From Burn Out To Breakthrough
By mid-2019, Dr. Arzubi was burned out.
He was six years into my second career: psychiatry.
He thought he could change Montana’s system of mental health and addiction care from inside a big hospital system.
He was wrong.
First, it was silly to take on such a task with a lone-wolf mentality. He learned the hard way that over-communicating a shared vision is critical.
Second, there are so many dynamics and competing interests in a big organization. Navigating those was exhausting to him.
He and his partner, Reza Hosseini Ghomi, MD, MSE, quit their full-time jobs by the end of that year and launched Frontier Psychiatry.
We are an all-telehealth practice dedicated to solving the mental health and addiction crisis in rural America.
They were lucky that their families didn’t run the other way when they decided to take this huge leap of faith. While he and Reza went all in on the new idea, they continued supporting their families by taking on side gigs.
Dr. Arzubi started performing disability exams for military veterans with suspected mental illness and traumatic brain injury. This turned out to be among the most fulfilling jobs he’s had.
Within a few months of working with hundreds of veterans, one of them sent him a heartfelt letter that helped counter Arzubi’s feelings of burnout.
“I haven’t been treated with the dignity, empathy, & respect you showed me, so that was very shocking & powerful.”
“…amidst expressing the nightmare of my life I somehow felt ok after talking with you.”
Yes…Dr. Arzubi cried a little.
Rural states tend to have the highest number of military veterans per capita. Here are the top 10:
- Alaska
- Montana
- Virginia
- Wyoming
- Maine
- South Dakota
- New Mexico
- Nevada
- South Carolina
- Hawaii
About 17 military veterans complete suicide every day. The rate is almost 60% higher than for non-veteran US adults.
What’s the point?
Taking risk is scary, but it beats burnout.
On the other side of risk, Dr. Arzubi met hundreds of grateful veterans who helped him more than he helped them.
It’s worth it, people.
