Joy in Family Medicine – Stories & Reflections
Lessons, lightbulb moments, and honest reflections from life inside and outside medicine - served with a side of perspective.
Tags: criticism
Showing 4 results:
Ask Responsibly
I was thinking recently about how agreeable my AI assistant, Scribbs, is with me. He’s great at coming up with answers in the direction I point him - quick to confirm, validate, or spot what might be off.
It’s a lot like those friends we turn to when we just want someone to agree with us.
But I’v...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Oct 24, 2025
ai
alignment
assumption
awareness
bias
clarity
confirmation
connection
course-correction
criticism
curiosity
detective
dialogue
direction
excitement
exploration
feedback
growth
guidance
humility
impulsivity
inquiry
insight
intention
judgment
learning
listening
meaning-making
mindset
mirror
oversight
perspective
purpose
questions
reflection
reframing
relevance
self-talk
When Justice Meets the Judge
The shadow side of good values in medicine...
I’ve learned that even good values have edges. Justice, for me, especially.
We talk a lot about values in medicine: integrity, compassion, excellence, justice. But I’ve learned that even our best values have a "shadow side". Sometimes, even justice ne...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Oct 24, 2025
alignment
awareness
balance
boundaries
burnout
clarity
compassion
control
criticism
discernment
distortion
ego
evolution
excellence
faith
grace
humanity
humility
imbalance
integrity
judge
judgment
justice
learning
martyrdom
outrage
perfectionism
perspective
proportion
reflection
responsibility
rigidity
self-justification
Beyond Labels: Story and Reflection
It’s not infrequent that I’m in conversation with a faculty member who’s frustrated with one or two residents they see as lazy or disengaged. Those moments take me right back to how I sometimes felt a decade ago, when I was burned out in my core faculty role. I remember the intensity of that frus...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Aug 22, 2025
barriers
burnout
connection
conversations
criticism
curiosity
data
defesiveness
drive
efficiency
energy
engagement
exhuastion
experience
feedback
frustration
gaps
growth
immersion
interviewing
labels
language
learning
minset
motivation
nuance
patience
perspective
procrastination
quality
rapport
reflection
remediation
repitition
resources
responsibility
safety
strengths
support
trust
understanding
When the Jacket Fits, Story and Reflection
Once upon a time, as core faculty with various leadership roles, I was unexpectedly summoned to meet with the program director. He said he wanted to discuss my attitude with me. "MY attitude??!!" I thought. I was busting my tail to make the program better. What could possibly be wrong with my att...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Jun 10, 2025
attitude
awareness
blindspots
burnout
change
coaching
collaboration
communication
courage
criticism
ego
emotional intelligence
feedback
growth
humility
insight
leadership
mindset
ownership
partnership
recalibration
recovery
reflection
self-reflection
Joy in Family Medicine – Stories & Reflections