Season 11 is officially here!
Whether you’re catching us on our newly minted premier platform on YouTube or listening in via your favorite audio app, we are thrilled to kick off this brand-new season of EM Over Easy!
If you’ve been following us on social media or keeping tabs on the blog, you’ve probably noticed a few fresh faces around the table. While not all seven of us could jump on for the kickoff, old hats Andy Little, John Casey, and Tanner Gronowski are joined by two of our three newest co-hosts: Patricia Capone and Molly Estes!
To start Season 11 with a bang, we tackled a topic that every single person in healthcare deals with, yet few talk about honestly: our identity outside of the hospital.
The “All-Consuming White Coat” Trap
“Your job is important, but you’re not the job.”
Many of us were those kids in elementary or middle school who decided early on, “I want to be a doctor.” We spent the next 15 to 20 years with a single driving goal. High school, undergrad, med school, residency, fellowship, attendinghood—our lives became completely wrapped up in the pursuit and execution of this career.
Then, one day, you look around and realize: Who am I outside of this?
When medicine strips away your outside interests, it creates a dangerous “single pillar” identity. If your entire self-worth is tied to being an ER physician, what happens when you have a terrible shift, a bad outcome, or just a rough day? Reclaiming an identity beyond the hospital isn’t a luxury anymore; in modern emergency medicine, it is a necessity for survival and long-term career sustainment.
Cognitive Flexibility: Using Hobbies to Become a Better Physician
As John pointed out during the episode, keeping your work identity and your personal identity closer together saves immense energy. Don’t lose who you authentically are for who you think you should be.
In fact, stepping away from the emergency department to engage in completely non-medical outlets forces cognitive flexibility—the ability to shift perspectives and break out of rigid thinking patterns, which ultimately makes us sharper, more resilient, and more empathetic clinicians.
Our crew broke down how different types of hobbies provide the exact contrast our brains need after a shift:
1. Building, Mechanics, & Legos
- The ED Contrast: In the emergency department, the waiting room is never empty, and the work is never truly “done.”
- The Outlet: Outlets like woodworking, home projects, or assembling Lego sets have a clear beginning, middle, and tangible end. They offer a sense of completion that medicine rarely provides. Plus, watching people build things or learning new joinery challenges your brain to solve problems in entirely new ways.
2. Creative Arts & Music
- The ED Contrast: Medicine is highly protocol-driven, algorithmic, and left-brain focused.
- The Outlet: Creative writing, reading fiction, oil painting, or curated drive-home playlists give your right brain space to process emotion without words. (And yes, whether your post-shift vibe requires light Yacht Rock, Sarah McLachlan, or full-on Imperial March rage music, use it to unpack before stepping through your front door!)
3. Sports & Physical Outlets
- The ED Contrast: High-stakes, high-adrenaline teamwork where lives are on the line.
- The Outlet: Low-stakes physical activity—whether it’s hiking, group CrossFit, or playing pickleball with 75-year-olds—allows your body to process the cortisol and adrenaline spikes built up during shift work.
Overcoming the “I’m Too Tired” Excuse (And Reclaiming Your Time)
It’s easy to throw your hands up and say, “I’m just too tired after shift to have a hobby.”
While rest and pajama-clad binge-watching days are completely valid, try testing these two mindset shifts:
- Shift from “I Have To” to “I Get To”: If you frame an activity as “I get to do this today,” and it still brings zero spark to your brain, skip it. But if you feel that tiny spark of activation energy, push through the fatigue.
- Embrace the 15-to-30-Minute Micro-Hobby: You don’t need a four-hour block of free time to cultivate an outside life. Keep a “rolodex” of 15- or 30-minute activities you can pop into your day instead of mindlessly doom-scrolling on your phone.
- Give Yourself Permission to Suck: Physicians are notoriously Type-A perfectionists, but perfection is the enemy of fun. Give yourself permission to be a mediocre runner, a janky home DIY-er, or a novice painter. You don’t have to perform with excellence in your garage!
Watch the Show
Catch the Team Live at OMED in Las Vegas! 🎟️
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