I’ve been thinking a lot about this idea lately, mostly because I keep seeing it show up in conversations with other physicians.
People will tell me they don’t hate medicine. They’re not looking to quit. They just feel… stuck.
And when we talk long enough, what usually comes out is this quiet pressure they’ve been carrying for years.
Not pressure to work harder. Pressure to keep working, pick up shifts, to always say “Yes.”That’s where this idea of the Freedom Shift came from.
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What I Mean by the Freedom Shift
The Freedom Shift isn’t about leaving medicine.
It’s the point where you stop practicing because you need the paycheck and start practicing because you choose to be there. That’s it.
It doesn’t mean your schedule changes overnight. It doesn’t mean you suddenly love every part of your job. But the relationship changes.
And that matters more than most people realize.
The Version of Medicine Most of Us Know
For a long time, a lot of my decisions weren’t really decisions. They were reactions.
Extra shifts. Schedule changes. Contract stuff. I didn’t always ask myself, “Do I want this?”
The real question was, “Can I afford to say no?” Giving up shifts felt like taking a major hit financially. And when the answer often feels like you should say no, but you don’t, you start to feel boxed in, even if you’re doing well on paper.
I hear versions of this all the time from other doctors.
“I actually like what I do. I just don’t like feeling trapped.”
That sentence comes up a lot.
What Changes After the Shift
What’s interesting is that the Freedom Shift isn’t this crazy dramatic thing.
I’ve watched physicians build just enough income outside of medicine that the pressure starts to lift. Not enough to quit. Not enough to make a dramatic announcement. Just enough to breathe.
And then small things start to change.
They pause before saying yes to an extra shift.
They negotiate a contract without that spike of anxiety.
They say no and don’t immediately panic.
One doctor told me, “I didn’t realize how much fear was driving my decisions until it wasn’t anymore.”
That stuck with me.
This Isn’t About Caring Less
A lot of people worry that having options will make them disengage from medicine.
What I’ve seen is usually the opposite.
When doctors don’t feel trapped, they’re calmer. More present Less reactive.
They stop carrying frustration from patient to patient. They stop taking every admin decision personally. They don’t bring the same edge home at night.
They’re still the same doctor. They just feel different doing the work.
Freedom Isn’t All or Nothing
One of the biggest traps in medicine is waiting for certainty.
“I’ll slow down once I hit this number.”
“I’ll cut back in five years.”
“Just one more contract.”
That mindset makes sense. We’re trained that way.
But freedom doesn’t usually show up as a big moment. It’s gradual.
One income stream that reduces pressure. One boundary you finally feel comfortable holding. One decision that isn’t driven by fear.
Most people experience the Freedom Shift long before anything looks different from the outside.
Why This Matters
At the end of the day, this isn’t really about money.
It’s about choice.
Practicing medicine because you want to. Not because you’re afraid of what happens if you don’t.
That’s a very different place to practice from.
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Final Thought
If you didn’t need your paycheck, how would medicine feel to you?
What would you keep exactly the same?
What would you quietly stop doing?
What would feel lighter?
You don’t need to figure that out today.
Just start noticing where pressure is still making decisions for you.
Because the Freedom Shift doesn’t start when you leave medicine.
It starts when you realize you have a choice.
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Peter Kim, MD is the founder of Passive Income MD, the creator of Passive Real Estate Academy, and offers weekly education through his Monday podcast, the Passive Income MD Podcast. Join our community at the Passive Income Doc Facebook Group.
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