Birth and Balance

Since my last blog post in 2009, I changed jobs, got married, and had a baby. I came up for air last Tuesday. I still work as a primary care doctor in Boston and I love it. But I haven’t written anything in three years. No poems, essays, or blog posts. My personal journal thinks I died. This weekend, I started writing again.



I attended a writing conference this weekend. It reminded me how much writing adds a sustaining dimension to the day-to-day work-life balance. My job can be my career, if only I looked at it differently. The writing conference transformed my world view. I went to a writer’s workshop, which was so productive and energizing, I can’t wait to attend another one. The last time I went to a writing workshop was in 2008 on Block Island. I was a poet then. I’m a poet still.

Working as a primary care doctor can be tedious. I think any job can be tedious, even if you love it. Fortunately, my job gives me money for the sole purpose of educating myself. The Massachusetts Medical Board requires its doctors to take 100 hours worth of Continuing Medical Education, or CME, credits every 2 years. I’m a bit behind. I usually attend a CME conference twice a year and get my credits by attending lectures. They are usually about medicine.

This year, I wanted to do something unusual.

I attended what was probably the best CME course I have experienced so far: Improving Healthcare Leadership, Communication and Outcomes Through Writing and Publishing, sponsored by Harvard Health Publications. The conference website is www.harvardwriters.org.

I’ve been working on a book since residency, but not really. It shames me to think I haven’t been working on it, because writing is an integral part of my life, and also because I think my future book’s message is compelling. I’m writing about my experience as an intern in the shadow of a malpractice lawsuit. Deep, I know. Scary, yes. But I can’t tell you how many people have shared their malpractice experiences with me after hearing about my book idea. It’s a secret club. No one wants to talk about it, much less associate themselves with it, but they relish hearing my personal experience and that I know how they feel. Isn’t that what books are all about? When I read a book, I look for something in it that I can relate to, especially if the protagonist has an experience similar to mine. How do they handle it? How does it make them feel?

So, here I go. I shied away from Twitter and my blog, but that is no longer an option. I went to a 3 hour workshop on Social Media at the conference, an experience I liken to when I first understood Organic Chemistry. Both classes were revelationary for me.

Twitter is like a cocktail party, the workshop leader said. Here, I thought it was like writing an email to the world. And it is like writing an email for everyone to read, but in a productive and positive way. I can’t shy away from social media anymore, not if I want to get my book and my message out there. My work asked me once if I wanted to film a YouTube video to recruit patients to my practice, and my first instinct was Hell, No. That was a dumb idea, I now know. What century do I live in? Most of my newer patients are young, healthy, and social media savvy. Most of my future readers, I’m sure, will be the same, especially the latter. I can no longer ignore that.

While I figure out how to add my Twitter handle to my Blog, I'll include it here: @ChloeGeorgiaMD

Thanks for reading!