Do you ever get that feeling that you can’t go any further? You are fatigued, unable to get going, and negative about your day to day. Or maybe, every little thing that is said or done makes you explode.
You pass through your day feeling like at any moment you might lose it. Well, these are signs of burnout and by the end of 2009 I had all of them. I was officially burned out!
One year of weekly call as a fellow! That’s why.Having attendings second-guess the majority of my decisions. Doing donor echocardiograms at odd hours of the night.
Being the alpha and omega for questions. My days were looking bleak. I was exhausted, unhappy, and unsure if my choice of cardiology was the right one.
But in February of 2009, I likely was at least moderately rude. I was burned out and not enjoying my day-to-day practice. I am not saying this is unusual as many of you probably feel the same way, but this was my experience.
So while this was happening, my wife and I got to talking. Neither of us had taken time to do international travel and both of us wanted to. Maybe a year off would do the trick in revitalizing my passion for medicine.
I decided I had to find a way to live abroad, and the sooner the better. I planned and finally organized a year in Argentina doing research. And it was awesome!
How was it awesome? It turned that frown upside down. I lived in Buenos Aires allowing for a good home base. From there, my wife and I traveled to 5 different spots in Argentina from the north (Iguazu Falls) to the south.
I ate lamb slowly cooked on a skewer over an open flame in Patagonia. I enjoyed more meat then I can recount, including pieces of the cow that I would not imagine eating such as blood sausage and chunchullo.