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: gratitude
Showing 12 results:
Grateful for Rejection? A Post-Thanksgiving Reflection
If you’re feeling maxed out on gratitude messages this month, you’re not alone. The day after Thanksgiving tends to expose the gap between the gratitude we’re “supposed” to feel and how our brains actually work. That gap is where the science gets interesting. So instead of another round of holida...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Dec 10, 2025
acceptance
awareness
bias
burnout
clarity
disappointment
ego
gratitude
growth
happiness
insight
mindfulness
mindset
mood
negativity
perspective
positivity
psychology
purpose
reflection
reframing
resilience
sleep
stress
Power of Conversation, Story and Invitation
A thoughtful reader recently wrote in and asked me: “How did you build the strong relationships you have with specialists?”
At first, I wasn’t sure how to answer. My brain went to the tactical: referrals, shared patients, thank-yous. (These are still paramount. Doing your due diligence with worku...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Aug 02, 2025
assumptions
collaboration
communication
community
connection
consistency
conversation
curiosity
empathy
engagement
fallibility
grace
gratitude
habit
humanity
initiative
intentionality
invitation
listening
mindset
overwhelm
participation
perfectionism
presence
professionalism
reflection
relationships
respect
support
trust
vulnerability
Right Pause, Right Time Story and Reflection
Years ago, I was leading a medical team in Southeast Asia after the tsunami. Infrastructure was gone, local health workers were either missing or tending to their own communities, and our team, hosted by a local NGO, was running long, hot, and emotionally heavy days.
One morning, something was of...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Jul 31, 2025
awareness
breath
burnout
clarity
cohesion
compassion
connection
emotion
gratitude
healing
humanity
insight
intention
leadership
listening
medicine
mindfulness
observation
pause
perspective
presence
purpose
recovery
reflection
resilience
restoration
support
sustainability
teamwork
wellbeing
The Award Not Won: Story and Reflection
It’s that season again. Graduation programs. Thank-you speeches. Awards. A flurry of new titles, public praise, and quiet appreciation.
We do this because it matters. Recognition is powerful. Appreciation even more so. But in the messiness of human systems, it doesn’t always land how we intend.
I...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Jun 27, 2025
acknowledgment
alignment
appreciation
authenticity
belonging
care
celebration
community
compassion
connection
contribution
encouragement
equity
gratitude
humanity
humility
impact
inclusion
integrity
leadership
mentorship
mindfulness
presence
process
purpose
recognition
reflection
service
stewardship
support
systems
values
visibility
well-being
The Extra Mile - Story and Reflection
Recently, I’ve been supporting my mom from afar as she’s gone through a complicated health issue. Like many patients, she didn’t show up with a single neat explanation. She had two separate issues—Occam’s razor didn’t apply. That alone created delays and misdirection, but this story isn’t about w...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Jun 12, 2025
bandwidth
care
care over efficiency
clarity
connection
discernment
effort
empathy
experience informed action
family perspective
generosity
going above and beyond
gratitude
groundedness
healing
healing moments
humanity
intention
leadership
meaningful
meaningful effort
medicine
pacing
perspective
physician humanity
presence
prioritization
professionalism
relational medicine
right effort right moment
silent leadership
timing
wisdom
Residency 2.0 Story and Reflection
As most of you know, though my full-time work is in coaching within residency programs, I’ve stayed clinically active—filling in both at the Alaska Family Medicine Residency and Anchorage Neighborhood Health, our local FQHC.
Since 2007, I’ve had the privilege of watching over 200 residents grow, ...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Jun 12, 2025
affirmation
appreciation
belonging
calm
calm contagion
community
connection
continuity
culture
emotional contagion
gratitude
groundedness
healing environment
intentionality
joy in medicine
kindness
leadership
legacy
mentorship
organizational health
ripple effect
role modeling
support
systems thinking
workplace culture
workplace wellbeing
Wake Up Call in Paradise: Story and Reflection
In 2018, our annual mid-winter break took us to Hawaii with our adult daughters and our one grand-little at the time. We stayed together in an Airbnb, soaking up the warmth and beauty of the islands.
One morning, I took the grand in the stroller while the others split into two groups of runners h...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Jun 12, 2025
acceptance
calm in chaos
clarity
composure
detachment
emergency
faith
false alarm
family
gratitude
grounding
instinct
legacy
meaning
mindfulness
mindset
perspective
presence
priority reset
reflection
resilience
surrealism
surrender
uncertainty
value alignment
Car Problems: Story and Reflection
Shortly after moving to Alaska and starting my core faculty role, I caused a traffic jam. You see, I had pulled onto the busy road in front of the residency and quickly maneuvered across three lanes of traffic to the two packed turn lanes in 5 o'clock traffic.
And then --- my car died - just as t...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Jun 11, 2025
awareness
boundaries
burnout
capacity
community
compassion
embarassment
energy management
gratitude
habits
humility
learning
life balance
limits
metaphor
mindset
pacing
pattern
priorities
recovery
refueling
regulation
resilience
routine
self-awareness
self-care
support
teamwork
vulnerabiulity
warning signs
The Snapshot: Story and Reflection
One day around 30 years ago or so, my husband, a 3rd year medical student had the weekend off and I, a 2nd year, had no upcoming exams. So, we drove an hour to visit family. We, including our 4 year old, wanted to show off how our newborn had grown.
I had taken a whopping 1-week off for maternity...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Jun 10, 2025
balance
belonging
clarity
connection
default-mode
family
gratitude
intention
joy
legacy
meaning
memory
mindfulness
perspective
presence
purpose
reflection
simplicity
values
Spring Outside Story and Reflection
On March 6, my husband said - let's run tomorrow night. Our local running store offers unofficial community runs each week. Normally, I'm the least spontaneous person I know - maybe it was his enthusiasm or the sun shining through my Alaskan window. I was like, "Let's do it!"
It was a fabulous ru...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Jun 10, 2025
adaptation
appreciation
awareness
change
community
gratitude
growth
hope
humor
identity
joy
light
optimism
perspective
privilege
reflection
reframing
resilience
seasons
spontaneity
Cooking with the Caylor's Story & Reflection
A few years back, I had just returned from a rewarding conference in Napa put on by Harvard School of Public Health and the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) - Healthy Kitchens, Healthy Lives. Healthy nutrition science meets taste 💜.
The first year my husband and I attended, I came home energiz...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Jun 09, 2025
adaptation
assumptions
boundaries
burnout
communication
delegation
expectations
gratitude
hospitality
humility
insight
leadership
partnership
preparation
realism
resilience
resources
support
systems
teamwork
Story Reflection
This past week, I listened to a webinar featuring Dr. Paul Chelminski from UNC - Chapel Hill (and my former faculty advisor in the CHARM GME Wellbeing Course). He stated that much of our discontent in medicine comes from taking too much refuge in the idealized version of medicine. (My interpretat...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Jun 08, 2025
acceptance
advocacy
agency
aspiration
boundaries
compassion
connection
discontent
gratitude
grounding
idealism
inspiration
mindset
perspective
presence
purpose
realignment
reality
reflefction
satisfaction
Joy in Family Medicine – Stories & Reflections
