career break to recover from the burnout and traveled for about three months.

I now split my time between working as a locum doctor and studying for my graduate diploma in mental health. I’m not craving for a full-time role at this point because I enjoy the freedom that comes with being a locum.

For instance, I can just take leave and go off whenever. I also get to choose between working in a clinic or as a telemedicine physician.

That said, I wouldn’t mind pursuing new ventures that delve into my areas of interest like lifestyle medicine or mental and preventive health.

The truth is, I don’t think it’s easy for governments around the world to tackle the problem of burnout and exhaustion in healthcare.

Younger doctors now want work-life balance, and they’re not afraid to speak up about it. We know that we can’t set ourselves on fire to keep others warm.