I Quit My Job in Healthcare -- Here's Why.
First off- some housekeeping. My brother has helped me switch from Ghost to Substack as a host for the newsletter. The reasons being:
Better email deliverability
Ease of use
Ability to grow the community better
Potential to be paid for the art we are creating
You will also notice I changed the name of the newsletter to my name. That’s on purpose as I step into a new chapter (ayyy).
And we are keeping the logo, because I love it and thank you to Wei (my BFF) for assisting with the designing of it!
What this means for you: if you are already subscribed, you do not have to do anything! You’re still subscribed.
Okay back to our post. I quit my job!
Yes, that’s right. It was time. Today I’ll tell you the story of how I decided to end my pharmacy career and pursue what really lights me up: spirituality.
It was an easy yet hard decision.
Let’s get into it:
Burnout was really the biggest reason I started thinking about life outside of pharmacy. It was almost two years ago that my burnout started.
I realized that burnout can be due to one of three things:
1) Overworking: okay obvious right? We can all stand to set better boundaries, especially having grown up in such a workaholic culture. But if you are someone who sets decently good boundaries with work, then let’s move onto the next one.
2) Lack of fulfillment: it’s so hard to keep doing something if it’s not fulfilling. It felt like no matter how much or little work I did, I was still burned out. It didn’t matter how much time I took off, either. I’d come back and feel burned out again. Lack of fulfillment is an easy ticket to burnout.
3) Pretending: think of how much we pretend when we’re at work. Pretending we’re professional. Pretending we like customer service. Pretending to wear a bra. Pretending we have the same core values as our employer, when we don’t. My previous employer will always want me to be more productive (I don’t want to be more productive).
But really, there are so many problems upstream even before a patient presents to the clinic. Our country’s systems are highly disadvantageous for so many different people. Firstly, socioeconomically, but secondly, untreated or under-treated mental, emotional, and physical trauma.
I worked for the VA (Veterans Affairs) for 5 years. By the time a patient has reached me, it’s probable that they had a precarious upbringing, few options for career based on their socioeconomic status; then they go to war and come back with a ton of trauma. They were never taught how to assimilate back into civilian culture. Then 30-40 years later, they show up at my doors with uncontrolled diabetes and other disease states.
It’s not necessarily their fault. And how in the world am I supposed to treat this? Sure, I can prescribe medicine to assist the diabetes/physical symptoms, but as long as we are not treating root causes, we are perpetuating unhealthy and potentially toxic behaviors. Over and over again.
That goes against my core values!! As an introspective and self-aware soul, it’s so hard to watch. It’s exhausting! No wonder we are burning out.
In my humble opinion, mental, emotional, and spiritual dis-ease precede chronic physical disease. So it would be beneficial to try to treat from within. Unfortunately, that’s a lot of work on both the patients’ and providers’ parts.
Beyond that though, I felt the call to do a deep dive into my own life purpose (story here). The more I was realizing what it was, the harder it was to stay where I was.
I realized my work needs to be rooted in a Higher Purpose. I spend a lottttt of time reading spiritual growth books. I eat ‘em up lol. I love deep discussions and talking about what lights up my soul. I love connecting to my inner child and spending time with my favorite people. I love to create and inspire.
So really, yes burnout was one piece of the story, but the other was self-love. I could no longer ignore my passions and the lifestyle I wanted to create. It took a lot of releasing of limiting beliefs so that I could believe in myself enough to move forward.
How did I know it was time to quit? Simple - an intuitive feeling. I waited and waited and waited for it. I did not want to jump the gun before I was ready to. I take my decision-making very seriously.
I was lucky enough to save some money prior to quitting. But it also made me think about how much money makes me feel safe? Can I really place my safety in something external like a job?
I believe our safety comes from within. And when you take a leap of faith (especially for the greatest and highest good), a net will appear. We all are connected to a Source of unlimited abundance, we can tap into it anytime.
All we have to do is look within.
What I didn’t expect from quitting my job:
1) How emotional it would be to say bye to my coworkers. I had worked at this particular location for almost 4 years and worked with some of the most amazing people!
2) How much love and support I would receive from my coworkers when I was telling them I was quitting: so many lovely wishes, appreciations, gifts, and cake received. One of my coworkers is even throwing me a celebration at her house. So sweet! My heart is so full.
3) How many other people were also considering alternative career routes and some of them even shared with me their dreams! One of my coworkers wants to become a real estate agent! Which totally excites me for them :)
Many people have asked me, what will you do now? First off, REST. Yes, the ultimate act of rebellion lol. Then follow my heart. Keep an eye out for more info on a digital course I am rolling out in the near (ish) future :)
We are living in a time of huge awakening. Hustle culture is coming to an end. People are realizing there has got to be a better way.
We are meant to live in ease, flow, joy, creativity, and love.
That’s what I hope for myself, and I hope this for everybody else!
Please let me know if this post made you feel anything! If you want to chat further about your job options, hit reply on your email :)
Lots of love,
Angeli
“The courage it takes to leave behind what’s not for you anymore is the same courage that will help you find your way to what is.” - Cory Allen