The Sunday Best 04/06/2025

Chances are that we have never met. I probably have no clue what your life is right now. You could be floating in a sea of money, happiness and fulfillment or you could be depressed, living paycheck to paycheck and wondering if you chose the right career. Or somewhere in between. I have no clue.

Still, I believe that there are a few things that we have in common.

We want to improve our lives and ourselves. Heck, that is one of the reasons why we all went to medical school—trust me, few of us cited that reason at the med school interview. But somewhere on that list of why we chose this profession is the allure of status and money. Unfortunately, those rewards are in the eyes of the beholder. The reality is that the demands of our profession, family obligations, and the swiftly changing world often leave us feeling like we’re running on a treadmill that keeps getting faster.

Yet we persist. Because beneath the exhaustion and the charting and the difficult conversations, there’s something profoundly meaningful about the work we do. Every day, we’re given the privilege to heal, to comfort, to witness humanity at its most vulnerable. Perhaps the true transformation isn’t found in the external rewards we once chased, but in recognizing that we already possess what matters most—the ability to make a difference, one patient at a time.

Wherever you are in your life right now is only temporary and also at the same time the exact place you are supposed to be. This paradox encourages us to find meaning in where we are while recognizing that we’re not meant to stay there forever. The economy will eventually stabilize, no matter what our government throws at us we will still thrive, no matter how bad things get we still have unique skill sets as physicians that will help us get through. It’s these beliefs that got us through pandemics, elections, and economic bubbles. My favorite conspiracy theory? Everything will be okay.

Chances are that you’re reading this during a rare quiet moment in your hectic day. Perhaps you’re questioning whether all those years of training were worth it. What I know for certain is this: the same determination that carried you through medical school is still within you. Today may not be perfect, but it’s yours to shape. And in that space between who you are and who you’re becoming lies your greatest opportunity—the chance to heal yourself with the same compassion you offer others.

Jorge Sanchez, MD

Naples, Florida

The Sunday Best 04/06/2025

President Trump’s announcement of sweeping tariffs has sent shockwaves through global financial markets. The introduction of a baseline 10% tariff on all imports, with higher rates for specific countries, such as a 34% tariff on Chinese goods and a 25% levy on automobile imports, has led to significant market volatility and raised concerns about long-term economic growth.

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When the stock market moves too quickly down, trading can be paused automatically. This is known as a circuit breaker. These temporary stops are triggered by steep, rapid declines in the S&P 500 index, and are intended to give investors a moment to reassess before panic selling snowballs. 

At the exact time when discipline is required, it can so often desert us. The current tariff turmoil is a perfect opportunity to make some very bad decisions. To help avoid this, here are some dos and don’ts for investors.

Volatility/uncertainty is the price of admission to the stock market. Without some short term pain there cannot be long term gains. Of course, that’s easier said than done and in moments like this we tend to want to act, to take control of things that appear to be spiraling out of control. So, what should you do (or not do) in environments like this?

For decades, experts have warned of an impending decline in the physician workforce. Now, Americans across all regions, specialties and socioeconomic backgrounds are experiencing that decline firsthand or personally. The National Center for Health Workforce Analysis projects a national shortage of 140,000 physicians by 2036, with that shortfall spanning multiple specialties, including primary care, obstetrics, cardiology and geriatrics.

MU Health Care and Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield failed to agree on a contract, leaving thousands of patients to seek other healthcare options to stay in Anthem’s network. One alternative gaining popularity is direct primary care, a subscription-based form of healthcare that began in the 2000s.

Some good news: As a measles outbreak in West Texas and New Mexico continues to grow, and other states report outbreaks of their own, some pediatricians across the U.S. say they are seeing a new trend among concerned parents: vaccine enthusiasm.

People are bad at their jobs is a sibling, of course, to no one wants to work anymore: the refrain of peak pandemic years. But both are deflections from what actually makes people “bad” at their jobs — or disincentivizes people to work. The truth is: the jobs are bad.

Imagine on your next birthday you get handed a check for $2M. Congrats! In one moment you’ve earned what a typical American earns over their entire career. Does this mean that you can celebrate and never work again? Well, it depends.

Household finances are in a strange place. The rich are getting richer, but everyone else is getting richer, too, just at a slower pace in most cases. Pew Research shows upper income households have seen their incomes grow much faster than middle and lower income households since 1970. 

Rachel and Dennis are a retired couple whose house is paid off, and their investment portfolio doesn’t only consist of U.S. stocks; they also own plenty of bonds and international stocks that helped cushion the selloff yesterday. The old-fashioned approach of investing in low-cost, diversified index funds spread across U.S. stocks, international stocks, and bonds seems to have worked for them over the years.