Stay in Medicine with Dr. Janet Cruz
move past burnout and regain control.
I am Dr. Janet Cruz and along with my husband and co-author, Lee Elias, we are on a mission to help physicians restructure their lives. We want to help you deal with the big challenges in healthcare to create a lifestyle you can live with and even thrive in.
We want to help you and those around you form a team you can be proud of.
The medical industry has been struggling for years. Many people know about the burnout epidemic in medicine, and in some ways, it has been the canary in the coal mine. Burnout is shedding light on what really ails the medical system.
I am in the trenches so I know what the struggles are, and I have personally struggled with burnout throughout my career. Practicing medicine is where I want to be, so I made the decision that something needed to change.
I could not resign myself to a life where I dreaded going to work.
I began to search for ways to reinvigorate my passion for medicine and to help my colleagues who were also facing burnout. What started as a project to keep myself in medicine evolved into something bigger.
The result is the book Stay in Medicine, as well as my podcast and this website.
In the book, I outline the current climate that leads to burnout in physicians and other healthcare providers, as well as other issues facing our profession. I share the solutions I have devised to help each of us handle burnout in our own lives—to start making a difference now.
Doctors, in order to continue helping patients, first we have to help ourselves. We all know the Oxygen Mask theory: You have to put the oxygen mask on yourself before helping others. If you don't, you risk not being able to help anyone at all.
We need to take a stand against rising healthcare costs. A stand against barriers to effective and timely care of our patients. Against losing passionate and talented physicians—leaving medicine from burnout.
Let’s take that a step further and redirect the conversation toward solutions. Let’s keep ourselves and those who have contributed to creating this situation accountable as we connect.
Let’s take a step forward together.
We can save more lives—if we save each other first.
Physicians in the US have the highest suicide rate of any profession, more than double that of the general population.
According to the 2019 Medscape National Physician Burnout, Depression and Suicide Report surveying nearly 15,000 physicians, approximately 44 percent are burned out. As a result, 40 percent are more likely to work part-time or leave clinical medicine altogether.
According to recent data published by the AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges), a shortage of nearly 122,000 physicians is predicted by 2032, not including the loss of physicians currently leaving medicine due to burnout (Spector, 2018).
In a 2021 report, 79 percent of doctors reporting burnout said it began before the pandemic. Only 21 percent said their burnout was due to the COVID pandemic.
Step 1: Read
Our book Stay in Medicine: How Physicians Can Move Past Burnout and Regain Control is the first step to get you, your practice, and this industry moving on a path to success.
Step 2: Listen
My podcast Stay In Medicine will feature real discussions on common issues that we all deal with in our medical practices. Each guest will offer tips and advice on how to overcome those challenges and stay in medicine.
Step 3: Get help
Your medical practice is not just about seeing patients. Let us help you ensure your business is running efficiently, with the ability to pivot during the constantly changing climate. See how we can help.
About the book
Doctors, we know all about long hours, overwhelming workloads, lack of support from the healthcare system, and the loss of control in many aspects of our lives. Physicians and healthcare systems are at a precipice. It’s time we have a serious conversation about where we want to go together.
Stay in Medicine is a boots-on-the-ground guide full of practical tips to help you improve day-to-day life in your clinic and begin the conversation to change healthcare as an industry.
Here are some of the tools you’ll find to help you breathe again:
How to identify and handle burnout, both for yourself and for your colleagues
Strategies to help you regain a sense of control
Simple methods to reduce time-killers
Proven team-building and leadership tactics improve collaboration in your clinic
Talking points to begin the larger conversation to change healthcare as a whole
Stay in Medicine is available now on Amazon!
About the authors
Janet Cruz, M.D., is a board-certified family medicine physician in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she served on the front lines of the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Cruz served in the United States Air Force in the U.K. and the U.S. from 2010-2017 as a medical director and a staff family medicine physician. In addition to clinical responsibilities, she coordinated training programs for wartime contingencies, humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief response.
Lee Elias is a professional speaker, award-winning author, entrepreneur, and coach. He is the founder of Game Seven Group, an organization that aims to inspire the world to believe in the power of teamwork. Game Seven Group works with teams and leaders in the business, nonprofit, medical, and sports worlds to unlock excellence, reach their potential, and ultimately win using the spirit and culture of a professional sports organization.
Lee and Janet reside in the greater Philadelphia area with their two children.
The Stay In Medicine Podcast
It’s time we have a serious conversation about where we want to go together. On the Stay in Medicine Podcast with Dr. Janet Cruz, we will have conversations that support bringing physicians together to solve problems facing the medical industry.
The podcast supports the mission of being a boots-on-the-ground guide full of practical tips to help you improve day-to-day life in your clinic and begin the conversation to change healthcare as an industry.
New episodes every week. Tune in and subscribe for updates!
realign or rebuild your practice
Your medical practice is not just about seeing patients. Let us help you ensure your business is running efficiently, with the ability to pivot during the constantly changing climate. We offer customized medical practice consulting packages to help you with the growing challenges that can affect your practice.
See below for our package pricing, or get in touch for a custom proposal.
Dr. Cruz and Lee Elias will participate in a thirty minute Zoom or in-person session with your team and leadership to answer questions you may have regarding challenges facing your clinic.
Dr. Cruz and Lee Elias will work with your team to outline and begin the process of rehabbing your clinic to its full potential.