Thank you for visiting my blog. This is a new endeavor for me after recently retiring from my career as a physician.
I realized the impact of social media/internet traffic after writing my first article: Retired at 37: Breaking Up With a Career In Medicine
The website KevinMD.com, which is frequented by physicians (and many others in healthcare), published the article and I was humbled to see it shared over 55,000 times by others. It made me realize that I was not alone in my sentiments that I expressed about the field of medicine, both good and bad.
Despite the initially terrifying experience of expressing these thoughts publicly, I came to understand the importance of sharing experiences as a way to connect with others across the world who may relate and also to bring awareness about values important to physicians.
I have written (and plan to write) on a variety of topics including women’s healthcare, physician working conditions, mothering and medicine, retirement/early financial independence, leaving a medical career, and more….partly determined by what readers want to hear more about.
I especially love to hear from readers, it has been the reason I started/continue writing. You can contact me privately through the contact page or by commenting on a post- whichever is more comfortable to you. Feel free to follow along if you wish by signing up for email updates with new blog posts (absolutely no commitment needed).
A little personal info:
About 7 years post residency, I retired from a busy career in OB/GYN amongst mixed feelings but have not looked back!
I am married for 15 years this August and have 3 young children.
- Medical School: Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS)
- Residency: The Johns Hopkins Hospital
- Specialty: Obstetrics and Gynecology
- Board Certified: 2012-present
- Fellow, American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society
Baltimore “Top Doctor”, Obstetrics (Baltimore Magazine 2014)
Press Mentions
Glamour: https://www.glamour.com/story/ob-gyn-shortage
Yahoo News: Growing shortage of ObGyn Doctors Threatens Women’s Health
SELF: Brace Yourself for an OBGYN shortage by 2020
Physician News Network: Study Looks at Impending OB-GYN Shortage in 50 Largest U.S. Cities
STAT News: These cities are on the front lines of a women’s health crisis
Life of a Med Student: The Best Time to Have a Baby as a Physician?
If you are interested in hearing more about how it was financially possible to retire early please read The finances behind retiring from medicine at 37
More on the health scare leading to my decision to retire and the ethics of leaving a career in medicine here: Is it ethical to retire early from a career in medicine?
Thanks for stopping by!
Valerie A. Jones, MD
Reach me on twitter: @ObDoctorMom or through the contact page on this site
Do you work non clinically now?
Sam, I have been writing. I also recently was selected as a doximity “fellow” which has a small time commitment but represents a great way to stay connected to the medical community. However, at this time the majority of my time is spent with my family. My goal is to explore other avenues of interest before committing to anything more long term.
How do u support urself in ur retirement ?
What health scare prompted u to retire ?
Mac, I write about the finances behind my early retirement here: https://obdoctormom.com/2017/06/18/the-finances-behind-retiring-from-medicine-at-37/ . A little more about the health scare and the ethics of retiring early here: https://obdoctormom.com/2017/12/03/is-it-ethical-to-retire-early-from-a-career-in-medicine . I’m working on making my site easier to navigate, but hopefully this helps answer your questions.
Do you still consider yourself a physician? Any large regrets socially or intellectually?
I really liked reading your posts?
Please ignore the question mark at the end of my last comment. Typing error.