Book Review from Dr. Ike Nnene
An utterly compelling read! In Physician, Care for Thyself, Jessica Wei MD gives a detailed account of her medical journey in a deliberately vulnerable and passionate fashion highlighting the contrast between the outer façade that many physicians are able to maintain and the utter turmoil and devastation that rages in the background.
Jessica brilliantly highlights the urgent and ongoing need for a physician ‘self care first’ approach and persuasively spotlights the hazards of disregarding the signs that one’s work and life are out of sync.
She unapologetically makes the case for ‘medical career change’, where it can be shown that the physician is ‘dying in a slow death’ in an attempt to validate one’s professional value by regularly giving so much of one’s self without being able to suitably recharge and adequately replenish. With powerful individual testimony, charting the journey from Ob-Gyn specialist to a Functional Medicine practice, she paints a vivid picture of the major price paid of pursuing a medical career in a way that neglects the need for balance, with implications on emotional, mental, and physical health, relationships, family life, and overall wellness.
The book is loaded with valuable insights into how one can practice with empathy and compassion without overextending one’s self. It encourages every reader to pause and ponder what they need to do to establish healthy boundaries and actively pursue self-care to ensure the sustainability of not just their career but life itself.
It examines several angles of personal transformation and empowerment and anchors this to neuroscience and spiritual principles making it an invaluable ‘go-to manual’ for a doctor asking questions and seeking to attain their professional actualisation while maintaining their personal spiritual integrity.
A masterfully written honest and thought-provoking work that any committed medical doctor will do well to read and carefully reflect on what they need to do to reap the rewards of their professional endeavour while living an overall life of joy and fulfillment.
