I’ve been spending some time in reflection lately, enjoying the spring sunshine as it filters through the hazelnut tree in our backyard.  The daffodils have started to bloom in Portland, and the cherry blossoms along the Willamette River downtown let their petals drift down to the sidewalks and water’s surface in a light pink snow.  

This is a season of renewal, and I feel it in myself as well.  What will this new season of life bring for me and for my family?  As I emerge from the haze of burnout, what do I want for myself going forward in my career?

As I’ve considered what to cover in this newsletter, it became clear to me that I didn’t want to always be writing about the literature, as important as that is.  So I’ve decided to split my newsletter into two different topics, one will be a medical journal club style dispatch on different papers or books I’m finding impactful or interesting.  And the other newsletter will be more hands-on, practical, or meditative.  Expect things to be published every other week or so, at least that’s what I’m aiming for right now.  

Why the “Moxie Missive?”  I’ve always thought it was a great word, and when I looked it up in the dictionary to get a precise definition I was delighted to find out that it is an invented word used to name a patent medicine from the 1870’s called Moxie Nerve Food.  When it became clear to inventor Dr. Augustin Thompson that the gentian root beverage wasn’t, in fact, medicinal, he decided to carbonate it and sell it as a sweet 19th century energy drink.  (Moxie Monster?)  Ted Williams was a spokesperson for the soda and their slogan was “Make Mine Moxie!” (More like Moxie Monstah!)

I quite like the idea of getting my moxie back! It’s energy, know-how, and determination. Gumption!  I’m so pleased you’ve decided to subscribe to my newsletter, welcome. 

Make Mine Moxie!

Want more information on physician burnout? Interested in having me on your podcast or speak at your event? I’m available for interviews or speaking engagements!