Offcall Physician Spotlight: Meet Dr. Pamela Buchanan
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1. Pamela, what do you think the public most misunderstands about being a physician in 2026? People think doctors still control the system. We don’t. Most of us are practicing inside corporate, insurance-driven structures that limit time, autonomy, and clinical judgment. The public sees the white coat — not the prior authorizations, productivity quotas, moral injury, or emotional weight of holding life-and-death responsibility with shrinking resources. We are also not rich. We give up so much to be doctors.
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2. What would you tell a first-year resident that no one told you — but should have?
Medicine will take everything you don’t protect. Your time, your health, your identity, your relationships. Being a good doctor does not require self-destruction. Learn boundaries early, ask for help without shame, and remember: your worth is not measured in RVUs or how much you suffer.
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