It has taken me months to settle into the loss of my mother.

Death brings us face to face with a truth we often avoid: life is not permanent. We all have an expiration date. And no matter how much we believe we are prepared for the death of a loved one, I don’t think we ever truly are.  In the quiet moments, I replay the chain of events over and over again. I ask myself the questions that haunt many of us in medicine—but feel heavier when the patient is your own mother.

Could I have made a difference?

As a physician?

As a dermatologist?

As her daughter?

Many medical professionals find themselves caught in the whirlwind of their careers, neglecting the practice of self-care. The result? Burnout, emotional exhaustion, and a sense of losing oneself in the demands of medicine. But it doesn't have to be this way.