Thread by @KaraPepperMD

Leaving my primary care practice:
a thread 🧵

In March 2020, my practice of 13 years closed to protect our patients and staff. Thanks to the #telemedicine platforms I put in place a year prior, we overnight converted our 70+ provider practice to telemedicine for the next 2.5 months.

After years of hustling in clinic, full-time #telemedicine provided time to skillfully coordinate care and provide thorough counseling. Working from home without the frenetic churn of the clinic, I was living my best life and delivering the best medical care of my career.

The beauty of this pandemic, despite the fear, uncertainty, and exhaustion, is that it clarified who and what are important. I love my patients and my practice, but I had to reconcile that everything and everyone I care about had been compressed into the margins of my life.

There was misalignment in what I value (connection, curiosity, creativity) and how I spent my time (working up to seven days per week).

I joined my practice at a time in my life where perfectionism, achievement, and external validation drove my actions. I built a successful practice that was overflowing within 3 years, rapidly burned out, and invested in a decade of therapy and coaching to rediscover me.

I have known for a long time that I needed to leave primary care medicine to avoid abandoning myself and the life I need now, but grief over leaving my patients and colleagues was a heavy anchor.

I love my patients. I am grateful for my colleagues. But it is time to go.

After 13+ years with my first and only job out of residency, I am leaving to create my own practice. This entirely telemedicine practice will be an Internal Medicine consulting service with a special focus on #eatingdisorder care.

I will serve patients across the southeast (NC, SC, AL, TN, TX, and of course, GA) with patient-centered, comprehensive, high-quality care. I will open my (virtual) doors to patients June 2022.

I am looking forward to autonomy and space for connection, curiosity, and creativity - values that I have actively prioritized in this pandemic. And of course, with that, comes more time for #physiciancoaching which brings me great joy and purpose.

If you are reading this and feeling that there is change calling to you, I see you. You are never stuck. You don't have to know the how, just focus on your why. The how will reveal itself to you.

If you would like to follow and/or refer patients (for sick visits, chronic disease follow up, and comprehensive evaluations), you can find me at KaraPepperMD.com