Knowing When to Quit: When Persistence Stops Paying Off in Medicine| Ep48
What if the real issue isn’t burnout in the dramatic sense, but quietly realizing you’re continuing more out of familiarity than desire?
In this episode of Better Physician Life, Dr. Michael Hersh discusses Annie Duke’s book Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away. He examines how the same grit that got physicians through training and early career can make it hard to recognize when a practice structure, schedule, or role no longer fits as well as it once did.
Drawing on the book, Dr. Hersh explores concepts such as escalation of commitment, the sunk cost fallacy, the tension between exploiting (optimizing the current setup) and exploring (considering new options), and the challenge of identity tied to being the reliable, always-available physician.
He emphasizes that most doctors aren’t looking to leave medicine entirely; they just want to ensure the way they’re working still supports the life they want to live. The episode encourages physicians to define clear “kill criteria” or decision points in advance and create space to step back and evaluate what still makes sense.
đź”— Learn more about coaching with Dr. Hersh: betterphysicianlife.com
About the Show:
Created for physicians who want more than clinical competence, Better Physician Life is a space for honest reflection, reinvention, and reclaiming purpose beyond the pager.
Hosted by Dr. Michael Hersh, each episode dives into the questions we didn’t learn to ask in training, offering tools and conversations to help you live and lead with intention.
Top 3 Takeaways:Â
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Persistence Can Become a Trap: The same determination that helped you succeed in medicine can make it difficult to notice when small, temporary increases in workload have become permanent. Subtle signals like hesitation before opening the schedule or hoping for cancellations often appear before obvious burnout.
- Sunk Costs and Identity Make Change Feel Bigger: We’ve invested years, our identity, and our reputation in our current path. Changing structure can feel like changing who we are, leading to “escalation of commitment,” in which we double down on more effort instead of reconsidering the setup itself.
- Define Decision Criteria in Advance: Just like in clinical medicine, set clear signals ahead of time for when to reassess. Exploration doesn’t mean you have to quit; it often confirms your current path still works or reveals small, helpful adjustments.
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