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Many of us in medicine are struggling to set boundaries  – it’s something I cover quite a lot.

Not only does the system make many demands of us, we went into medicine to help people, and that often means we find it harder to give permission to ourselves to say no, set limits, or think about what we need to live and work well, or give space to what we want for the bigger picture for ourselves.  

Entering medicine involves years of intense training, sacrifice, and socialization that  shapes how we see ourselves. While this definitely has benefits of enabling us to do such a difficult job, it also creates a vulnerability.

What if being a doctor becomes your entire identity? What happens when you find yourself saying, ‘I just can’t carry on this way anymore,’ and when you need to prioritize yourself? 

In this article, I cover the ripple effect of healthy boundaries – beyond the initial obvious ones of preventing burnout and the relief of one less thing to do..

The ripple effect of boundaries

Separating your sense of self-worth from work

Medicine places great emphasis on achievements, exams and outcomes – yet this can easily become where we find our meaning in life. When boundaries exist between professional achievements and personal value, we can experience setbacks without devastating our self-worth.

A negative patient outcome, while still significant, doesn’t become a referendum on who we are as a human being.

Cultivating you as a multi-dimensional human being

Medicine is like growing ivy – it will consume all of your life if you let it run rampant. Setting boundaries around work hours, on-call responsibilities, and digital connectivity creates space for other identity-affirming activities.

Protecting an evening a week to attend an orchestra not only fuels wellbeing through creativity but also acts as a reminder you are a musician as well as a doctor.

Maintain your autonomy

There’s an implicit expectation that “good doctors” should always be available and go the extra mile. Boundaries challenge this narrative by asserting that you have legitimate needs and limits.

This reclaiming of autonomy—the right to say “not now” or “not me”—reinforces that you are a complete human being, not simply a service provider.

The bigger benefits

People I work with find that once they find more balance and space in life, their time, thinking and emotions are now freer to think about what they really want from life..

A few sessions into a coaching programme that began on tackling people pleasing and boundaries, and a client with new-found confidence and headspace can be looking at the bigger questions: so what do I really want from the rest of my life?

Sounds good…but this still feels impossible

First Aid for Doctors with Burnout is written with lots of coaching exercises to help you look at what you can do differently.

Available for Kindle and paperback on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/First-Aid-Doctors-Burnout-self-doubt/dp/B0D94W5HXG

I also work with people one-to-one as a coach. Feel free to arrange a conversation by hitting the ‘book a call’ button on this website.

If you don’t see a time that suits you, then drop me an email at hello@drclairedavies.co.uk