After more than 20 years in private practice, I reached a breaking point.

I’d done it all: chaired the department, served as president of the group, led the medical staff, even handled scheduling. I was proud of the work, but between rising volumes, constant demands, and the weight of administrative responsibilities, I felt done. 

The final straw was losing control. Our hospital was acquired, my favorite partner retired, and suddenly the work felt less like a vocation and more like a grind. I was tired of being on call. I was frustrated reading endless unnecessary cases from the ED and worried about having no say in how I practiced. I was not able to be as objective and centered in my work as I wanted to be.

Eventually, I realized: I wanted some control back. I wanted to work from home and I wanted to be the master of my own fate.

That’s when I found DocPanel.

Now, I read full-time on the platform. But “full-time” looks very different these days - and that’s the point. Here’s what a typical day looks like for me now.

7:45 AM
No alarm. Just coffee.

That’s not poetic license. I actually don’t set an alarm anymore. I wake up when I wake up. My husband (a teacher) and I spend summers at our lake house, so mornings usually start with coffee on the deck, watching the water.

Sometimes I read a few leftover cases from the night before. Sometimes I just sit and enjoy the quiet. Either way, I get to ease into my day, on my own terms.

10:00 AM
Read. Swim. Repeat.

My reading schedule changes daily. I’m credentialed at a handful of sites, so I get a steady stream of cases. I have a rough idea of the volume I want to hit each day, but I decide when to tackle it.

That could mean reading through the morning, then swimming across the lake in the afternoon. Or taking a long lunch followed by a boat ride, and picking up cases again in the evening.

No shifts. No pagers. Just flexibility—and a little self-discipline.

1:30 PM
Metrics, but make them motivating.

One of the features I love about the DocPanel platform is the daily earnings tracker.

It calculates how many cases I’m reading, and what my worklist equals in dollars. It’s a helpful benchmark. I give myself a number - once I hit this, I can stop. Or if I want to run an errand and come back to reading, I know exactly what I want to knock out in the afternoon. I'm in charge of my schedule. And that’s a beautiful thing.

4:00 PM
Done for the day? Or not. Up to me.

Some days, I wrap up early. Other days, I read a bit after dinner. If I’ve been out all afternoon, I might log back in at night and finish up a few cases. But there’s no hard cutoff. I don’t have to be butt-in-chair from 8 to 5. …Unless I choose to be!

The work gets done. My goals get met. I don’t miss hikes, swims, or lunch dates to make it happen.

Switching to DocPanel full-time was a leap. I won’t sugarcoat that. After years of a steady paycheck, the idea of variable case volume took some adjusting.

In the end, II was pleasantly surprised by how smooth the transition was. I hit my personal benchmarks early on, with consistency. I get plenty of work, I do what I love, and I finally have space for a life outside the workstation.

So, if you’re considering it...

My advice? Be honest with yourself. Know what you want. Think about your priorities - flexibility, specialty, income goals - and see if DocPanel aligns.

For me, it did. It gave me my autonomy back. 

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a kayak calling my name, and a few MRIs waiting for me when I get back.