March NAC for fencing was March 6–9, 2026
Me: Please cancel my tickets.
Better half: Why? You never come to competitions. A** can’t wait to show you how she fences.
Me: I have a mountain of unfinished charts and labs. I have to catch up.
Better half: OK, got it. Cancelled. Get some rest. Hope you get sleep and get to exercise.
Me: Thank you. (feeling happy about extra time I will have to work)
While catching up with work, I managed to go outside and get my 10K steps. On the advice of apatient who became a friend, I now do my runs and walks without headphones—no lectures,podcasts, or phone calls. It is relaxing and recharging… and most importantly, as anotherpatient once told me, G-d starts to talk to you.
And that is when the thought came to me: you have one life, yet you choose to work instead ofspending time with your family. What is wrong with this picture?
For many primary care physicians, it is normal to come home, open the laptop, and finish charting, review labs and radiology. The same continues on weekends and even during vacations. Is this workaholism, or simply the culture of medicine? Is this why so many doctors burn out?
Doctors don’t stop when it is time to stop; they stop when the work is complete. Would I wantmy children to become doctors? Probably not.
But why do so many primary care physicians willingly accept this lifestyle?
I think part of it is ignorance. When I chose primary care, I did not imagine this version of theprofession. I chose private practice vs. hospital based clinic for schedule flexibility—the ability toset my hours so that when I needed to leave to pick up my kids from school, I could.
But what happens afterward?
Do I go home, cook dinner, spend time with my family, and help my kids with homework?
Not really. Like many working parents in NYC, evenings are a mix of activities, homework, andcatching up on the day.
Eventually I realized something important: nobody is going to change this except me.
Next year I will travel to the March NAC and watch my daughter fence. I have a box full of hermedals, but I have only seen a few of them earned in person—and that is something I want tochange.
Last May one of my patients told me about the Five Boro Bike Tour. I signed up my wholefamily. We never made it—I ended up in the office catching up on work. This May I will ride thebike. That same patient was unfortunately diagnosed with prostate cancer. He is doing wellnow, and I hope that in a few months he will be back on his bike too. Perhaps we will cross paths during the ride.
I am deeply grateful to the patients who have trusted me with their health over the years. Mygoal has always been the same: when I am in the room with a patient, I leave no stoneunturned.
But the reality is that the traditional system often pushes physicians to move faster and faster,seeing more and more patients.
So I made a decision.
I am restructuring my practice and limiting it to 200 members. This will allow me to spendmeaningful time with each patient, focus on optimizing hormone levels and overall health, andtruly get to the root of medical problems—something I am deeply passionate about and trainedin through Functional Medicine and Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy.
The practice will transition away from insurance-based care to a direct physician–patientmodel.
Just me and my patients.The system itself may be difficult to change, but each of us can decide how we practice within it.
And sometimes the first step is simply listening—during a quiet walk—when life reminds youwhat actually matters.
Wishing everyone a blessed day.
-Dr.Eva Galstian
