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: leadership development
Showing 3 results:
When Difficult Gets Interesting
I was recently talking with a leader who had navigated a complex, high-stakes situation. We discussed the stress she had experienced. I asked if in the midst of it, she had also felt energized by the challenge. I saw a little twinkle in her eye as she said, “a little.”
And so, no surprise, that g...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Oct 30, 2026
adaptability
adrenaline
appraisal
awareness
capacity
challenge
challenge response
cognitive flexbility
cohesion
collaboration
complexity
confidence
coping
cortisol
crisis
decision making
dhea
discomfort
dopamine
education
emotional intelligence
empowerment
engagement
fight or flight
figureoutable
flexbility
fulfillment
growth
healthcare
leadership
leadership development
learning
medicine
mentoring
mindset
motivation
neuroscience
perception
performance
physiology
pressure
prioritization
problem-solving
psychology
recovery
reflection
reframing
residency
resilience
resourcefulness
satisfaction
strategy
stress
stress management
teaching
teamwork
thriving
uncertainty
Called Up
Not too long ago, I was coaching a resident who had been struggling. Over the course of our work together, we unpacked a lot. On the last session, she said something that I will carry forward from here on out.
When I asked what she was taking away from our coaching, she told me she had remembered...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Oct 16, 2026
accountability
advocacy
behavior
belief
change
coaching
compassion
confidence
development
emotional intelligence
empathy
empowerment
encouragement
expectations
faculty development
feedback
growith mindset
growth
human potential
identity
kindness
leadership
leadership coaching
leadership development
learning
medical education
mentoring
mentorship
mindset
opportunity
patience
personal growth
perspective
possibiity
potential
professional growth
professionalism
psychological safety
reflection
relationships
resident coaching
resilience
self-awareness
self-compassion
servant leadership
strengths
transformation
trust
understanding
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
Joy in Family Medicine – Stories & Reflections