"We have to heal ourselves first. That begins with caring for our own minds and bodies, and souls. It means not avoiding (as I did) caring for our own physical and especially our mental health. It means we must be a part of the lives of our families and loved ones as well.

Once that is accomplished, then and only then can we move on effectively to heal and revitalize our beloved profession. And likewise, that is not a battle that can be shouldered alone. We must join with and support each other. We must arm ourselves with knowledge and motivation by taking advantage of mentors and coaches. And perhaps most importantly, we must be aware of when we need to be the mentor and when to be the protégé. Only then will we heal ourselves.

Randy Cook is a surgeon and physician coach.

He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, "How to heal and revitalize our beloved profession." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2021/09/how-to-heal-and-revitalize-our-beloved-profession.html)