10 Red Flags—When to Move On

“We all outgrow things,” says Dr. Lara Salyer. This week, she dives into the vital topic of recognizing when it’s time to move on from a mentor, teacher, or training organization. Reflecting on her experiences from medical school and beyond, Dr. Salyer emphasizes the importance of self-assessment in professional growth. She recalls realizing that the rigid teachings of her attendings were often more about personal preferences than universal truths, sparking the idea that healthcare professionals need to cultivate their own unique approaches to knowledge and practice.

 

Dr. Salyer shares ten red flags that might signal it’s time to reassess your current mentorship or training. These red flags manifest as physical feelings like depletion, dread, guardedness, and a sense of being fake or incomplete. Are these feelings popping up on your internal dashboard? If so, it might be time to pause and take a closer look at your professional relationships and learning environments. This episode invites you to stay curious about these emotions and consider whether your current path truly aligns with your evolving goals and needs.

 

Mentorship, as Dr. Salyer explains, should foster psychological safety, authenticity, and accountability. It’s not just about passing on knowledge, but also about supporting personal and professional growth, creating space for differing viewpoints, and encouraging open communication. She connects these red flags to burnout symptoms like emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a low sense of achievement.

 

But it’s not all about warnings—Dr. Salyer also highlights a green flag: the feeling of completeness. This positive sign indicates that you’ve grown significantly and are ready to embrace new challenges and opportunities. She encourages listeners to honor and express gratitude for the chapters they’ve completed before embarking on new journeys.

 

Quotes

• “When you are very adept at looking at the possibilities and expanding your imagination, you can be stuck in the gap. The gap from then to now, to the future. You’re stuck. Where do I go? What should I do? How do I make the right decision? And as I teach my catalysts, there isn’t a right decision. It’s not absolute, just like these attendings that had these absolute phrases and bestowed the wisdom to their naive third year medical students like me. There aren’t absolutes in life. It’s taking an inventory of how you feel from the inside out that will be your best guidance to make that best decision at that moment for you.” (06:44 | Dr. Lara Salyer) 
• “There are so many great niches in functional medicine, and so we get enamored with learning. Eventually, we might be at this juxtaposition, this fork in the road, and think, are we ready to leave? Should we look for something else? We might feel pulled in a different direction, and that’s what these 10 red flags are for.” (10:38 | Dr. Lara Salyer) 
• “Remember, burnout is three things: depersonalization, meaning you don’t see yourself in this process; low perceived achievement, where you don’t feel like you’re making any progress or see that you’re moving forward; and emotional exhaustion, where you’re running on fumes. Those three things are echoed in these 10 red flags.” (16:07 | Dr. Lara Salyer)

 

Links

PODCAST coupon for free Brainstorming Session https://drlarasalyer.as.me/discovery

Archetype Quiz: https://3nb09zv7070.typeform.com/archetype

 

Connect with Lara: 

Website: https://drlarasalyer.com

The Catalyst Way: https://drlarasalyer.com/catalyst

Instagram: @drlarasalyer

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drlarasalyer

Linked-In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drlarasalyer/

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/c/DrLaraSalyer

TikTok: @Creativity.Doctor

 

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm