October 7, 2025 • 33 mins
Burnout rarely starts with a crash. It begins as a whisper—boredom at the peak, a shortened temper that leaks into home, a creeping sense that paperwork is winning over patients. We sit down with Dr. Brett Cordes, a practicing physician turned recovery advocate and coach, to trace a candid path from early warning signs to addiction, a hard reckoning with the Texas Medical Board, and—after years of delay and probation—a new way to serve the profession he loves.
Across an honest, unvarnished conversation, we unpack the signals clinicians often miss: the pursuit of external validation that props up self‑worth, the “grumpy” baseline that masks anxiety and depression, and the moment moral injury sets in when insurers overrule clinical judgment. Dr. Cordes names the system pressures that accelerate the slide—EMR overload, relentless coding demands, and a loss of autonomy—and explains how those forces can make good doctors feel like bystanders in their own practice. He also opens the black box of board proceedings: the first letter, the months of uncertainty, the adversarial hearing dynamic, and why counsel is essential to avoid unforced errors. COVID-era delays turned a one‑year suspension into years, and even after reinstatement, probation created barriers to payer contracts and hospital privileges, complicating any clean return to care.
The story doesn’t end in defeat. We explore practical ways to catch burnout early, set boundaries, and reclaim agency, alongside alternatives when clinical work no longer aligns with your values. Dr. Cordes shares how coaching physicians through burnout and regulatory fallout restored his purpose, and why he believes hospitals will soon be required to proactively identify and treat burnout. If you’re a clinician feeling stretched thin or a leader trying to protect your team, you’ll leave with clear warning signs to watch, steps to take before crisis, and resources to navigate legal and regulatory landmines with less fear and more clarity.
If this conversation resonates, follow, share, and leave a review so more clinicians can find tools that protect their license and their well‑being with Know Your Regulator.
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Visit Dr. Brett Cordes’ physician resources below! -
https://theburnoutdoc.com/
Brett Cordes is a recently retired ear nose, and throat physician and surgeon who is now launching his own private physician coaching business. His career was almost completely derailed as he battled the disease of addiction. However, through consistent daily work, founded in humility, he was able to re-join the career that he always loved. He is now coaching physicians with symptoms of burnout and substance abuse.
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Get more information, details and resources on Know Your Regulator - https://www.belolaw.com/know-your-regulator
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
This podcast is for educational purposes only, does
not constitute legal advice, anddoes not create an
attorney-client relationship.
If you need legal assistanceabout a legal problem, contact
an attorney.
SPEAKER_04 (00:12):
Welcome back to Know Your Regulator, the podcast that
inspires you to engage.
I am your host, Simone Murfrey.
In today's episode, we areexploring a personal and
powerful story of redemption,resilience, and regulation.
We are honored to have ourguest, Dr.
Brett Cortis, with us.
Dr.
Cortis is a practicingphysician, a recovery advocate,
and someone who's been throughthat full arc of licensure
(00:35):
suspension and reinstatement.
We'll be diving into exactlywhat healthcare professionals
face when they're strugglingwith addiction, burnout, and
navigating that regulatorysystem.
Dr.
Cortis, thank you so much forjoining me.
SPEAKER_01 (00:48):
I'm glad to be here.
Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER_04 (00:50):
Absolutely.
So let's start at the beginning.
Can you talk uh talk to us aboutum, you know, your background,
walk us through your early yearsin medicine and maybe when you
began to notice that somethingwasn't quite right?
SPEAKER_01 (01:03):
Sure.
Well, I was um, we'll go, we'llstart way back at the beginning.
I was born and raised in BatonRouge, Louisiana, and um went to
high school and college here inBaton Rouge.
I went to LSU and then went touh LSU School of Medicine in New
Orleans for med school andmatched at Baylor College of
Medicine in Houston.
(01:24):
So that's how that's how I endedup in Texas.
But residency training lastedfrom 2005 through 2009, and I
jumped on with a practice, aprivate practice inside the
Texas Medical Center.
In fact, we did a couple ofrotations with this practice
during residency, but uh Ididn't have to go far, um, is my
(01:45):
point.
We lived in a suburb south ofHouston, um, so we didn't have
to move or anything.
So um it was uh it was a perfectfit, really.
So I started practicing inAugust of 2009.
You know, it was it wasphenomenal.
I absolutely loved it.
It was everything, it was reallyeverything that I had dreamed or
(02:06):
thought it could be.
Um, because you know, you haveto remember by this time I'm 32
years old and I'm about to drawmy first paycheck ever in my
entire life, like real paycheck.
You know, I mean I cut grasswhen I was in high school and
college and and for money.
But um anyway, so that's a longtime to go before you're you
(02:27):
know really entering the realworld as a functioning adult.
SPEAKER_03 (02:32):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (02:32):
Um, but another thing is that I had been, you
know, working toward this goalpretty much my entire life.
Now, when I started college, Idid not know what I wanted to
be.
I thought, uh honestly, I had Ireally had no idea.
So my major is in history, justbecause I enjoyed history.
Um, but it wasn't until I gotsick, I got um non-Hodgkin's
(02:56):
lymphoma, cancer of the lymphnodes, uh, during my freshman
year of college.
So that that skewed my course umto wanting to go to medical
school and become a doctor.
So since that time period,everything was working toward,
you know, becoming a practicingphysician.
So, you know, that's that's 13years of of work with one goal
(03:18):
in mind.
And I'm finally made it.
2009.
I'm finally here.
I'm done with all the training,I'm done with all the education,
and it was a great feeling.
And so I would say my first fiveyears in practice was perfect.
I mean, absolutely phenomenal.
My wife and I had two young kidsthat we were raising.
(03:38):
Again, I lived in a suburb southof Houston.
Um, we life was life was grand.
We were involved in our churchcommunity, we were involved in
all kinds of kids' sports, andum it was just everything was
going well, let me put it thatway.
And so you asked when I hadfirst noticed something.
(03:59):
Um I it was probably around2014, maybe 2015, when I started
to feel bored.
I have since kind of realizedthat really what I was
experiencing was a lack offulfillment.
But at the time it felt likeboredom.
Yeah um because I had, again, Ihad been climbing this mountain
(04:22):
my whole life.
I finally get there, and insteadof being able to relax and live
in the present moment and enjoylife, the only thing I could
think of was, you know, lookingaround for the next challenge.
What's what's my next challenge?
What's the next thing I can doto accomplish or whatnot?
Because I was so used to that.
(04:43):
And without that, um, again, Ijust felt like I was I was
bored.
I needed something extra.
And so that was, and that thatfeeling kind of grew into a low
level anxiety.
Um, but that was how thingsstarted to go askew, so to
speak.
SPEAKER_04 (05:02):
Gotcha.
Yeah, no, it sounds like you'vegot the, you know, the picture
perfect life that you've beenworking towards, and then it's
kind of, you know, I I can seehow you might have that, you
know, um unfulfilled feelinggoing forward.
You know, you kind of get thereand it's like, okay, what's
next?
You know, what do I do next?
And and keep going and buildingupon that.
(05:23):
Um, you know, now that you'veyou've kind of come out on the
other side, are there anywarning signs, you know, in
hindsight that um that you mayhave noticed or any like
stressors, any triggers that umthat you can think of that that
maybe you didn't notice then,but you would see now?
SPEAKER_01 (05:44):
Yeah, I mean, uh again, the the boredom thing um
is a pretty early sign.
Yeah.
Uh, you know, not not I don't Idon't know anyone who would tie
that feeling of boredom, boredomto burnout or an impending
substance abuse issue.
Um, but it certainly was for me.
And in terms of somepsychological uh issues, there
(06:04):
are there are definitely somewarning signs.
One is that, you know, I'll callit a character defect of mine,
but I'm gonna mention it becausemany, many physicians have this
issue, which is uh I seem tokind of garnish all of my
self-worth through my job,through accomplishments.
And so I needed some sort ofexternal validation in order to
(06:29):
feel worthy, so to speak.
And so when I stopped achievinggoals and stopped being rewarded
and stopped having theseaccomplishments and plaques and
awards and whatnot, when thosestopped, um my self-worth kind
of dropped a little bit.
And again, this is I don't wantto get too far into the weeds
(06:51):
with the psychology of it.
But um depending on externalvalidation is a is a setup for
uh substance abuse or orburnout.
SPEAKER_04 (07:02):
Yeah, and I mean I'm sure that that's seen a lot in
the healthcare profession.
You know, I mean, there's a lotof a lot of people you you care
genuinely about your patients,but you're also trying to
advance your career and advancemedicine as a whole.
And so you're looking for thoseaccolades and those certificates
and and recognition.
And um, you know, I'm sure it itmakes sense what you said that
(07:25):
that stops coming in and youkind of start feeling, you know,
like a lower self-worth or alower self-esteem.
We both know that physicianburnout is a huge growing
concern.
Can you talk about what burnoutreally looks like, especially
when it becomes dangerous?
And just like we kind ofmentioned um a moment ago, how
(07:45):
can colleagues or organizationsor even you know the healthcare
professional themselvesrecognize that or catch it
early?
SPEAKER_01 (07:54):
Yeah, and so um again, I I won't even include
boredom as a warning signbecause it that's hard to detect
externally, you know, fromsomeone else.
But you know, I kind of call itthe grumpy old man syndrome.
So irritability is probably thesingle uh most common issue that
(08:15):
people see people have.
You just you just are in generalirritable, both at work and at
home.
Not angry uh and not overtlyfrustrated, just kind of a low
level of irritability is is avery early sign.
But then that can turn intohaving a shortened temper, um,
(08:35):
some anger outbursts, and thatgenerally starts at the office
or within the professional realmof things.
And it starts to get, you know,it's starting to come off the
rails a little bit when thosesymptoms leak over into your
personal life.
So now instead of gettingfrustrated at work because you
have to talk to an insurancecompany, you're getting
(08:56):
frustrated with you know yourkid for spilling milk or you
know, uh your personal lifebegins to uh become affected.
So irritability, anger, uhfrustration, uh shortened
temper, and depression.
You can also have you know overtpsychological diagnoses like
(09:17):
anxiety and depression.
SPEAKER_02 (09:18):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (09:19):
Uh those are also issues.
And so it's not uncommon forphysicians or healthcare
providers to seek professionalhelp for anxiety or depression.
So that would be another warningsign, so to speak.
But again, that and that that'salso an obstacle toward getting
help for burnout and and foranxiety and depression.
(09:41):
Physicians don't feelcomfortable asking for help.
We don't feel comfortable goingto a psychiatrist and being
prescribed an actual medicationbecause we're afraid at some
point that's going to backfireon us with the medical board or
if patients find out, and youknow, so that's a that's a
concern that many of us have.
SPEAKER_04 (10:01):
Yeah, no, and that's sad because you guys should be
able to get the help that youneed just as much as everybody
else, you know.
Um, what are some strategiesthat maybe you've seen or maybe
that you would recommend forphysicians or healthcare
professionals when they're umtrying to manage their stress or
trying to manage that burnoutbefore it becomes overwhelming?
SPEAKER_01 (10:24):
Yeah, well, we can talk about how to, you know,
stress management tools in termsof what causes burnout.
So, you know, there's there'sfive or six causes of burnout,
but one of the big ones is um,well, generally the work volume
becomes so much that you'rehaving to take things home,
(10:45):
you're having to stay late atthe office, you're having to
come in on the weekends.
Um, so the the actual volume ofwork with the paperwork and the
computer work that we need to dowith electronic medical records
that is being mandated thesedays from the insurance
companies to get paid.
You know, it takes it takes uh acrew of six workers in the
(11:07):
office to see a patient thatcomes in just to have earwax
removed.
So uh when that's the case, thepaperwork multiplies and our
work multiplies.
SPEAKER_03 (11:16):
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01 (11:17):
Um and before long, you you realize that you're
doing more non-clinical workthan you are seeing patients,
which is no fun, you know,frankly.
So the volume of work beingexcessive is one cause.
Another cause is what we call aloss of autonomy.
So, you know, again, I spent 13years training for this.
Um, I've spent another five, sixyears in private practice.
(11:40):
I feel like I'm an expert in myfield, yet I'm having to argue
with someone at the insurancecompany as to why this patient
needs this medication or thisimaging study or whatnot.
So you get to a place where youdon't even feel like you're the
one calling the shots with yourown practice.
Um that's that's veryfrustrating to have to deal
(12:04):
with.
And so um, and then coupled withjust the the electronic medical
record constantly new codingcoming in, it's just there's
just a lot of non-clinical workdemands um that just pile up and
it just takes the enjoyment outof it, at least it did for me.
SPEAKER_04 (12:23):
No, I can absolutely see how you went to school to be
a doctor, you know, you didn'tgo to school to be uh an admin,
you didn't go to do paperworkall day.
So yeah, I can absolutely see,and just the constant changing
of regulations and rules and um,you know, what's what's expected
(12:44):
of physicians um on paper, youknow, is it it is constantly
changing, and I'm sure thatthat's difficult to keep up with
and just kind of you've got tokeep your head on a swivel, and
that can absolutely burn someoneout very quickly.
SPEAKER_01 (12:59):
Yeah.
Let me just say one last cause.
And it's I don't really considerthis a separate cause per se of
burnout, but um the excessivework and the loss of autonomy
that leads inevitably to what iscalled a moral injury, which is
a s which in essence is um whenyou as a physician have to start
(13:23):
compromising what you feel isbest for your patient in order
to get a treatment done orperformed.
Um, again, so you're arguingwith the insurance company for
this or that.
Um, and let's say they don'tthey don't let you get this
imaging study or prescribe thismedication.
Now you're having to dosomething that or prescribe
(13:44):
something that you wouldn'tordinarily do.
And that's when some kind ofhopelessness starts to leak in.
And you start thinking toyourself, you know, why why am I
even doing, you know, I came inhere to treat patients.
I started this because I want tomake patients better and foster
a relationship with them.
And um now I'm not even able todo what I think is best.
(14:05):
And so when when that when thatthought starts to enter your
head, you are you are deep intoyour neck deep in burnout at
that point, generally speaking.
SPEAKER_04 (14:16):
Yeah, that's really good for you know, anyone who's
having to prescribe or fight ontheir patient's behalf to know
because I do that is somethingthat I mean it's all over the
internet.
See a ton of TikTok videos ofdoctors, you know, on the phone
with insurance companies, um,who are I think they're in a
peer-to-peer, but the doctor whois, you know, um trying to give
(14:40):
them information won't evenreveal their name or their
profession or their, you know,expertise.
And so I can see how it'sextremely frustrating for
physicians to get um, you know,the proper care for their
patients and to even fight forthat care.
Um, I can definitely see howthat would be super frustrating.
SPEAKER_01 (15:01):
Our nature is, you know, not only do we not ask for
help, but we're not bigcomplainers, you know,
physicians in general and andmost professionals.
I, you know, I'm sayingphysicians, but this this
pertains to other uh professionsas well.
Um, but we're just not bigcomplainers.
So we let things pile up andpile up and pile up internally.
(15:23):
Um so not only are we not askingfor help, but we're not not even
complaining or venting that wedon't generally have an outlet
that we feel comfortable to dothat with.
Because, you know, let's behonest, the general public
doesn't want to hear doctorscomplaining, you know, because
the perception is that doctorsare rich and wealthy and and and
(15:44):
everything is perfect in theirlives and everything.
And so the last thing that itthe general public wants is is
their doctors complaining aboutnot being paid enough or having
to work too much, you know.
And so that kind of leads tosome isolation, um, yeah, so to
speak.
So again, it's kind of a perburnout is a is a perfect storm
of of issues coming from everydirection, it seems like.
SPEAKER_04 (16:07):
Yeah, that's a great way to put it.
It is a perfect storm of a bunchof moving parts, and you know,
none of them good, but um, yeah,no, it's it's a lot of different
things happening at one timethat kind of the end result is
the burnout.
SPEAKER_02 (16:23):
Yeah.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (16:24):
So at some point, um, you know, you kind of got
caught up in the the burnout andthe overwhelm, um, which led to
addiction, and that addictionled to some regulatory
consequences.
Can you talk to us about whatthat process was like when you
um began interacting with theTexas Medical Board?
SPEAKER_01 (16:45):
Sure.
Um, yes, and so this would thiswas in 2019.
SPEAKER_04 (16:51):
Um quite a while after you had, this is 10 years
after you've um, you know,gotten your your medical
license, right?
SPEAKER_01 (16:59):
Right, yes.
I had this is my tenth year ofpractice, you're correct.
Um, and so the the I I became uha blip on the radar of the Texas
Medical Board in two in 2019.
Um and so, you know, I'll justsay my deal in general, as an
(17:20):
overall broad, my dealings withthe Texas Medical Board was
extremely negative.
Um and you know, I realized thatthe Texas Medical Board is not
does not exist to help Dr.
Cortis.
You know, in fact, if anything,they exist to protect the public
(17:42):
from me, um, particularly if Iwas active in my addiction.
And so I I realize that that'sthe case.
I realize that they're not myfriend.
Um, I realize that sometimesthat they can't, you know, they
can be mean or short-tempered orwhatnot.
But, you know, two things can betrue at the same time.
They can protect the the publicand they can also treat
(18:05):
physicians with respect.
So I I got involved with theTexas Medical Board in uh May of
2019, and you get a letter inthe in the mail saying, you
know, uh we have we have come tolearn this and this and that,
and they want you to write aletter kind of defending
(18:25):
yourself.
Um, and then they give you adate.
I'm gonna go through the processhere uh as if people have never
dealt with it, just so theyknow.
Um, but they give you a datethat you're gonna have a
preliminary hearing.
In my case, that that was thefollowing February, so that's
nine months after the incident.
SPEAKER_03 (18:44):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (18:45):
Um, after they, you know, they first sent me that
letter.
Now, sometimes they'll allow youto practice during that interim
of time, and sometimes they theydon't.
Um, it kind of depends on whatthe offense is.
Uh, they did not preclude mefrom practicing, but you've got
this thing on your mind for ninemonths, knowing that you're
(19:05):
gonna be meeting with themedical board and have no idea
what the possible consequencesare.
You know, is it gonna be a slapon the wrist?
Are they going to um suspend mymedical license for 30 days, 90
days, a year, five years?
Are they gonna revoke my medicallicense?
You know, none of that stuff isknown.
(19:25):
Um, at least I didn't know it.
Uh, and so there's a lot ofstress, um, an enormous amount
of stress involved once once youbecome tangled with the with the
Texas Medical Board.
And my malpractice insurancecompany uh did provide me with a
list of attorneys that I couldcontact to help me through the
(19:45):
process.
So that was that was a big help.
SPEAKER_03 (19:48):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (19:49):
Um, she was able to answer a lot of those uh
questions that didn't that Ididn't know the answers to early
on, and yeah, and that and thatkind of um helped with the
anxiety regarding the the wholesituation.
But when it came time toactually go to the hearing and
(20:09):
present my case, and I'm justgonna speak for myself here, um,
and you can speak to this too.
I'll I'll be curious to see whatyour your perspective is.
But I felt that because I walkedinto this hearing with an
attorney, it it created somewhatof an adversarial relationship
(20:33):
in the room with the TexasMedical Board attorney on one
side and myself on the other.
That's that was just the way itfelt to me.
Um, and so when it came to youknow presenting evidence on both
sides, it's it's basically likea little mini trial.
Um, you know, they're trying toshow that I was unsafe to
(20:53):
practice medicine, and I wastrying to show that that wasn't
the case.
SPEAKER_03 (20:56):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (20:57):
Um, it it it doesn't the right thing and doing the
right thing is not really theultimate goal.
At least that's what it feltlike to me.
To me, it felt like the TexasMedical Board attorney wanted to
win and they wanted me to lose.
(21:18):
And that that perceptioncontinued for the entirety of my
dealings with the Texas MedicalBoard.
Um, and so I'd be curious to toget your take on whether you
think uh or or or if having anattorney creates this
adversarial relationship betweenthe medical board and a
(21:38):
physician.
SPEAKER_04 (21:39):
I would say to that, I would say um it really depends
on the who the staff attorneywould be or who the prosecutor
from the board would be.
I've seen um, you know,obviously they can't be too
unfair, too obviously unfair,too obviously harsh.
(22:00):
Um, but I can I can absolutelysee both scenarios, right?
I think I think both thingsthere could be true that that
there are definitely going to besome prosecutors and some staff
attorneys who are just out therekind of on a power trip and are
who are really looking to bringthe hammer down on someone who
necessarily doesn't um doesn'tdeserve that type of sanction or
(22:21):
that type of reprimand.
Um and then I think that thereare also there are attorneys who
have really good workingrelationships with those staff
attorneys who can maybe changethe staff attorney's perspective
or with a certain argument getthem to see something different.
Um, but I will say that thatTMB, the Texas Medical Board, is
(22:44):
um is harsh.
They can be more harsh than someof the other boards.
I'm not an attorney, so I'm notin the courtroom fighting, but
just based on you know some ofthe things that I've seen from
um our Bertolino firm, that theyare one of the harsher boards.
And I would say either way, Iwould get an attorney because
(23:06):
you just don't want to answer,like you said, answer a question
wrong.
Sometimes you get those, um youget that letter and you're so
eager to sort of prove yourinnocence or prove um or give
them, you know, the give themwhat they're looking for because
you don't feel like you haveanything to hide.
(23:28):
And that can come back andreally bite you.
An attorney can look over thatand say, hey, you don't need to
include those records, you know.
Oh, you've, you know, maybe thiswasn't entered the correct way,
but they don't need to see thatbecause that's not what they're
requesting.
And so you've saved yourself aseparate case, you know.
Um, but that's what I would sayis that a good attorney will be
(23:51):
able to recognize if they arekind of bringing the hammer down
on something that doesn't needto be um, you know, you don't
need to be reprimanded soharshly for.
I would just say to that, twothings can be true, you know.
SPEAKER_01 (24:05):
Yeah.
And I and I will second what youwere saying.
It it's vital um to have uh anattorney or someone with
previous experience with themedical board in terms of, you
know, because I was exactly asyou described, you know, I was
excited um to cooperate withthem.
And I was excited in thebeginning to to show them
(24:27):
everything and give themeverything possible because um
I, you know, I was thinking, youknow, more information can only
be helpful to me because I don'tfeel like I'm guilty of what
they're accusing me of.
And so if I was were to give uha piece of advice to someone who
has an impending meeting uh withthe Texas Medical Board, it
(24:51):
would be to get an attorney oruh or to speak with someone who
has experience in the process,um, and just to realize from the
very beginning that the TexasMedical Board is not your
friend.
They're not there to help you inthis circumstance.
Um, and you really do yourself adisservice if you don't realize
that early on.
(25:12):
Because, like you said, thingsthat you do or not do, or things
that you say, can really comeback and bite you.
SPEAKER_04 (25:18):
Yeah, they can just be so misconstrued by the board,
and you are left going, wait,that's not what I wanted you to
think, or that's not what Imeant.
So, well, now that you've comeout on the other side, Dr.
Cortis, what is uh what doeslife look like today for you and
your practice?
SPEAKER_01 (25:35):
Yeah, um, and I'll say so uh I I became my
relationship with the medicalboard began in May of 2019.
Um they suspended my license uhfor one year.
Um, however, very unfortunately,this was this was when COVID
occurred as well.
(25:56):
And so COVID uh created somedelay in things.
Um the Texas Medical Board uhdid not proceed efficiently, in
my opinion.
Um, so that one-year suspension,or what was supposed to be a
one-year suspension, turned intothree and a half years.
SPEAKER_03 (26:15):
Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_01 (26:17):
Um and by this time I was not working, nor could I
find work with a suspendedmedical license.
And so um it wasn't until 2023that I was able to go back to
work.
And um late 2022 is when my uhsuspension was finally lifted in
Texas.
And so by that time I had movedto Louisiana.
(26:38):
I'm from Louisiana, like I wassaying.
Um, and so I had to, you know,declare my issues with the
Louisiana Medical Board.
And the two kind of talked witheach other, and I was excited to
kind of start fresh.
You know, I did my time, so tospeak, in Texas.
Um, I knew that Texas MedicalBoard had a reputation for being
(27:00):
harsh, so I just assumed thatLouisiana would would
essentially take what Texas issaying.
Hey, he's served his time, we'velisted his suspension, he's now
ready and safe to practicemedicine again.
Um, but unfortunately that didnot happen.
And Louisiana Medical Board putme on probation.
And so uh when I worked for ayear in Louisiana under
(27:23):
probation, um, it created a lotof issues in terms of getting on
insurance companies contractsand getting privileges at
certain hospitals um andorsurgery centers.
Uh a lot of times they havebylaws where they they won't
license uh someone or or get youa contract if you're if your
(27:46):
license is suspended or ifyou're on probation.
Um and so it created a lot ofissues uh for me, and that only
made the burnout even worse.
You know, I thought going backto work was gonna fix all my fix
all my problems, at least, youknow, the the anxiety and the
depression that had formed.
(28:06):
Um, and it did, going back towork did help that.
But because of the continuedissues, um, I realized within
six weeks that I really did notthe passion that I had for
clinical medicine wasn't thereanymore.
SPEAKER_02 (28:20):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (28:20):
Um, I loved my patients, I loved fostering
relationships with patients.
Um, but after my one-yearcontract was up, uh the the
venture capital firm thatpurchased our the practice that
I was working for did not renewmy contract because, again, they
just took one look at theprobation and and made that
(28:41):
decision.
And so uh that's when I decidedto actually I had decided prior
to that, but that's when Idecided to retire uh, so to
speak, from clinical medicineand start uh working with other
physicians who are going throughburnout.
SPEAKER_02 (28:57):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (28:58):
Um, especially if they have consequences with the
medical board or if they haveany issues with substance abuse,
which is very common.
Um, but it was nice to kind offeel passionate about my
professional life again.
SPEAKER_04 (29:13):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (29:13):
Um, and so that's what I'm doing now.
SPEAKER_04 (29:16):
That's awesome.
That's great.
I mean, gosh, how frustratingthat must have been to wait and
the COVID delays.
And then I'm glad that you, I'mglad that you are kind of early
on and going back to Madison,we're like, nope, this is not
for me.
I'm gonna do something else.
I think that you've you reallydid yourself a um a good service
(29:38):
there and and kind of some goodself care.
Um so you did, you know, youmentioned um, you know, a piece
of advice earlier for physiciansor healthcare workers.
Anything else that you would umyou would have to say to a
physician or healthcare workerwho's you know maybe facing
burnout or addiction even?
SPEAKER_01 (29:58):
Yeah, and I'll start.
out by saying that you knowthere's not a lot of options.
Um you know let's say thatyou're a doctor or a nurse or a
healthcare worker who is who'sexperiencing burnout and you've
come to realize that.
And again, that doesn't usuallyhappen until you're late in the
process.
SPEAKER_03 (30:18):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (30:19):
And you've decided that you need to get help for um
anxiety or depression thatyou're having, all the
frustration and irritability.
I've got an issue with themedical board.
I've been drinking a lot lately.
You know those are all these areall issues that could that could
pop up.
And there there isn't any oneplace to go for that.
(30:40):
Now I would recommend seeing apsychiatrist for formal
diagnoses like anxiety ordepression.
But again doctors aren't realaren't real excited about doing
that because the perception isthat they could backfire that
could backfire for them.
There are physicians who who aredoing what I do which is to
(31:01):
treat burnout via via Zoom andessentially I'm my job is to
change the perception and theperspective of doctors and
change the way that they feelabout reality as opposed to
trying to change their lifecircumstance because I can't do
(31:21):
that.
And so you know I'll just justtell the audience that my you
know I you can find me at theburnoutdoc.com and then my
website has lots of resourcesabout uh symptoms of burnout and
and treatment options andwhatnot but that would be the
way to find to find mespecifically and I think it
(31:44):
heading into the future thereare going to be more options.
There are going to be morepeople treating burnout.
In fact I think that the amandate will probably be coming
within the next three to fiveyears for large hospital
conglomerations to you knowthey're going to be required to
have someone on staff to bothidentify when burnout is
(32:05):
occurring and treat it.
So uh hopefully more options arecoming in the future.
SPEAKER_04 (32:11):
Yeah hope so hope so I know it's something that um
has been going on for a whileand that just keeps increasing.
So yeah hopefully we seesomething change here in the
next couple of years.
Well Dr.
Cortes thank you very much forjoining me today.
Thanks for sharing your storywith us and hopefully inspiring
some other physicians to eitherrecognize burnout or maybe they
(32:33):
can recognize it um you know insomeone else but um just kind of
help everybody take care of eachother you know yeah thank you so
much for having me to ourlisteners if you or someone you
know is facing addiction burnoutor a licensing issue please
remember that you're not alonethere are many resources to
help.
For more resources to preventburnout check Dr.
(32:54):
Cortis's physician coachingresources linked in our
description below don't forgetto subscribe like and share Know
Your Regulator for moreconversations that protect your
license and empower your career.
Until next time stay inspiredand continue engaging with your
regulatory agency.
SPEAKER_00 (33:11):
Know Your Regulator the podcast that inspires you to
engage
This podcast is for educational purposes only, does
not constitute legal advice, anddoes not create an
attorney-client relationship.
If you need legal assistanceabout a legal problem, contact
an attorney.
SPEAKER_04 (00:12):
Welcome back to Know Your Regulator, the podcast that
inspires you to engage.
I am your host, Simone Murfrey.
In today's episode, we areexploring a personal and
powerful story of redemption,resilience, and regulation.
We are honored to have ourguest, Dr.
Brett Cortis, with us.
Dr.
Cortis is a practicingphysician, a recovery advocate,
and someone who's been throughthat full arc of licensure
(00:35):
suspension and reinstatement.
We'll be diving into exactlywhat healthcare professionals
face when they're strugglingwith addiction, burnout, and
navigating that regulatorysystem.
Dr.
Cortis, thank you so much forjoining me.
SPEAKER_01 (00:48):
I'm glad to be here.
Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER_04 (00:50):
Absolutely.
So let's start at the beginning.
Can you talk uh talk to us aboutum, you know, your background,
walk us through your early yearsin medicine and maybe when you
began to notice that somethingwasn't quite right?
SPEAKER_01 (01:03):
Sure.
Well, I was um, we'll go, we'llstart way back at the beginning.
I was born and raised in BatonRouge, Louisiana, and um went to
high school and college here inBaton Rouge.
I went to LSU and then went touh LSU School of Medicine in New
Orleans for med school andmatched at Baylor College of
Medicine in Houston.
(01:24):
So that's how that's how I endedup in Texas.
But residency training lastedfrom 2005 through 2009, and I
jumped on with a practice, aprivate practice inside the
Texas Medical Center.
In fact, we did a couple ofrotations with this practice
during residency, but uh Ididn't have to go far, um, is my
(01:45):
point.
We lived in a suburb south ofHouston, um, so we didn't have
to move or anything.
So um it was uh it was a perfectfit, really.
So I started practicing inAugust of 2009.
You know, it was it wasphenomenal.
I absolutely loved it.
It was everything, it was reallyeverything that I had dreamed or
(02:06):
thought it could be.
Um, because you know, you haveto remember by this time I'm 32
years old and I'm about to drawmy first paycheck ever in my
entire life, like real paycheck.
You know, I mean I cut grasswhen I was in high school and
college and and for money.
But um anyway, so that's a longtime to go before you're you
(02:27):
know really entering the realworld as a functioning adult.
SPEAKER_03 (02:32):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (02:32):
Um, but another thing is that I had been, you
know, working toward this goalpretty much my entire life.
Now, when I started college, Idid not know what I wanted to
be.
I thought, uh honestly, I had Ireally had no idea.
So my major is in history, justbecause I enjoyed history.
Um, but it wasn't until I gotsick, I got um non-Hodgkin's
(02:56):
lymphoma, cancer of the lymphnodes, uh, during my freshman
year of college.
So that that skewed my course umto wanting to go to medical
school and become a doctor.
So since that time period,everything was working toward,
you know, becoming a practicingphysician.
So, you know, that's that's 13years of of work with one goal
(03:18):
in mind.
And I'm finally made it.
2009.
I'm finally here.
I'm done with all the training,I'm done with all the education,
and it was a great feeling.
And so I would say my first fiveyears in practice was perfect.
I mean, absolutely phenomenal.
My wife and I had two young kidsthat we were raising.
(03:38):
Again, I lived in a suburb southof Houston.
Um, we life was life was grand.
We were involved in our churchcommunity, we were involved in
all kinds of kids' sports, andum it was just everything was
going well, let me put it thatway.
And so you asked when I hadfirst noticed something.
(03:59):
Um I it was probably around2014, maybe 2015, when I started
to feel bored.
I have since kind of realizedthat really what I was
experiencing was a lack offulfillment.
But at the time it felt likeboredom.
Yeah um because I had, again, Ihad been climbing this mountain
(04:22):
my whole life.
I finally get there, and insteadof being able to relax and live
in the present moment and enjoylife, the only thing I could
think of was, you know, lookingaround for the next challenge.
What's what's my next challenge?
What's the next thing I can doto accomplish or whatnot?
Because I was so used to that.
(04:43):
And without that, um, again, Ijust felt like I was I was
bored.
I needed something extra.
And so that was, and that thatfeeling kind of grew into a low
level anxiety.
Um, but that was how thingsstarted to go askew, so to
speak.
SPEAKER_04 (05:02):
Gotcha.
Yeah, no, it sounds like you'vegot the, you know, the picture
perfect life that you've beenworking towards, and then it's
kind of, you know, I I can seehow you might have that, you
know, um unfulfilled feelinggoing forward.
You know, you kind of get thereand it's like, okay, what's
next?
You know, what do I do next?
And and keep going and buildingupon that.
(05:23):
Um, you know, now that you'veyou've kind of come out on the
other side, are there anywarning signs, you know, in
hindsight that um that you mayhave noticed or any like
stressors, any triggers that umthat you can think of that that
maybe you didn't notice then,but you would see now?
SPEAKER_01 (05:44):
Yeah, I mean, uh again, the the boredom thing um
is a pretty early sign.
Yeah.
Uh, you know, not not I don't Idon't know anyone who would tie
that feeling of boredom, boredomto burnout or an impending
substance abuse issue.
Um, but it certainly was for me.
And in terms of somepsychological uh issues, there
(06:04):
are there are definitely somewarning signs.
One is that, you know, I'll callit a character defect of mine,
but I'm gonna mention it becausemany, many physicians have this
issue, which is uh I seem tokind of garnish all of my
self-worth through my job,through accomplishments.
And so I needed some sort ofexternal validation in order to
(06:29):
feel worthy, so to speak.
And so when I stopped achievinggoals and stopped being rewarded
and stopped having theseaccomplishments and plaques and
awards and whatnot, when thosestopped, um my self-worth kind
of dropped a little bit.
And again, this is I don't wantto get too far into the weeds
(06:51):
with the psychology of it.
But um depending on externalvalidation is a is a setup for
uh substance abuse or orburnout.
SPEAKER_04 (07:02):
Yeah, and I mean I'm sure that that's seen a lot in
the healthcare profession.
You know, I mean, there's a lotof a lot of people you you care
genuinely about your patients,but you're also trying to
advance your career and advancemedicine as a whole.
And so you're looking for thoseaccolades and those certificates
and and recognition.
And um, you know, I'm sure it itmakes sense what you said that
(07:25):
that stops coming in and youkind of start feeling, you know,
like a lower self-worth or alower self-esteem.
We both know that physicianburnout is a huge growing
concern.
Can you talk about what burnoutreally looks like, especially
when it becomes dangerous?
And just like we kind ofmentioned um a moment ago, how
(07:45):
can colleagues or organizationsor even you know the healthcare
professional themselvesrecognize that or catch it
early?
SPEAKER_01 (07:54):
Yeah, and so um again, I I won't even include
boredom as a warning signbecause it that's hard to detect
externally, you know, fromsomeone else.
But you know, I kind of call itthe grumpy old man syndrome.
So irritability is probably thesingle uh most common issue that
(08:15):
people see people have.
You just you just are in generalirritable, both at work and at
home.
Not angry uh and not overtlyfrustrated, just kind of a low
level of irritability is is avery early sign.
But then that can turn intohaving a shortened temper, um,
(08:35):
some anger outbursts, and thatgenerally starts at the office
or within the professional realmof things.
And it starts to get, you know,it's starting to come off the
rails a little bit when thosesymptoms leak over into your
personal life.
So now instead of gettingfrustrated at work because you
have to talk to an insurancecompany, you're getting
(08:56):
frustrated with you know yourkid for spilling milk or you
know, uh your personal lifebegins to uh become affected.
So irritability, anger, uhfrustration, uh shortened
temper, and depression.
You can also have you know overtpsychological diagnoses like
(09:17):
anxiety and depression.
SPEAKER_02 (09:18):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (09:19):
Uh those are also issues.
And so it's not uncommon forphysicians or healthcare
providers to seek professionalhelp for anxiety or depression.
So that would be another warningsign, so to speak.
But again, that and that that'salso an obstacle toward getting
help for burnout and and foranxiety and depression.
(09:41):
Physicians don't feelcomfortable asking for help.
We don't feel comfortable goingto a psychiatrist and being
prescribed an actual medicationbecause we're afraid at some
point that's going to backfireon us with the medical board or
if patients find out, and youknow, so that's a that's a
concern that many of us have.
SPEAKER_04 (10:01):
Yeah, no, and that's sad because you guys should be
able to get the help that youneed just as much as everybody
else, you know.
Um, what are some strategiesthat maybe you've seen or maybe
that you would recommend forphysicians or healthcare
professionals when they're umtrying to manage their stress or
trying to manage that burnoutbefore it becomes overwhelming?
SPEAKER_01 (10:24):
Yeah, well, we can talk about how to, you know,
stress management tools in termsof what causes burnout.
So, you know, there's there'sfive or six causes of burnout,
but one of the big ones is um,well, generally the work volume
becomes so much that you'rehaving to take things home,
(10:45):
you're having to stay late atthe office, you're having to
come in on the weekends.
Um, so the the actual volume ofwork with the paperwork and the
computer work that we need to dowith electronic medical records
that is being mandated thesedays from the insurance
companies to get paid.
You know, it takes it takes uh acrew of six workers in the
(11:07):
office to see a patient thatcomes in just to have earwax
removed.
So uh when that's the case, thepaperwork multiplies and our
work multiplies.
SPEAKER_03 (11:16):
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01 (11:17):
Um and before long, you you realize that you're
doing more non-clinical workthan you are seeing patients,
which is no fun, you know,frankly.
So the volume of work beingexcessive is one cause.
Another cause is what we call aloss of autonomy.
So, you know, again, I spent 13years training for this.
Um, I've spent another five, sixyears in private practice.
(11:40):
I feel like I'm an expert in myfield, yet I'm having to argue
with someone at the insurancecompany as to why this patient
needs this medication or thisimaging study or whatnot.
So you get to a place where youdon't even feel like you're the
one calling the shots with yourown practice.
Um that's that's veryfrustrating to have to deal
(12:04):
with.
And so um, and then coupled withjust the the electronic medical
record constantly new codingcoming in, it's just there's
just a lot of non-clinical workdemands um that just pile up and
it just takes the enjoyment outof it, at least it did for me.
SPEAKER_04 (12:23):
No, I can absolutely see how you went to school to be
a doctor, you know, you didn'tgo to school to be uh an admin,
you didn't go to do paperworkall day.
So yeah, I can absolutely see,and just the constant changing
of regulations and rules and um,you know, what's what's expected
(12:44):
of physicians um on paper, youknow, is it it is constantly
changing, and I'm sure thatthat's difficult to keep up with
and just kind of you've got tokeep your head on a swivel, and
that can absolutely burn someoneout very quickly.
SPEAKER_01 (12:59):
Yeah.
Let me just say one last cause.
And it's I don't really considerthis a separate cause per se of
burnout, but um the excessivework and the loss of autonomy
that leads inevitably to what iscalled a moral injury, which is
a s which in essence is um whenyou as a physician have to start
(13:23):
compromising what you feel isbest for your patient in order
to get a treatment done orperformed.
Um, again, so you're arguingwith the insurance company for
this or that.
Um, and let's say they don'tthey don't let you get this
imaging study or prescribe thismedication.
Now you're having to dosomething that or prescribe
(13:44):
something that you wouldn'tordinarily do.
And that's when some kind ofhopelessness starts to leak in.
And you start thinking toyourself, you know, why why am I
even doing, you know, I came inhere to treat patients.
I started this because I want tomake patients better and foster
a relationship with them.
And um now I'm not even able todo what I think is best.
(14:05):
And so when when that when thatthought starts to enter your
head, you are you are deep intoyour neck deep in burnout at
that point, generally speaking.
SPEAKER_04 (14:16):
Yeah, that's really good for you know, anyone who's
having to prescribe or fight ontheir patient's behalf to know
because I do that is somethingthat I mean it's all over the
internet.
See a ton of TikTok videos ofdoctors, you know, on the phone
with insurance companies, um,who are I think they're in a
peer-to-peer, but the doctor whois, you know, um trying to give
(14:40):
them information won't evenreveal their name or their
profession or their, you know,expertise.
And so I can see how it'sextremely frustrating for
physicians to get um, you know,the proper care for their
patients and to even fight forthat care.
Um, I can definitely see howthat would be super frustrating.
SPEAKER_01 (15:01):
Our nature is, you know, not only do we not ask for
help, but we're not bigcomplainers, you know,
physicians in general and andmost professionals.
I, you know, I'm sayingphysicians, but this this
pertains to other uh professionsas well.
Um, but we're just not bigcomplainers.
So we let things pile up andpile up and pile up internally.
(15:23):
Um so not only are we not askingfor help, but we're not not even
complaining or venting that wedon't generally have an outlet
that we feel comfortable to dothat with.
Because, you know, let's behonest, the general public
doesn't want to hear doctorscomplaining, you know, because
the perception is that doctorsare rich and wealthy and and and
(15:44):
everything is perfect in theirlives and everything.
And so the last thing that itthe general public wants is is
their doctors complaining aboutnot being paid enough or having
to work too much, you know.
And so that kind of leads tosome isolation, um, yeah, so to
speak.
So again, it's kind of a perburnout is a is a perfect storm
of of issues coming from everydirection, it seems like.
SPEAKER_04 (16:07):
Yeah, that's a great way to put it.
It is a perfect storm of a bunchof moving parts, and you know,
none of them good, but um, yeah,no, it's it's a lot of different
things happening at one timethat kind of the end result is
the burnout.
SPEAKER_02 (16:23):
Yeah.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (16:24):
So at some point, um, you know, you kind of got
caught up in the the burnout andthe overwhelm, um, which led to
addiction, and that addictionled to some regulatory
consequences.
Can you talk to us about whatthat process was like when you
um began interacting with theTexas Medical Board?
SPEAKER_01 (16:45):
Sure.
Um, yes, and so this would thiswas in 2019.
SPEAKER_04 (16:51):
Um quite a while after you had, this is 10 years
after you've um, you know,gotten your your medical
license, right?
SPEAKER_01 (16:59):
Right, yes.
I had this is my tenth year ofpractice, you're correct.
Um, and so the the I I became uha blip on the radar of the Texas
Medical Board in two in 2019.
Um and so, you know, I'll justsay my deal in general, as an
(17:20):
overall broad, my dealings withthe Texas Medical Board was
extremely negative.
Um and you know, I realized thatthe Texas Medical Board is not
does not exist to help Dr.
Cortis.
You know, in fact, if anything,they exist to protect the public
(17:42):
from me, um, particularly if Iwas active in my addiction.
And so I I realize that that'sthe case.
I realize that they're not myfriend.
Um, I realize that sometimesthat they can't, you know, they
can be mean or short-tempered orwhatnot.
But, you know, two things can betrue at the same time.
They can protect the the publicand they can also treat
(18:05):
physicians with respect.
So I I got involved with theTexas Medical Board in uh May of
2019, and you get a letter inthe in the mail saying, you
know, uh we have we have come tolearn this and this and that,
and they want you to write aletter kind of defending
(18:25):
yourself.
Um, and then they give you adate.
I'm gonna go through the processhere uh as if people have never
dealt with it, just so theyknow.
Um, but they give you a datethat you're gonna have a
preliminary hearing.
In my case, that that was thefollowing February, so that's
nine months after the incident.
SPEAKER_03 (18:44):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (18:45):
Um, after they, you know, they first sent me that
letter.
Now, sometimes they'll allow youto practice during that interim
of time, and sometimes they theydon't.
Um, it kind of depends on whatthe offense is.
Uh, they did not preclude mefrom practicing, but you've got
this thing on your mind for ninemonths, knowing that you're
(19:05):
gonna be meeting with themedical board and have no idea
what the possible consequencesare.
You know, is it gonna be a slapon the wrist?
Are they going to um suspend mymedical license for 30 days, 90
days, a year, five years?
Are they gonna revoke my medicallicense?
You know, none of that stuff isknown.
(19:25):
Um, at least I didn't know it.
Uh, and so there's a lot ofstress, um, an enormous amount
of stress involved once once youbecome tangled with the with the
Texas Medical Board.
And my malpractice insurancecompany uh did provide me with a
list of attorneys that I couldcontact to help me through the
(19:45):
process.
So that was that was a big help.
SPEAKER_03 (19:48):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (19:49):
Um, she was able to answer a lot of those uh
questions that didn't that Ididn't know the answers to early
on, and yeah, and that and thatkind of um helped with the
anxiety regarding the the wholesituation.
But when it came time toactually go to the hearing and
(20:09):
present my case, and I'm justgonna speak for myself here, um,
and you can speak to this too.
I'll I'll be curious to see whatyour your perspective is.
But I felt that because I walkedinto this hearing with an
attorney, it it created somewhatof an adversarial relationship
(20:33):
in the room with the TexasMedical Board attorney on one
side and myself on the other.
That's that was just the way itfelt to me.
Um, and so when it came to youknow presenting evidence on both
sides, it's it's basically likea little mini trial.
Um, you know, they're trying toshow that I was unsafe to
(20:53):
practice medicine, and I wastrying to show that that wasn't
the case.
SPEAKER_03 (20:56):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (20:57):
Um, it it it doesn't the right thing and doing the
right thing is not really theultimate goal.
At least that's what it feltlike to me.
To me, it felt like the TexasMedical Board attorney wanted to
win and they wanted me to lose.
(21:18):
And that that perceptioncontinued for the entirety of my
dealings with the Texas MedicalBoard.
Um, and so I'd be curious to toget your take on whether you
think uh or or or if having anattorney creates this
adversarial relationship betweenthe medical board and a
(21:38):
physician.
SPEAKER_04 (21:39):
I would say to that, I would say um it really depends
on the who the staff attorneywould be or who the prosecutor
from the board would be.
I've seen um, you know,obviously they can't be too
unfair, too obviously unfair,too obviously harsh.
(22:00):
Um, but I can I can absolutelysee both scenarios, right?
I think I think both thingsthere could be true that that
there are definitely going to besome prosecutors and some staff
attorneys who are just out therekind of on a power trip and are
who are really looking to bringthe hammer down on someone who
necessarily doesn't um doesn'tdeserve that type of sanction or
(22:21):
that type of reprimand.
Um and then I think that thereare also there are attorneys who
have really good workingrelationships with those staff
attorneys who can maybe changethe staff attorney's perspective
or with a certain argument getthem to see something different.
Um, but I will say that thatTMB, the Texas Medical Board, is
(22:44):
um is harsh.
They can be more harsh than someof the other boards.
I'm not an attorney, so I'm notin the courtroom fighting, but
just based on you know some ofthe things that I've seen from
um our Bertolino firm, that theyare one of the harsher boards.
And I would say either way, Iwould get an attorney because
(23:06):
you just don't want to answer,like you said, answer a question
wrong.
Sometimes you get those, um youget that letter and you're so
eager to sort of prove yourinnocence or prove um or give
them, you know, the give themwhat they're looking for because
you don't feel like you haveanything to hide.
(23:28):
And that can come back andreally bite you.
An attorney can look over thatand say, hey, you don't need to
include those records, you know.
Oh, you've, you know, maybe thiswasn't entered the correct way,
but they don't need to see thatbecause that's not what they're
requesting.
And so you've saved yourself aseparate case, you know.
Um, but that's what I would sayis that a good attorney will be
(23:51):
able to recognize if they arekind of bringing the hammer down
on something that doesn't needto be um, you know, you don't
need to be reprimanded soharshly for.
I would just say to that, twothings can be true, you know.
SPEAKER_01 (24:05):
Yeah.
And I and I will second what youwere saying.
It it's vital um to have uh anattorney or someone with
previous experience with themedical board in terms of, you
know, because I was exactly asyou described, you know, I was
excited um to cooperate withthem.
And I was excited in thebeginning to to show them
(24:27):
everything and give themeverything possible because um
I, you know, I was thinking, youknow, more information can only
be helpful to me because I don'tfeel like I'm guilty of what
they're accusing me of.
And so if I was were to give uha piece of advice to someone who
has an impending meeting uh withthe Texas Medical Board, it
(24:51):
would be to get an attorney oruh or to speak with someone who
has experience in the process,um, and just to realize from the
very beginning that the TexasMedical Board is not your
friend.
They're not there to help you inthis circumstance.
Um, and you really do yourself adisservice if you don't realize
that early on.
(25:12):
Because, like you said, thingsthat you do or not do, or things
that you say, can really comeback and bite you.
SPEAKER_04 (25:18):
Yeah, they can just be so misconstrued by the board,
and you are left going, wait,that's not what I wanted you to
think, or that's not what Imeant.
So, well, now that you've comeout on the other side, Dr.
Cortis, what is uh what doeslife look like today for you and
your practice?
SPEAKER_01 (25:35):
Yeah, um, and I'll say so uh I I became my
relationship with the medicalboard began in May of 2019.
Um they suspended my license uhfor one year.
Um, however, very unfortunately,this was this was when COVID
occurred as well.
(25:56):
And so COVID uh created somedelay in things.
Um the Texas Medical Board uhdid not proceed efficiently, in
my opinion.
Um, so that one-year suspension,or what was supposed to be a
one-year suspension, turned intothree and a half years.
SPEAKER_03 (26:15):
Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_01 (26:17):
Um and by this time I was not working, nor could I
find work with a suspendedmedical license.
And so um it wasn't until 2023that I was able to go back to
work.
And um late 2022 is when my uhsuspension was finally lifted in
Texas.
And so by that time I had movedto Louisiana.
(26:38):
I'm from Louisiana, like I wassaying.
Um, and so I had to, you know,declare my issues with the
Louisiana Medical Board.
And the two kind of talked witheach other, and I was excited to
kind of start fresh.
You know, I did my time, so tospeak, in Texas.
Um, I knew that Texas MedicalBoard had a reputation for being
(27:00):
harsh, so I just assumed thatLouisiana would would
essentially take what Texas issaying.
Hey, he's served his time, we'velisted his suspension, he's now
ready and safe to practicemedicine again.
Um, but unfortunately that didnot happen.
And Louisiana Medical Board putme on probation.
And so uh when I worked for ayear in Louisiana under
(27:23):
probation, um, it created a lotof issues in terms of getting on
insurance companies contractsand getting privileges at
certain hospitals um andorsurgery centers.
Uh a lot of times they havebylaws where they they won't
license uh someone or or get youa contract if you're if your
(27:46):
license is suspended or ifyou're on probation.
Um and so it created a lot ofissues uh for me, and that only
made the burnout even worse.
You know, I thought going backto work was gonna fix all my fix
all my problems, at least, youknow, the the anxiety and the
depression that had formed.
(28:06):
Um, and it did, going back towork did help that.
But because of the continuedissues, um, I realized within
six weeks that I really did notthe passion that I had for
clinical medicine wasn't thereanymore.
SPEAKER_02 (28:20):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (28:20):
Um, I loved my patients, I loved fostering
relationships with patients.
Um, but after my one-yearcontract was up, uh the the
venture capital firm thatpurchased our the practice that
I was working for did not renewmy contract because, again, they
just took one look at theprobation and and made that
(28:41):
decision.
And so uh that's when I decidedto actually I had decided prior
to that, but that's when Idecided to retire uh, so to
speak, from clinical medicineand start uh working with other
physicians who are going throughburnout.
SPEAKER_02 (28:57):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (28:58):
Um, especially if they have consequences with the
medical board or if they haveany issues with substance abuse,
which is very common.
Um, but it was nice to kind offeel passionate about my
professional life again.
SPEAKER_04 (29:13):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (29:13):
Um, and so that's what I'm doing now.
SPEAKER_04 (29:16):
That's awesome.
That's great.
I mean, gosh, how frustratingthat must have been to wait and
the COVID delays.
And then I'm glad that you, I'mglad that you are kind of early
on and going back to Madison,we're like, nope, this is not
for me.
I'm gonna do something else.
I think that you've you reallydid yourself a um a good service
(29:38):
there and and kind of some goodself care.
Um so you did, you know, youmentioned um, you know, a piece
of advice earlier for physiciansor healthcare workers.
Anything else that you would umyou would have to say to a
physician or healthcare workerwho's you know maybe facing
burnout or addiction even?
SPEAKER_01 (29:58):
Yeah, and I'll start.
out by saying that you knowthere's not a lot of options.
Um you know let's say thatyou're a doctor or a nurse or a
healthcare worker who is who'sexperiencing burnout and you've
come to realize that.
And again, that doesn't usuallyhappen until you're late in the
process.
SPEAKER_03 (30:18):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (30:19):
And you've decided that you need to get help for um
anxiety or depression thatyou're having, all the
frustration and irritability.
I've got an issue with themedical board.
I've been drinking a lot lately.
You know those are all these areall issues that could that could
pop up.
And there there isn't any oneplace to go for that.
(30:40):
Now I would recommend seeing apsychiatrist for formal
diagnoses like anxiety ordepression.
But again doctors aren't realaren't real excited about doing
that because the perception isthat they could backfire that
could backfire for them.
There are physicians who who aredoing what I do which is to
(31:01):
treat burnout via via Zoom andessentially I'm my job is to
change the perception and theperspective of doctors and
change the way that they feelabout reality as opposed to
trying to change their lifecircumstance because I can't do
(31:21):
that.
And so you know I'll just justtell the audience that my you
know I you can find me at theburnoutdoc.com and then my
website has lots of resourcesabout uh symptoms of burnout and
and treatment options andwhatnot but that would be the
way to find to find mespecifically and I think it
(31:44):
heading into the future thereare going to be more options.
There are going to be morepeople treating burnout.
In fact I think that the amandate will probably be coming
within the next three to fiveyears for large hospital
conglomerations to you knowthey're going to be required to
have someone on staff to bothidentify when burnout is
(32:05):
occurring and treat it.
So uh hopefully more options arecoming in the future.
SPEAKER_04 (32:11):
Yeah hope so hope so I know it's something that um
has been going on for a whileand that just keeps increasing.
So yeah hopefully we seesomething change here in the
next couple of years.
Well Dr.
Cortes thank you very much forjoining me today.
Thanks for sharing your storywith us and hopefully inspiring
some other physicians to eitherrecognize burnout or maybe they
(32:33):
can recognize it um you know insomeone else but um just kind of
help everybody take care of eachother you know yeah thank you so
much for having me to ourlisteners if you or someone you
know is facing addiction burnoutor a licensing issue please
remember that you're not alonethere are many resources to
help.
For more resources to preventburnout check Dr.
(32:54):
Cortis's physician coachingresources linked in our
description below don't forgetto subscribe like and share Know
Your Regulator for moreconversations that protect your
license and empower your career.
Until next time stay inspiredand continue engaging with your
regulatory agency.
SPEAKER_00 (33:11):
Know Your Regulator the podcast that inspires you to
engage
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