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: truth
Showing 4 results:
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
Freedom Reflection
As we mark Independence Day, I find myself drawn to a quieter kind of patriotism. Instead of fireworks and fanfare, the steady work of building systems where physicians and learners can thrive.
It shows up in faculty who pause long enough to ask better questions.
In leaders willing to shift from ...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Jul 11, 2025
change
coaching
compassion
connection
freedom
hope
interdependence
leadership
learning
listening
patriotism
reflection
support
systemic
truth
Reflecting on Two Things
In preparing for the AMWA Evolve Leadership Course for trainees session on Difficult Conversations, I've been reflecting on principles from Crucial Conversations, Super Communicators, Non-Violent Communication, and How to Work with Almost Anyone (all highly recommended books).
We often fall into ...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Jun 12, 2025
awareness
balance
binary thinking
communication
compassion
complexity
conflict resolution
contradiction
curiosity
discernment
emotional intelligence
empathy
fool's choice
grace
growth
honesty
kindness
labeling
mindset
nuance
overgeneralization
paradox
perspective
polarity thinking
reflection
relationship
self-regulation
truth
understanding
wake
Mindful Reflection
Michael Bungay Stanier reframes mindfulness as a better sense of reality - more situationally aware.
He explains it as the ability to sort through data and separate it from our judgments.
Currently, in whatever situation you're in - ask yourself the key question he poses:
What do I know to be tru...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
May 31, 2025
awareness
clarity
discernment
focus
insight
introspection
judgment
mindfulness
perception
presence
reality
reflection
truth
Joy in Family Medicine – Stories & Reflections