Personal Growth Outside the Clinic: A Doctor’s Guide

Pursuing Hobbies and Personal Growth: A Prescription Every Doctor Should Write for Themselves

The Unspoken Prescription: Healing Through Hobbies

Let’s admit it—most of us are trained to think in 15-minute slots, optimize clinic time, and feel a pang of guilt every time we aren’t being “productive.” But what if I told you that spending two hours painting, playing the guitar, or reading something that isn’t a CME article could actually make you a better doctor? Hobbies are no longer a “nice-to-have.” For the modern physician, they’re a lifeline.

The Myth of the All-Consuming Career

Medicine has historically been portrayed as a noble sacrifice—long hours, sleepless nights, and the subtle martyrdom of putting patient care above all else. But behind the white coat often stands a person slowly dissolving into burnout, robbed of creativity, joy, and balance. Many physicians still feel as if their worth is measured solely by how many lives they touch, not how full their own life feels.

That’s where hobbies come in—not just as a recreational afterthought, but as a personal revolution.

Why Doctors Need Hobbies More Than Most

• Cognitive Reset: Our brains are wired to operate in high-alert zones for emergencies. A hobby allows the amygdala to chill and the prefrontal cortex to breathe.
• Emotional Venting: Let’s face it—venting about difficult cases to friends who are not in healthcare often feels like throwing metaphors into the void. Art, writing, or even gardening can become safe outlets for emotional expression.
• Preventing Burnout: Studies have shown that hobbies significantly reduce stress and protect against physician burnout. A personal project can do what 10 institutional “wellness webinars” cannot.
• Boosting Empathy: Reading fiction or learning a musical instrument taps into emotional intelligence. These hobbies have been linked to better patient interaction and deeper empathy.

Rediscovering Yourself Beyond the Stethoscope

Somewhere between pre-rounds and post-call sleep deprivation, many doctors forget who they were before medical school. Were you a poet? A dancer? A video game developer in your teenage dreams? Reclaiming those versions of yourself is not regression—it’s reintegration.

• Reading for Pleasure: Not everything has to be evidence-based. Pick up science fiction, historical novels, or even graphic novels. It reconnects you with the curious version of yourself.
• Art and Music: Sketching anatomy for the 100th time in med school doesn’t count. Play with abstract art, watercolors, or piano pieces that have nothing to do with the brainstem. It helps you feel, not just think.
• Cooking: It’s therapy, chemistry, and mindfulness, all on one stovetop. Many physicians find solace in following recipes—something with clear steps and predictable outcomes, unlike most patient cases.
• Gardening: For those who’ve had enough of hospital fluorescent lights, touching real soil can be grounding—literally and psychologically.
• Travel: Traveling breaks the autopilot mode that doctors often find themselves stuck in. New places, cultures, and cuisines bring back a sense of wonder, which medicine sometimes buries under bureaucracy.

The Neuroscience of Personal Growth

When we engage in hobbies, we activate the brain’s default mode network—the part responsible for introspection, memory consolidation, and emotional processing. This network is often suppressed during clinical work, where logical and task-based functions dominate. Stimulating it through non-clinical activities restores mental equilibrium.

Moreover, hobbies that involve learning something new—like learning a language or a musical instrument—promote neuroplasticity, helping maintain mental sharpness well into older age.

The Fear of Seeming “Uncommitted”

One of the most common barriers doctors face when pursuing hobbies is internal guilt. “What if my colleagues think I’m not dedicated enough?” “Shouldn’t I be preparing for board recertification instead of sketching in a notebook?”

This internal dialogue is often reinforced by the culture of overachievement. But here’s the counterargument: a mentally drained, emotionally depleted physician is more prone to mistakes, disconnection, and dissatisfaction. Hobbies are not selfish—they’re strategic.

Doctors Who Thrive Because of Hobbies

• A cardiologist who moonlights as a jazz pianist and says the rhythm of music helps him maintain calm during emergency procedures.
• A pediatrician who writes children's books and says it’s her way of turning empathy into education.
• A surgeon who does jujitsu for discipline, strength, and humility—it teaches him when to push and when to yield, even in the OR.

These aren’t outliers. They’re role models for holistic living.

Turning Your Hobby into a Ritual

It doesn’t have to be complicated. The key is consistency over intensity.

• Schedule It: If you can book OR time, you can book time for yourself. Add it to your calendar like a real appointment.
• Start Small: 10 minutes of reading a novel or sketching is still valuable. You don’t need a full afternoon.
• Unplug: True hobbies are immersive. Turn off your notifications and give yourself permission to dive in without guilt.
• Share It: Talk about your hobby with colleagues. You might inspire others or even discover shared interests.

Teaching Medical Students the Value of Non-Medical Life

Mentorship doesn’t always mean teaching someone how to suture or interpret a CT scan. It’s also about modeling balance.

Talk openly with your residents and students about how you unwind. Normalize the idea that a physician who paints or writes poetry isn’t distracted but human.

Some schools have started integrating humanities and narrative medicine into their curricula. But it must go beyond electives. Encouraging students to preserve their non-medical identity may be the most important preventative intervention we teach.

What Happens When Doctors Don’t Pursue Personal Growth?

Burnout, depersonalization, and emotional numbness. These are not exaggerated terms—they’re epidemic among physicians.

When your entire identity is your white coat, losing a patient feels like losing yourself. A well-rounded identity acts as a buffer, preserving your emotional reserve.

Doctors who lack non-clinical passions often report feelings of stagnation even in professionally successful careers. They may hit academic milestones but feel unfulfilled, bored, or even resentful.

Creative Expression Heals the Healer

Let’s be honest: not all wounds are visible, and not all healing comes from pharmacology. Expression—through writing, singing, hiking, sculpting—is a form of psychological wound care. It may not be reimbursable, but it’s profoundly effective.

Some hospitals are even launching physician art galleries, wellness journals, and creative retreats. Because when doctors express themselves, the entire system breathes better.

Redefining Productivity in Medicine

We need to move away from the narrow definition of productivity as “seeing more patients in less time.” Productivity should also mean: How fulfilled is the doctor? How much energy do they bring into each interaction? How long can they sustain this career with joy?

Hobbies replenish the internal well, enabling you to show up—not just on time—but as your whole self.

You’re More Than Your Lab Coat

Your identity is not just MD, DO, or your specialty code. You are an artist, a thinker, a traveler, a parent, a dreamer. Reconnecting with these other dimensions doesn’t dilute your role as a doctor—it strengthens it.

Because when doctors grow personally, they thrive professionally.