Episode 20: MedPEP Season Finale – Les Schwab, MD

This is the 20th and final episode of the first season of MedPEP. Along with the first and eighth episodes, this is one of three episodes in which Marie and Les engage in a two-way conversation without a guest expert. Their two-way exchanges, relative to the more didactic three-way conversations, are particularly personal and heartfelt. In this final episode, they review Marie’s MedPEP journey, which commenced with a focus on the “self” and ended with a broader focus that encompassed teamwork, conflict management, and career development. Marie reveals that the abrupt departure of a valued colleague and mentor from her practice is what prompted her to participate in the MedPEP project. It was professional burnout that led her colleague to leave the clinic, and Marie decided to become proactive so as to avoid succumbing to the same stresses and strains that befell her friend and colleague. In this final episode, Marie and Les take stock of her struggles, her learning, and the mentorship and coaching she received from the MedPEP experts and, most importantly, from her MedPEP guide, Dr. Schwab. In the first MedPEP session she spoke rather poignantly about NOT wanting her children to become physicians. Now, in the last session, she explores with Les the possibility of having her children join her on home visits. She has gone from having a beleaguered and overwhelmed attitude to being more of a “can-do problem solver.” Both she and Les attribute this shift to what they learned on the MedPEP journey, and she expresses a great deal of gratitude to him for his skill, compassion, and support. Their positive connection exemplifies what often happens when a struggling physician is coached by a trained colleague, and the series ends on a hopeful and positive note, with them agreeing to stay in touch.

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