Ten New Year’s Resolutions for the Emergency Physician: Small Shifts, Big Impact
Every year around this time, I sit down with a cup of coffee on a weekend morning, typically with ESPN on in the background, thinking about the usual New Year’s resolutions I’ve made. Many of the resolutions, typically shared in this column, I’ve made over the years have been successful for me.
Though every year I still resolve to exercise more and eat less dessert and am never quite as successful as I’d like to be. This year, as I reflected on the last twelve months in the emergency department, the people I worked alongside, and the moments that stuck with me, I found myself thinking about resolutions differently.
Emergency medicine has a way of collapsing the distance between the professional and the personal. Our careers are typically a huge part of our identity, and what we do in the ED bleeds into the rest of our lives—our energy, our sleep, our relationships, our sense of purpose.
So rather than creating a list of resolutions I might abandon in January, I wanted to consider the habits and perspectives that might actually make life better—not just clinically, but emotionally, mentally, and physically.
Here are 10 resolutions for emergency physicians as we move into the new year—small, meaningful shifts that can recalibrate both our work in the department and our lives outside it.
- Make One Small Workflow Upgrade Each Month
If there’s one universal experience among emergency physicians, it’s that EMR inefficiency ages us faster than night shifts. But the beauty of our work is that small systems improvements add up in ways we rarely appreciate until later.
This year, pick one small upgrade each month: a new Epic smart phrase that trims a minute per chart, a discharge script that communicates more clearly, or a templated MDM sentence that eliminates repetitive typing at 2 a.m. ChatGPT can write these dot phrases for you pretty easily, which also may add to the complexity of your chart, which could result in more RVUs.
Over a year, these little changes may save hours, maybe even days. More importantly, they reduce the cognitive load that wears us down. No grand overhaul required—just tiny adjustments that compound over time.
- Prioritize Exercise in Micro-Doses
Emergency physicians often struggle with the fitness paradox: we’re experts in health promotion, have an public persona that typically has us riding a bike or rock climbing, yet we are also experts at rationalizing why we can’t squeeze in a workout.
But maybe the solution isn’t big workouts—it’s micro-workouts.
Ten minutes before a shift. A brisk walk after sign-out. Push-ups on the way to the bathroom in the morning, or in the living room while dinner cooks. A short run on a day off. A single weekly class you commit to like a shift. I found a quarter mile loop in the hallways of my hospital and will try to get in some walking between admin meetings.
Movement regulates stress hormones, improves sleep, sharpens focus, and boosts mood—benefits that matter tremendously in a high-stakes job. If the perfect workout window never seems to appear, make do with the imperfect ones. You’ll feel the difference.
- Strengthen One Relationship Outside of Medicine
Emergency medicine can consume our lives—not just the hours we work but the emotional residue that follows us home. But the relationships that protect us from burnout often live outside the hospital. I’ve spent the last couple of years consciously scheduling meet ups with friends that I used to see regularly (often at work) but through life’s circumstances, our only connections were typically on Facebook. Every happy hour or lunch that I’ve gone to with these people has been fantastic and worth the effort to create time in my calendar.
This year, pick at least one person—a family member, a lifelong friend, someone you’ve drifted from—and reinvest with intention. Schedule a quarterly dinner, a monthly coffee, or a weekly call. A single, sturdy relationship can be an anchor in the chaotic rhythm of our work.
Human connection is one of the strongest predictors of resilience. And yet it’s often the first thing to erode when our schedules become overwhelming. Rebuild it deliberately.
- Create a Personal Recovery Ritual After Tough Shifts
There is something unique about the ED shift that stays with us—the trauma activation that went sideways, the patient that wants random tests that we’ll never satisfy, the difficult conversation with a family, the rapid-fire decisions that kept us wired long after leaving the hospital.
A recovery ritual is a way of signaling to your brain that the shift is over. It might be a playlist you always listen to on the drive home. A walk outside. A meditation app. A hot shower. Journaling for five minutes. Or simply sitting in silence.
Whatever it is, make it consistent. Rituals give the brain a sense of closure. They help separate “work mode” from “home mode,” and over time, they act as a buffer against cumulative stress.
- Upgrade One Element of Your Patient Communication
For better or worse, patient satisfaction is part of how our performance is measured—and while the system is often flawed, the core truth remains: communication matters.
Emergency physicians are already adept at moving fast, but this year, commit to one communication enhancement. Maybe it’s:
- sitting down during the conversation,
- ending each encounter with “What questions do you have for me?”,
- explaining your thought process more clearly,
- or pausing for five seconds before leaving the room.
Just one small change. Because sometimes the thing a patient remembers most isn’t what you treated. As Maya Angelou said, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Focus on the empathy and the relationship with the patient as well as the medicine.
- Reconnect With the Part of Medicine That Brings You Joy
Every emergency physician has that one aspect of the job that reminded them why they chose this specialty. For some, it’s airway management. For others, it’s bedside ultrasound, complex resuscitation, or the diagnostic puzzle of an undifferentiated patient.
This year, identify one area that still sparks curiosity—and nurture it.
Take a course. Watch a lecture series. Teach a resident or give a lecture to your nursing team. Practice a skill. Rediscover the part of the job that lights you up. Joy is a powerful antidote to burnout, and curiosity is the fuel that keeps us moving forward.
- Lighten Your Load by Adding Help in One Area of Life
We ask patients to seek help all the time, yet many of us try to do everything ourselves—charting, home responsibilities, family logistics, finances, errands, all while working a demanding job.
This year, give yourself permission to outsource one thing:
- hire a house cleaner (even once a month can feel great),
- use grocery delivery,
- get a financial planner,
- pay for meal-prep services,
- use a scribe (if available),
- automate bills and savings,
- get an accountant to do your taxes
- or delegate a committee role.
My wife tells me she knew she could marry me when I hired a cleaning service for my apartment first year of medical school. It’s not that I’m a neat freak but she appreciated that even as poor as I was as a first-year student, I was willing to spend $30/week to buy back time. Buying back even one hour each week can improve quality of life more than we realize. Time is a finite currency—spend it wisely.
- Do One Thing for Your Future Financial Self
Financial stress is one of the most underappreciated contributors to burnout among physicians. The stakes feel high, the decisions are complex, and the margin for error seems unforgiving.
This year, choose one meaningful financial improvement:
- increase retirement contributions,
- review your insurance coverage,
- automate an investment account,
- create or update a will,
- meet with a trusted advisor,
- pay down a specific loan,
- or build a small emergency fund.
You don’t need to overhaul your financial life in one year. But one action—just one—can create stability that pays dividends far beyond 2025.
- Set One Personal Goal That Has Nothing to Do With Medicine
Emergency medicine is a calling—but it is not an identity. Too many of us tie our self-worth to our productivity, our clinical performance, or the chaos we manage daily.
This year, choose a goal that exists entirely outside of medicine.
Learn an instrument. Train for a race. Travel somewhere new. Build something. Write something. Volunteer. Start a hobby you loved before medical school and abandoned somewhere between Step exams and overnight shifts.
A friend I used to run with is running the 6 World Marathon Majors and I’m so jealous. She’s exercising, traveling with purpose, and has another meaningful identity outside of emergency medicine. Reconnect with a part of yourself that has nothing to do with patient care. It will make you a better physician—but more importantly, a fuller human being.
- Invest in Personal and Professional Growth Through Coaching
Emergency physicians spend years mastering clinical decision-making, but far less time developing the leadership, communication, and emotional intelligence skills that make the job sustainable — and make us better colleagues, partners, and humans.
This year, consider engaging an executive or leadership coach (yes, even if things are “fine”). Coaching isn’t about fixing something that’s broken; it’s about expanding your potential, sharpening your self-awareness, and improving the way you lead both inside and outside the hospital.
Whether you want to navigate conflict better, improve team dynamics, grow as a director, or simply find more clarity in your career, coaching provides structured, confidential support that accelerates growth. Think of it as investing in the part of yourself that doesn’t show up on the shift schedule but affects every shift you work.
Closing Thoughts
Emergency medicine demands resilience, adaptability, and emotional endurance. But we also need reflection, recovery, and intentional living. These ten resolutions aren’t about perfection or reinvention. They are about course correction—small, strategic choices that make the job more sustainable and life more satisfying.
You don’t need all ten. Choose two or three. Let them shape your habits and perspective in the new year. Over time, tiny changes create meaningful transformation.
And remember: the goal of a resolution isn’t to become a different person. It’s to become a healthier version of the one who already shows up every day, in an unpredictable environment, doing extraordinary work.
Here’s to a year of small steps, renewed purpose, and a life that feels just a bit lighter—and a lot more intentional.
Photo by BoliviaInteligente on Unsplash
