In defending physicians over the years, I have learned a lot. Besides learning just enough of medicine to be dangerous (mostly to myself), I have had the privilege of being there for physicians during their most vulnerable time - through a lawsuit.
I have yet to meet a physician who did not know that there was an extremely high likelihood that they would be sued at some point in their career. However, that knowledge has never softened the blow when it actually happens to them.
A few months ago, I was chatting with a physician (let's call him Dr. K), who shared with me how his own litigation experience has taken him through years of a painful whirlwind. He said it was isolating, and triggered many emotions that he had to stumble through.
When faced with a lawsuit, it is common for physicians to feel like their world has turned upside down. They are left in utter shock, panic, feeling overwhelmed.
While his journey was not easy, Dr. K said that he was adamant to find a way to create a positive takeaway from his experience. Instead of letting the experience take something away from him.
Having lived by my own mantra of "never let pain go to waste," this comment was music to my ears.
My conversation with Dr. K and the numerous other discussions that I have had with physicians, reinforced my gut instinct that physicians needed "more" as they go through litigation.
Now, it took me almost a year of chipping away to precisely define what that "more" was. I felt it in my gut, but it was so hard to articulate, to figure out how I could help if I was not a physician's lawyer, and then design a framework around it.
BUT . . . it is finally ready. Click on my services page to learn more about my coaching framework.
I created the framework by exploring the following:
"What's the #1 thing every physician in a medical malpractice lawsuit wants?"
The answer was simple - Physicians want for the lawsuit to go away.
Unfortunately, since magic wands are not yet available for sale on Amazon, I had to dig deep, talk with my physician friends and network, to come up with the "next best" thing.
So what is it?
To unload that heavy weight of a lawsuit.
You get there by:
Deciding to take charge. Committing to not let this process, an inextricable part of the medical profession, an occupational hazard, get the best of you.
Recognizing it takes a village to get through a lawsuit and you aren't doing yourself any favors by going it alone.
Figuring out what support and resources you need to get through the challenge, whether it's through a therapist, a friend, your partner, or a coach, and then implementing those resources.
Because here is the thing. The only other alternative is to stick your head in the sand, pretend the lawsuit does not exist, only talk to your lawyer when necessary, and stuff those emotions as far down as you can, which is akin to holding down an beachball under water...
My hope is that you go with the first option. That you at least give it the consideration it deserves, because this decision will have a ripple effect on your life, and the lives of those around you, your colleagues, your staff, your family, your friends, for a while.
There is not a scintilla of doubt in my mind that every physician can successfully overcome the challenges of a lawsuit with proper resources and support, and not be weighed down by overwhelm, confusion, and stress.
Because the truth is, it's not the challenge of a lawsuit that is weighing you down.
Yes, lawsuits are hard, they are not stress free. But physicians are no strangers to doing hard things. Things that most humans would not dare to take on.
The weight that you feel is caused by the following:
Feeling in the dark and vulnerable because of lack of experience and education on the legal process. While you have been trained on many things, I suspect the litigation process was not one of them.
Internalizing the meaning of the lawsuit as it relates to you as a physician and perhaps even a human.
Confusion about what to do, where to start, how to navigate the various aspects of a lawsuit and your life and career through it. You have so many questions swirling in your mind, some you may not have yet articulated. You want answers and not sure where to find them.
Feeling isolated, helpless, and perhaps even hopeless, as the reality that a lawsuit is not going away begins to set in.
That is what the weight you feel is made of. That is why lawsuits feel as crappy as they do.
What I offer you is my unshakable confidence - in you - in a better version of your current reality. Where you
Do not feel like the world you have worked so hard to build is crashing around you.
Get actual answers to questions circling through your minds.
Have access to resources which are 100% tailored to your needs in getting through the process.
All you need is to take that first step and reach out. Book a free consult. No obligations. I am not here to sell you on anything you do not need and want.
Let's have a conversation to start, learn more and go from there. You get to decide if working with me is the right choice for you.
It may be right,
It may be not,
But you will neve find out
Unless you give it a shot.
Christine
