Family Medicine to Hospitalist In Vancouver, Managing Anxiety, Gaming & more w/ Dr. Daniel Wong | #8

Our guest was Dr. Daniel Wong, who has been a dear friend of mine for almost 20 years. He currently works at one of the local hospitals in Greater Vancouver, as a Hospitalist. Before that, he worked as a Family Physician – or more commonly known as a General Practitioner (GP). We discuss common challenges in the field such as why it’s so hard to get a Family Physician, behind-the-scenes, logistical challenges, and why there still remains a shortage of doctors in Vancouver – both in the office, and at the hospital. I feel there should be more open discussion of these topics between doctors and non-doctors, as they are the ones who get to see all the inner workings. Both literally and figuratively. It may help to hear them out, and hear why the healthcare system is constantly strained. Sometimes, this may include differing opinions, as a matter of different perspectives. We also dive into topics such as managing anxiety, time management, and having the energy to enjoy life – all very relevant and relatable topics in the modern era. There is also some bonus discussion at the end of the episode, for anyone interested in video games. Lastly, we failed as hosts to include one of Dan’s most interesting stories, of being a city boy finding himself stranded in the Arctic and coming close to freezing to death. This will come shortly, in a future episode, and thus, we’ll name this Part 1 of the interview. Timestamps: (0:02:35) - Sleep hygiene and the correlation with quality of work (0:06:19) - Work Anxiety (0:07:25) - What is a Hospitalist? What is a typical day like? (0:09:43) - As a patient, when would I see a Hospitalist? (0:13:20) - Communication between doctors for complex cases (0:18:52) - The challenges of being a Family Doctor (0:25:49) - Why do Doctors book so many patients then? (0:28:48) - The non-medical, logistical challenges of Family Practice (0:32:32) - Why Dan would still remain a Hospitalist, even if removing all the logistical challenges? (0:36:10) - Transitioning to Hospitalist from Family Med. How did it feel? (0:38:25) - Shortage of both Hospitalists and Family Doctors (0:39:45) - About the recent change in BC’s billing structure for Family Doctors (0:41:14) - Anxiety - Experiences, tactics, how it feels  (0:45:50) - Anxiety cont’d - The Sunday Night Dread (0:48:18) - The Three/Four day work week (0:51:43) - The Productivity Curse - “it feels good to get things done” (0:54:42) - Finding enjoyment in the slower activities (0:58:30) - Guilt & inability to enjoy unproductive hobbies like tv shows and video games (1:03:15) - The scarcity of time, and the fragility of life. Learned from work (1:06:14) - Lack of energy after work (1:09:05) - Definition of Fulfillment (1:11:05) - Official End (1:11:11) - Bonus: Sports video games, Tape to Tape, Mutant League Football, and why Matthew hates hockey (1:14:39) - Bonus: Path of Exile, and why it’s so appreciated (1:21:21) - Bonus: Types of games to play after a long day of work