Stories & Reflections from a Family Medicine Physician Coach

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: trust

Showing 12 results:

Team Culture: Boundaries, Generosity, and Trust

For me, Fall is closely associated with sports. College football, one of the primary ones, but also volleyball after years of being a volleyball mom. I have a few friends who find sports a bit pedestrian, too focused on competition, and something they’ve never really understood the appeal of. I...

by Dr. Tonya Caylor — Sep 18, 2026 accountability adaptability belonging boundaries burnout career coaching collaboration communication community competition confidence connection cooperation culture development empathy flexibility generosity growth growth mindset healthcare leadership learning medicine mentorship partnership physicians positive intent reciprocity recovery reliability residency resilience self-preservation sports sportsmanship support sustainability team culture teaming teammates teamwork trust volleyball vulnerability workload workplace

Caring Enough to Tell the Truth

I’ve been reflecting on a situation someone close to me recently faced in her work as a consultant. She was brought into a high-stakes situation by her boss, who had asked her to help a close friend. The friend believed that other people involved in an important transition were the problem. Her a...

by Dr. Tonya Caylor — Aug 28, 2026 accountability advocacy boundaries candor care clinicians coaching communication compassion conflict courage development dignity education empathy evaluation expectations faculty fairness feedback growth healthcare honesty integrity leadership learning medicine mentorship patient care performance professionalism reflection relationships remediation residency residents responsibility standards supervision support teaching transparency trust truth

When an Unexpected Next Step is the Right One

When I began telling people I was considering becoming the Founding Program Director of a new family medicine residency in rural Eastern Washington, the responses were not exactly subtle. “Are you nuts?” “Do you need me to say WTF, Tonya?!” And, perhaps most thoughtfully: “This doesn’t seem align...

by Dr. Tonya Caylor — Aug 19, 2026 access accreditation alignment building calling career change coaching collaboration commitment community courage culture curriculum decisions development discernment education faculty family gme growth healthcare impact innovation intention leadership medicine mentorship mission moses lake opportunity physicians primary care purpose reflection residency residents resilience rural samaritan service sustainability systems teaching teams throughline training transformation transition trust washington workforce wsu wwami

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 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

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

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

Retroactive Omniscience and Having Your Own Back

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been following “John,” a fictional physician trying to sort through the emotional aftermath of multiple job changes and the growing belief that maybe he was just bad at choosing jobs. In the first edition, he recognized the story he was telling himself and how it wa...

by Dr. Tonya Caylor — May 23, 2026 adaptability adaptation awareness career career change change clarity coaching cognition compassion confidence curiosity decision making development discernment evolution growth healthcare hindsight insight intentionality judgment leadership learning medicine mindset perspective physician psychology purpose refleciton resilience self-awareness self-doubt selftrust shame stress transitions trust wellbeing

Don't Game Tape Alone

Last week, I was sitting in a hotel conference room in Chicago at the AMA Precision Medicine Conference listening to Dr. Lara Varpio from the Perelman School of Medicine talk about agency. Not the vague "you have more power than you think" kind, but the research kind. She offered four of the six ...

by Dr. Tonya Caylor — Apr 04, 2026 advising agency awareness coaching collaboration communication connection constraints conversation culture data development discursive education empowerment faculty feedback growth guidance improvement insight leadership learning meaning medicine mentorship mindset partnership performance practice reflection relational relationships residency self-awareness support systemic systems temporal transformation trust

Marine Survival Weekend (From the Archives)

As a faculty member of the Alaska Family Medicine Residency program, I had my share of teaching during our infamous Wilderness Medicine Weekend excursion. In January, it involved snow cave construction, and in May, it involved marine safety. The first spring, I participated with 2 other faculty m...

by Dr. Tonya Caylor — Feb 23, 2026 accountability adaptability alaska awareness education embarassment experience growth humility insight leadership learning medicine mentorship perspective professionalism reflection reframing residency resilience responsibility safety teaching teamwork trust wilderness wisdom

Endurance, Recovery, and Trust: What Medicine Can Learn from an Ironman

I logged 24,000 steps a couple of weeks ago, not competing, just spectating. Cheering at an Ironman turned out to be its own endurance event! Somewhere between the cowbells and the cheers, I found myself thinking about what it really takes to sustain that kind of effort. Not just on race day and ...

by Dr. Tonya Caylor — Nov 07, 2025 adaptability adaptation awareness balance discipline effort endurance flow focus integration microbreaks momentum patience persistence preparation presence process recovery recovery load reflection resilience restraint savoring threshold training trust

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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: trust

Joy in Family Medicine – Stories & Reflections

Lessons, lightbulb moments, and honest reflections from life inside and outside medicine - served with a side of perspective.

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