Dr. Stacy Loeb on what a typical week looks like for her

“Thriving in Urology” is a new video series hosted by urologist Amy M. Pearlman, MD, of the Prime Institute in Coral Gables, Florida. Each video will contain conversations on combating burnout by cultivating balance within one's work life. In this installment, Pearlman interviews Stacy Loeb, MD, MSc, PhD (Hon), regarding what a typical week looks like for her. Loeb is a professor in the departments of urology and population health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and Perlmutter Cancer Center in New York, New York.

Transcription:

Pearlman: I want to talk about what's next, Dr Loeb. What does the next 5 years look like for you?

Loeb: Honestly, I'm very happy with the current situation. I really love the combination of clinical practice and research. I love working with the residents and being involved in training the next generation. I really enjoy doing the radio and social media and working with a lot of patient groups, just to try to get more education out in the community and really try to make a difference. I'm not sure that much will change in the next 5 years. In the long range, when I retire, I have a lot of other ideas in terms of doing more volunteer work and things like that.

Pearlman: Walk us through a typical week, beginning from a Monday morning to a Sunday evening.

Loeb: First of all, I always make time for physical activity. Monday morning, I probably would get up and exercise, and then I start my research day. Tuesdays, I'm at the veterans hospital, working with the residents there. That's really rewarding. My grandfather was actually a veteran with prostate cancer, so that was the whole reason I went into urology in the first place. I love the veterans and helping other veterans deal with prostate cancer and their families. Wednesdays, every other week, I see patients at NYU or have a research day. Thursdays, I'm also at the veterans hospital. And Fridays is a research day. And then weekends, obviously, time with family and friends, always fitting in exercise every day, doing some cooking prep for the week. I do a lot of volunteering with animal rescue, helping transport rescue animals to hospitals or to destinations to help them find a home. That's something that's on the list. And then interspersed here and there in these activities is the radio show, which is on Wednesday nights from 6 to 8, trying to fit in some other social media activities when there's kind of downtime, like waiting in line at Starbucks or whatever it might be. I guess, in short, that's pretty much my week.

Pearlman: That sounds like a fun week. So what's your message to the audience when it comes to this balance that you've created for yourself within your work life?

Loeb: I think it probably looks very different for everyone, but just figuring out what you're passionate about and trying to make it happen. My specific career path is really not at all like my mentors, and I think that's fine, actually. It's great, because I'm doing what I want to do and not feeling constrained to go down any particular pathway. What you've done is really inspirational in making a complete career change, starting your own practice, doing your videos. I think it's important for everybody to really do some soul searching and figure out, what gives you tachycardia, you know? What makes you want to get up in the morning and get right to work because you're so excited about what you're doing? For me, this combination of clinical and research with some of these public media activities is really stimulating. That probably isn't the exact formula for everyone, so it's just about figuring out what that is.

Pearlman: Amazing. Dr Loeb, thank you so much for sharing your experiences with us today.

Loeb: Thank you.

This transcript was edited for clarity.