20 Questions: Jackée Clement, MD, Family Physician

Dr. Jackée Clement, MD, is a family physician, founder of Good Journey Mental Health and Wellness, and author of A Medical Student Guide to a Stress-Free Life. She took some time to speak to SDN about her journey and focus on student wellness.

Tell us about yourself.

Jackée Clement, MD: My name is Jackée Clement, and I am a board-certified family physician as well as mental health and wellness coach. I was born and raised in Baltimore, MD during the drug epidemic and also spent my summers in Detroit, MI. Both cities were pretty unsafe at the time, so I had A LOT of motivation to get a great education and go out of state for college. I landed on the University of Southern California where I got a BA in Narrative Studies and then traveled around then world for a couple years prior to pursuing a medical degree at Duke University School of Medicine. I then finished my training in Family Medicine at Novant Health, a community hospital.

Outside of my education, I am a woman of many interests. I am currently dabbling in raw vegan diets because I am convinced what we are eating is making us sick. I am very interested in saving our bee population and stopping deforestation. And I believe that the point of life is to explore yourself and your physical environment. My approach to everything is “Let’s just see how far I’ll go.” And that has really taken me far in life.

When did you first decide to become a physician? Why?

As far as I can remember, I knew that I would become a doctor. There is even a recording of my pre-k graduation in which I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up. I responded, “A doctor.” And I still remember the audience being so impressed. I was shocked because I did not know why I knew that answer. Plus, I did not understand the response I got from the audience. Perhaps it is because I needed surgery as a baby that I wanted to be a doctor. After all, I had a scar on my body, which would have been noticeable. However, I truly believe it is a calling because so many doctors share stories like mine of just knowing that this is what they are meant to do.

How did you choose the medical school you attended?

There are three main qualities that attracted me to Duke University School of Medicine (DUSOM). The first is that DUSOM is known for having a rigorous, forward-thinking curriculum. It has one year of sciences instead of two years, which enables students to do their clinical year early and then reserve third year for research or a second degree. That’s what really attracted me to Duke.

Second, I also had a sense of familiarity there because my sister had attended Duke as an undergraduate, so I remember visiting her on campus so many times. So I knew I would be comfortable, and it would not be hard for me to adjust to living there.

Third, when I went to the interview day at DUSOM, the faculty and even the students on the interview with me were just some of the best people that I had met on the trail. I really love being surrounded by driven people who want to change the world, and that’s what I observed at Duke. It really helped me envision what life would be like as a Duke medical student.

What surprised you the most about medical school?

What surprised me most about medical school was how isolating the experience was for me. I can admit that I made some not-so-great choices, which I discuss in A Medical Student Guide to a Stress-Free Life. However, what I did not realize was that no one in my family or friend circle would truly be able to understand what I was going through at school. Amongst my classmates, sure, we could commiserate. However, trying to stay connected with my loved ones and even just meeting new people outside of medicine was surprisingly difficult.

What was the biggest challenge you faced in medical school?

One of the reasons that I am so passionate about mental health, especially among medical students, is because I went through severe anxiety and depression as a medical student. This was my biggest challenge.

It completely caught me off guard because prior to medical school, I was very well-versed in mindfulness practices and ways to remain balanced. I was used to being a top performer in academia, but also in handling the obstacles that come my way. But the academic stress, constant pressure to perform with little to no preparation, social isolation, and almost non-existent downtime took its toll on me.

It took me years to figure out how to maintain work-life balance and ensure that something like this does not happen again. And so now I am equally motivated to help medical students and residents on their journey to become a doctor because it’s a waste to take the brightest individuals from around the world and cripple them with mental health problems. I mean just the other day a medical student reached out to me to learn more about my services because he was suffering from severe anxiety and panic attacks, which forced him to take a leave of absence from school. So I want to give medical students the tools they need to accomplish what they set out to do without the emotional hardship.

Why did you decide to focus on Family Medicine?

It took me a long time to decide on Family Medicine as a specialty. I came to medical school convinced I would be a surgeon. I was so excited about finally fulfilling this dream of mine; however, I began suffering from anxiety and depression. I knew that a surgery residency would only make that worse for me. So I had to look elsewhere. And one of the things I really enjoyed was working on community projects, namely food insecurity. I was one of the founding members of the Fresh Produce Program that is still running at Duke! It was a phenomenal experience for me. I made plenty of mistakes, but learned so much about how to show up for others that over time Family Medicine made it onto my list of possible specialities. And I talk more in-dephth about my reasons for choosing FM in my article “So You Want to Quit Medicine Now,” but essentially FM gave me the freedom to be myself and the opportunity to shape my career to suit personal preferences that other specialties did not.

If you had it to do all over again, would you still become a Family Medicine doctor?

If I had to do it all over again, I would still become a Family medicine doctor. 100%, yes! You know, I used to get so irritated whenever a doctor would talk about what a privilege it was to serve patients. For me, I was too unhappy and in 6 figures of debt to feel like I was privileged in any way. As I came out of that dark cloud and began to make a difference in patients’ lives, it was such a humbling experience. To this day, I am so grateful. And at times, I do not feel worthy of the love and appreciation that was shown to me. Plus, I have literally saved lives, which still blows my mind. I love Marvel movies and comic books, but doctors are real-life heroes. So I am beyond happy with my decision.

Has being a Family Medicine doctor met your expectations? Why?

Being a Family Medicine doctor has most certainly met my expectations. I knew there was a lot of flexibility in Family Medicine. And as I was finishing up residency, I knew I wanted to be a locums doctor. I did want to sign a two-year contract and work in one place, I wanted to be able to travel and go where there was greatest need. And so that’s what I did. I was able to land a well-paying job in Alaska and be of service where I was needed most.

What do you like most and least about being a Family Medicine doctor?

What I like most about being a Family Medicine doctor is the ability to create my own career. I was also really interested in OB, and FM has OB fellowships that would enable me to do vaginal deliveries and even c-sections! There’s sports medicine, geriatrics, palliative care, and so many other fellowships that help you design your ideal career. So I do locums, which means I do short-term jobs. And primary care is an in-demand specialty, so I always have the opportunity to work if needed.

What I like least about Family Medicine is the judgment we receive from specialists in the medical field and even sometimes from our patients. I think our opinions as specialists are not really valued equally. You have to be prepared to handle the criticism if you care for a patient in a way that a specialist would disagree with. However, they do not know what the FM guidelines are, so you are often operating according to your own specialty’s recommendations which can clash at times. I mean even a month ago, I was giving advice to someone on Reddit. And a specialist shot down what I was saying (even though we agreed) because I was a primary care specialist. You have to be prepared for that.

Describe a typical day at work.

Because I am a locums physician, I do not have a typical day at work. If I am working a locums job, then I will most likely be in the clinic from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM with pre-charting, seeing patients, doing procedures, and finishing up notes. Sometimes, there is an hour for lunch. Sometimes, I have to work through lunch. Weekends are always free.

As a mental health and wellness coach, my day is varied as well, which I love! In the mornings, I am very active on LinkedIn. I am typically posting content, engaging with LIfollowers, and continuing my own education through their platform from 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM. The rest of the day is spent on a mix of activities, such as content generation for my blog, podcast interviews, and of course coaching clients. I do not take on more than 10 clients at a time, so that affords me time to make sure other areas of my life are attended to. So I am able to attend events at my son’s school in the middle of the day, run errands, go to the gym, meet up with friends and even attend networking events. Each day really is different, and I like it that way.

I do not want to paint a rosy picture though. I work incredibly hard to maintain this type of lifestyle. So even with coaching, I can easily work a 12-hour day several days out of the week as I am a one-person business. In addition, when my clients need me, I choose to show up. Still, I am so good at maintaining my balance these days that I have plenty of energy to handle 60-hour work weeks without burning out.

How much of your work is research and/or teaching? Do you like the amount of each you currently participate in? If not, why?

I do not do any research. Coaching is basically guided instruction, so you can say that whenever I am with a client, I am teaching. That means I spend about 10 hours a week directly teaching. Then, they have access to me through my HIPAA-compliant portal, so we message each other as well. I cannot put an exact time frame on that though.

On average: How many hours a week do you work? How many hours do you sleep per night? How many weeks of vacation do you take?

I work max 60 hours a week. Funny enough, if I am coaching, it is 60 hours a week because I add on other activities. I include networking events and other collaborations to my work hours, so please do not think it is grueling all the time. And when I am in a clinic, I work about 45-50 hours a week. I sleep seven to eight hours a night. And I do not really take long vacations because I have a young child, so I will take a long weekend away about every quarter. Trust me, once my child is older, I will be taking one to two weeks off more often.

Are you satisfied with your income?

I am satisfied with my income.

If you took out educational loans, is/was paying them back a financial strain?

As I said, I initially had six figures in student loan debt. Paying it back has not been a huge financial strain. But it would be lovely to keep that money in my pocket month after month.

In your position now, knowing what you do – what would you say to yourself 10 years from now?

This is a tough question. I would probably say to my future self that I did the best I could. And you can only do what you know how to do. So there really is no point in worrying about the future or stressing about the past. I am aware that is easier said than done, but it’s true. Focus on being the best version of you today.

What information/advice do you wish you had known when you were pre-medical school?

I wish I knew to enjoy every step of the journey as a premed student. I think focusing on the present and really finding joy in the long hours studying would have been more beneficial long term. Instead, I fell into the trap of telling myself that “It will get better when…” I think we all do this from time to time. And it’s not often true. More often than not, each stage of the journey is not better. It’s just different. And you slowly gain the skills necessary to navigate that stage, which in time, makes it easier.

From your perspective, what is the biggest problem in healthcare today?

The biggest problem in healthcare today is that doctors have lost control of medicine. I have met some of the most self-sacrificing, purpose-driven physicians. And they are only doing a fraction of the good that they set out to do because of constraints from their employers, insurance companies, and pharmaceutical companies.

Where do you see Family Medicine in 10 years?

I think Family Medicine will continue to evolve like all other specialties. I know there is always concern about whether or not doctors will lose their jobs to mid-level creep. I am not knowledgeable enough to say anything significant in this area. I do think that if FM doctors do not stand up for themselves and their patients in a more public way, it is more likely to happen. I think this way because it seems that people do not know what we are experiencing as primary care physicians. And I have seen how doctors are criticized for what’s wrong with medicine these days because we make too much money, do not spend enough time with patients, et cetera. And I think that’s unfair.

What types of outreach/volunteer work do you do, if any?

My biggest passions are saving the bee population, increasing access to mental health care, and stopping global deforestation. I am currently working on how I can contribute a fraction of my income to organizations that are making the most impact in these areas. I am applying for grants as well to be able to provide mental health and wellness coaching to those who cannot afford it.

How do you spend your free time? Any hobbies?

I spend my free time with my husband and son most days. I love gardening with them and teaching him about the plants and insects we see there. Walking my dogs is the way I get exercise while practicing a bit of mindfulness. So I will wear a weighted backpack for my walk to increase the intensity. It’s called rucking. And finally, I wake up a little early to go for morning swims. I have more hobbies than this, but for my current season of life, this is what I am able to do at the moment.