Joy in Family Medicine – Stories & Reflections
Lessons, lightbulb moments, and honest reflections from life inside and outside medicine - served with a side of perspective.
Planning the Unpredictable
As my move out of Alaska gets closer, I find myself increasingly reflective.
There is something to the saying that life is what happens while we’re making plans. Nineteen years ago, I finally gave in to my husband’s persistent suggestion that we go “look” at Alaska. We stepped off the plane, fel...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Aug 07, 2026
adventure
alaska
belonging
change
clarity
community
decisions
faith
family
family medicine
grandchildren
gratitude
growth
home
journey
legacy
moving
next chapter
northwest
planning
priorities
purpose
reflection
residency
resilience
retirement
transition
vision
washington
wenatchee
Pick Up the Phone
A couple of weeks ago, I was juggling multiple time-sensitive projects when someone began doing work which I felt was mine to do, that I wanted to do, and in an order that made no sense to me.
I initially reacted from momentary frustration.
Becoming a coach does not uninstall the old neural pathw...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Jul 31, 2026
acceptance
activation
adaptability
awareness
breathing
burnout
centering
compassion
connection
creativity
curiosity
emotional intelligence
emotions
empathy
grounding
growth
learning
mindfulness
mindset
nervous system
neuroscience
pathways
patience
perspective
reactions
reflection
regulation
relationships
residency
resilience
responding
self-awareness
self-regulation
stress
transformation
trust
wellness
The River Gets Wider
Just prior to marrying my husband, his dad handed us an article torn from a magazine. It used the imagery of two rivers coming together to describe marriage.
The gist that stuck with my young mind was:1. Don’t be shocked by the rapids. They’re a natural outcome of two forces merging.2. Marriage w...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Jul 25, 2026
acceptance
adaptability
adaptation
adjustment
balance
becoming
career
change
coaching
commitment
confidence
courage
endurance
expectations
flexibility
gratitude
growth
hope
imperfection
joy
leadership
life transitions
marriage
medicine
mindset
navigation
partnership
perseverance
perspective
physicians
preparation
presence
progress
purpose
rapids
recovery
reflection
relationships
renewal
resilience
self-copmpassion
stability
strength
transformation
transition
trust
uncertainty
wellbeing
whitewater
The Price of Value
This week's theme comes straight from Facebook Marketplace.
My husband (who is not a social media guy) asked me to list his Kubota skid steer for "69-9."
So I did.
I had just sold his utility trailer for $2,200, so I entered all the details, uploaded the photos, and hit Publish.
Within seconds, s...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Jul 17, 2026
abundance
advocacy
appreciation
authenticity
awareness
belief
business
compensation
confidence
contribution
courage
empowerment
encouragement
entrepreneurship
expertise
family medicine
financial health
generosity
gratitude
growth
identity
impact
influence
leadership
medicine
mentorship
mindset
negotiation
opportunity
perception
perspective
physicians
purpose
recognition
reflection
self-advocacy
self-worth
service
support
sustainability
undervaluing
validation
value
visibility
worth
worthiness
The Bump Nobody Warned You About
A webinar this week about the evolution of a rural residency program inspired this week's reflections. In addition to the successes and growing pains, the thing that caught my attention was the sheer number of changes they had both created and endured.
In just 11 years, the program had 4 Chief Me...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Jul 10, 2026
acceptance
adaptability
adaptation
agility
alignment
awareness
change
change management
collaboration
commitment
communication
complexity
continuity
culture
endurance
evolution
expectations
flexibility
growth
healthcare
innovation
leadership
leadership development
medicine
mindset
mission
mission focus
navigation
organizational health
organizations
perseverance
perspective
preparedness
puprose
reflection
residency
resilience
rural
stability
stewarship
sustainability
systems
teamwork
transformation
transition
trust
turbulence
turnover
uncertainty
Building Impact Capacity
This week I did something new.
I asked Claude to forecast my workload after I entered in all the things from my calendar and everything that wasn’t. It included my coaching practice, presentations, faculty development, travel, writing, a new time-limited leadership role I'll share more about soon...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Jul 10, 2026
agency
alignment
attention
awareness
boundaries
capacity
capacity building
change
clarity
collaboration
commitment
communication
compelxity
decision-making
delegation
design
efficiency
energy
expectations
focus
forecasting
foundation
growth
impact
intentionality
leadership
momentum
organization
planning
preparation
prevention
priorities
prioritization
proactivity
readiness
reflection
resources
simplification
stewardship
strategy
sustainability
sustems
time
tradeoffs
transformation
transition
workload
The Tyranny of the Unfamiliar
Recently, I brought a situation to my coach because I was concerned I might be facing an ethical dilemma.
As we worked through it together, it became clear I was actually on solid ground.
What I was experiencing wasn't an ethics issue. It was just discomfort.
What's interesting is that I've sat w...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Jun 26, 2026
acceptance
adaptability
adaptation
adjustment
agility
awareness
calibration
capacity
chagne
challenge
coaching
confidence
coping
courage
curiosity
development
discomfort
emotional-intelligence
endurance
enviornment
experience
familiarity
flexibility
growth
leadership
learning
mentorship
mindfulness
mindset
perseverance
perspective
planning
preparation
problem solving
progress
readiness
recovery
reflection
resilience
resourcing
self-awareness
strategy
support
sustainability
transformation
uncertainty
wellbeing
The Penstock Paradox
I've been catching up on Lisa Rosenbaum's Not Otherwise Specified podcast series on primary care. https://not-otherwise-specified-podcast.nejm.org/e/when-no-ones-watching/
The final episode is titled When No One's Watching.
Near the end, Jonathan Han, a family physician and residency director, ta...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Jun 23, 2026
alignment
artistry
authenticity
balance
burnout
caring
community
compassion
connection
contribution
creativity
encouragement
energy
engagement
excellence
flourishing
fulfillment
generosity
gratidtude
humanity
impact
influence
inspiration
intentionality
joy
kindness
leadership
legacy
meaning
mentorship
motivation
presence
purpose
purpose driven
regognition
rejuvenation
relationships
relection
renewal
resilience
restoration
service
significance
stewardship
sustainability
values
wellbeing
Broadening the Differential: A Lesson in Agile Thinking
I've been spending time with colleagues lately exploring the concept of agility in the research literature. And as a result, I keep finding the need for it everywhere.
This week alone, our house build presented a wiring issue that no longer aligned with the original lighting and door-swing plans ...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Jun 12, 2026
adaptability
adaptation
advocacy
agility
anchoring
assumptions
awareness
bias
caregiving
change
chaos
clinical thinking
collaboration
communication
complexity
contingency
curiosity
decision making
diagnosis
efficiency
execution
family
flexibility
growth
home building
humility
insight
judgment
leadership
learning
logistics
medicine
openness
perspective
perspective shift
planning
prioritization
problem solving
realignment
reassessment
recalibration
reconsideration
reflection
reframing
resilience
responsiveness
rethinking
structure
systems
truth seeking
uncertainty
Cognitive Dissonance (From the Archives)
Growing up, my world consisted of good kids like Spook, Ryan, Barry, Jean, and Christy. Especially Jean, she would draw fun pictures and write nice things in a note folded up for me at school: "To Tonya, my friend. From: Jean, your friend." There were bad kids like Eddie - who would come to our s...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Jun 07, 2026
acceptance
accountability
ambiguity
authenticity
balance
boundaries
change
character
cognitive dissonance
compassion
compelxity
complexity
conflict
conviction
courage
discernment
emotional intelligence
empathy
ethics
forgiveness
grief
growth
humanity
humility
integrity
judgment
leadership
learning
loyalty
maturity
medicine
nuance
perspective
physicians
principles
reconciliation
refleciotn
reflection
relationships
resilience
respect
sadness
self-awareness
trust
understanding
values
wisdom
The Hidden Curriculum of a Career
Over the past several weeks, I’ve introduced you to John, a fictional physician whose story reflects common themes many physicians wrestle with.
He’s a mid-career family physician struggling with a career dilemma I hear often: “I’ve never stayed in one job more than x number of years. I feel like...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Jun 06, 2026
adaptation
appreciation
becoming
career
clarity
communication
community
conribution
culture
development
discernment
evolution
experience
expertise
fulfillment
gratitude
growth
impact
insight
intentionality
knowledge
leadership
learning
legacy
maturity
meaning
medicine
mentorship
operations
perspective
physicians
progress
purpose
recognition
reflection
relationships
renewal
resilience
self-awareness
stewardship
sustainability
systems
teaching
teamwork
transformation
wisdom
John Changes the Question
A few weeks ago, I introduced you to John, a fictional physician whose story reflects common themes many physicians wrestle with. He’s a mid-career family physician facing a career dilemma I hear often:
“I’ve never stayed in one job more than x number of years. I feel I need to leave my current o...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
May 29, 2026
adaptation
agency
alignment
authenticity
awareness
burnout
career
change
clarity
coaching
compassion
connection
continuity
decision making
direction
discovery
engagement
fulfillment
growth
inquiry
insight
intention
leadership
listening
meaning
medicine
mindset
perspective
physicians
purpose
reflection
renewal
resilience
self-awareness
sustainability
teaching
transformation
transition
trust
values
Joy in Family Medicine – Stories & Reflections
