I am holding on to my practice. I am not ready to let go. And so for the next year, at least, I plan to return to Baltimore monthly to check on a hundred or so of my regular patients. At first making this plan calmed me down considerably; it felt impossible to end things permanently, and this was a way to stay connected to people that are very much a part of my daily life. Only recently does it occur to me that my plan is totally and utterly crazy. I will fly back each month to work four ten hour days, and then fly back to Quito. It will not be a profitable enterprise, and it will be exhausting.
It sounded like a very good plan a few months ago, and now I am less and less sure. Eric and I have to plan our schedule very tightly to ensure that one of us is home in Quito at all times to take care of Maya. Eric will have to return a few times to check on his lab in New Jersey and attend meetings. I think the plan is possible, but challenging.
On the other hand, the advantages are that I do not have to say goodbye to too many people; for many patients whom I see monthly anyway, it will not be different from the usual, and for those who see me more frequently, I will refer to other doctors and therapists who are more available. It makes the next several weeks less emotionally draining, for both my patients, and for me. Leaving Salt Lake and my huge practice was incredibly painful, and in the end I returned monthly to see the handful of patients who struggled finding a replacement psychiatrist. Eventually, after a year or so, everyone found exactly whom they needed, and I no longer (after ten years) hear anything from my former patients.
I imagine most psychiatrists stay in the same place for their whole career, developing long term relationships with their patients and seeing them til they die. I left my practice in Edmonton, then again in Southern California, Salt Lake, and now Baltimore. I am not sure this recurrent uprooting is good for my patients; certainly it devastates me every time.
It sounded like a very good plan a few months ago, and now I am less and less sure. Eric and I have to plan our schedule very tightly to ensure that one of us is home in Quito at all times to take care of Maya. Eric will have to return a few times to check on his lab in New Jersey and attend meetings. I think the plan is possible, but challenging.
On the other hand, the advantages are that I do not have to say goodbye to too many people; for many patients whom I see monthly anyway, it will not be different from the usual, and for those who see me more frequently, I will refer to other doctors and therapists who are more available. It makes the next several weeks less emotionally draining, for both my patients, and for me. Leaving Salt Lake and my huge practice was incredibly painful, and in the end I returned monthly to see the handful of patients who struggled finding a replacement psychiatrist. Eventually, after a year or so, everyone found exactly whom they needed, and I no longer (after ten years) hear anything from my former patients.
I imagine most psychiatrists stay in the same place for their whole career, developing long term relationships with their patients and seeing them til they die. I left my practice in Edmonton, then again in Southern California, Salt Lake, and now Baltimore. I am not sure this recurrent uprooting is good for my patients; certainly it devastates me every time.
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