Off the clock: Indulging your passions outside of medicine

The sun was beginning to rise over the horizon as I stood above the clouds at 15,500 feet on the way to the summit of Iztaccihuatl, one of Mexico’s largest volcanoes.

Next door, the active stratovolcano Popocatépetl was rumbling as it exhaled a plume of smoke from its caldera (a hollow formed when a volcano erupts).

Weeks later, after going through my camera photos, this was the perfect shot that took my breath away. This stunning moment (and the image that resulted) will always be ingrained in my memory.

Don’t wait until retirement

The physical and mental challenges of being in the mountains allow me to combine my love for being outside, traveling the world, and practicing the art of photography.

I thrive on big mountain quests. Spending multiple days in the backcountry above 12,000 feet not only brings me immense gratification but also drives me to be better in my professional and personal life.

Soaking up different cultures and waking up at 2 am at basecamp in below-freezing temperatures to go on multi-day expeditions to stand on top of 18,000-foot (or higher) mountains is just the icing on the cake. I not only love big mountain expeditions—I also love training for them.

I love planning big-mile hikes or runs, long Nordic ski days, purchasing a new piece of gear, meeting financial goals to go on a big expedition, and planning the nitty-gritty details of the trip.

Although spending time in the mountains may not be everyone’s cup of tea, finding a hobby outside of medicine (or outside of any career) is a crucial part of your personal development that, when done in a healthy manner, can positively feed into your professional development.

Makes you more relatable

Often, the theoretical “invisible barrier” between patients and physicians portrays physicians as unrelatable. But the physician-patient relationship is nurtured when we can show our human side to our patients to build a good rapport.

We can do this by talking about our hobbies outside of medicine.

Rise above a bad day

Our careers as physicians can easily consume us. They can become our entire identity to the point that if we have a bad day at work, we may feel terrible if that’s the only lens through which we view our lives.

If we deal with a patient dying, a horrible case of abuse, or are frustrated with our jobs’ endless tasks and administrative duties, the only thing that will change our bad attitude is a better day at work. Maybe a patient said horrible things to me today, or a patient died, but I could still get out for a long run or ski a couple of runs on the mountain to turn my day around.

Physicians have the ability to tie not only our hobbies and passions into our clinical practice but also to our overall well-being as doctors. I look at being in the mountains as a way to cultivate resilience on the job.

We are people first

We want what everyone wants—a happy, fulfilling life. Therefore, we must nourish ourselves before caring for our patients.

I could even argue that hobbies and passions should be used as a benchmark to gauge physician self-care, regardless of where you are in your training or career.

After all, our passions outside of work, whether they are cooking, gardening, baking, running, writing, or climbing big mountains, deliver a crucial reminder: We are humans first and physicians second.