I’ve posted before about my life as a series of sabbaticals.
I’m not the only one who loves them. On the Lean Out Podcast, I interviewed Meagan Gallagher, who took a long climbing trip in between nursing studies and her clinical career. Dr. Weili Gray also took a 9 month sabbatical early in her career. I’ve interviewed Liz Drake and Jillian Johnsrud, who’ve both taken sabbaticals themselves. Jillian even wrote a book about them!
But I rarely meet physicians who’ve taken a sabbatical. Especially when the ask was met with significant resistance.
Dr. Christie Mulholland is a palliative care physician and Associate Professor at Mount Sinai Medical Center. She has spent her adult life proving that intentional breaks make you a better doctor — not a lesser one. She’s taken career breaks to backpack across the US, South America, and the Greek Islands.
Recently, Christie took a sabbatical, despite her department saying no. She also founded Reclaim Physician Coaching, where she’s on a mission to help seven physicians take a sabbatical in 2027.
Christie shares what led to her sabbatical, how she approached her workplace and what happened after they denied her request, what she did on the sabbatical she went ahead and took anyway, and what her work-life balance looks like now.
There are some great takeaways from this episode, so make sure to listen all the way through!
What about you… Would you take an extended period of time off from your profession? What would it look like? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below!
Lean Out Podcast: Flexibility with Asha Padmanabhan
