I Thought the Pandemic Would Break Me | Dr. Karen Dorn
Key Takeaways
- Burnout doesn't always stay contained at work; for Dr. Karen Dorn, it eventually bled into and affected every aspect of her personal life.
- It wasn't just the brutal hours or the exhaustion of the pandemic that finally broke her, but rather the erosion of patient trust and resistance to medical guidance.
- When healthcare professionals are deep enough in burnout, the coping tools they have built over a lifetime can suddenly become completely inaccessible.
- Not every journey of burnout recovery has to look like a formal intervention; sometimes it starts with honest conversations between colleagues and lifelong friends.
I couldn't have imagined launching this podcast with anyone other than Dr. Karen Dorn. We've been friends for over 30 years, all the way back to our first year at the University of Minnesota Medical School, and having her here for the first episode felt exactly right.
Karen is an adult hospitalist in suburban Minneapolis who went through the pandemic differently than I did, she was in the ICU watching critically ill patients die in waves, with a 70% mortality rate in a single week. What I didn't expect her to say is that the exhaustion wasn't what finally broke her. It was patient distrust. When people started coming to her sick, refusing vaccines, demanding ivermectin, and doubting everything she had to offer, that's when burnout reached beyond work and into the rest of her life entirely.
I also share more of my own story in this episode than I have anywhere else, including the loss of my brother Bill, whose murder happened not long before we recorded. This one is more personal than most. I hope that's what makes it useful.
Takeaways:
- Burnout doesn't always stay at work.
- It was the loss of patient trust, not the brutal hours, that finally broke her.
- Not every burnout recovery has to look like a formal intervention.
- When you're deep enough in burnout, the tools you've built can become inaccessible.
- In the end, it's always the people.
Want your burnout story featured on the show? Email us at it hello@stillpracticingpod.com for a chance to be read on an upcoming episode.
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Produced by: Human Content
Chapters: 0:00 - Intro 3:04 - Early Careers in Medicine 9:47 - Pandemic Impacts 26:40 - Hitting Rock Bottom & Seeking Help 38:33 - Rediscovering Joy in Medicine 43:29 - What Fortifies Us Outside of Work
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Dr. Karen Dorn on Still Practicing?
Dr. Karen Dorn is an adult hospitalist in suburban Minneapolis, a medical school friend of Dr. Sue Daniels for over 30 years, and the guest on this episode discussing her experience with pandemic burnout and the loss of patient trust.
What caused Dr. Karen Dorn to reach burnout during the pandemic?
While the ICU conditions and high mortality rates were brutal, it was ultimately the rise in patient distrust—such as refusing vaccines and demanding unproven treatments like ivermectin—that pushed her past her breaking point.
What is the podcast Still Practicing about?
Hosted by pediatrician Dr. Sue Daniels, Still Practicing explores life and career after burnout prevention has run its course, helping healthcare professionals figure out what kind of career is actually worth coming back to.