Name: Maiysha Clairborne, MD

Specialty: Family Medicine

Education: Tad James Company, Academy of Pain Research, International Academy of Medical Acupuncture, Florida Hospital Medical Center, Morehouse School of Medicine, Emory University

Areas of Expertise: Physician advocacy, Physician Burnout, Psychology Biofeedback, Women Physicians, Work life balance, Functional Medicine

Current Position: Executive Physician Burnout Prevention & Wellness Coach and Trainer, Author, Speaker

1. Why did you choose family medicine?

I have always loved the process of getting to know and forming long term relationships with patients. However, I chose Family Medicine specifically because of its variety. I get bored easily and the variety of family medicine appealed to me as a constant challenge.

2. What area of family medicine is changing most rapidly?

I think what’s changing the most is the scope of family medicine. There are so many specialists these days that the FM doctor doesn’t get to do as much as they used to unless they are practicing in a rural area. Full spectrum no longer exists.

3. What are your research interests?

Honestly, research is not a huge interest to me as an area of career exploration. As a curiosity, how Neurolinguistics affects behavior over time would be a very interesting area of study. I’m very excited about Neuroplasticity and the Mind/Body Connection.

4. Outside of your daily practice, do you have any personal or professional projects that you’re passionate about?

The most significant is my growing practice coaching physicians in burnout prevention and recovery. I’ve also developed an online Burnout to Balance Course that I hope to present to various hospital and health organization as a pilot for their physicians suffering from burnout with the ultimate goal of licensing the course to them. Second, I’m working on my 3rd book “Doctors Are Human Too”, and starting my own therapeutic essential oils product line. Practices absolutely. I practice yoga 5 days a week.

5. What is a common misconception that other clinicians have about family medicine?

“Jack of all Trades, Master of None.” It’s a saying that has long followed our specialty.

6. What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

“You don’t get what you want, you get what you tolerate.” Also, “What other people think of you is none of your business.”

7. What has been your most gratifying moment of being a clinician?

Every moment that a patient lets me know that I’ve changed their life, is like the first moment. I still get chill bumps, I still tear up a little. When patients share with me the transformation they have as a result of our work together, it reminds me of why I did this in the first place.

8. How do you motivate patients to do what’s best for their health?

I remind them of why they came to me. I don’t let them get away with bullshit excuses. I call them out on everything (and I use humor to do it). I push them like a coach and I listen to them like no one in their life has previously listened to them.

9. What is the biggest challenge or obstacle in family medicine?

Personally, it has been growing an integrative medicine practice in an environment where we are not appreciated (Integrative Med docs) for the good that we do. We are called all sorts of things, but the bottom line is the integration of natural and traditional can give the most profound results.

10. What are your favorite Doximity features and how have they helped your productivity (Dialer, DocNews, Career Navigator, e-Fax, etc.)?

DocNews has allowed me to keep up with the conversation that is going on in our community. This helps me on the physician burnout coaching side to know what my docs are going through.