Dr. Munish Chawla is a Diagnostic Radiologist who later became a board-certified Lifestyle Medicine Physician due to his deep passion for the field. In speaking with him, I was really struck by the fulfillment he finds in this new field. He told me that reading a CT scan and making a diagnosis is gratifying, but the feeling of seeing a patient succeed with lifestyle changes was incredibly fulfilling.
Another thing that struck me about his career arc was that he didn’t set out to change careers. He found himself interested in lifestyle medicine, and was initially just following his curiosity to learn more about it. Through the process, he also became very interested in behavior change. As he put it, he thought that once he shared information about the benefits of lifestyle change, that people would go out and make changes. Recognizing the importance of behavior change, he started studying coaching, Western psychology, and Buddhist psychology, in addition to mindfulness meditation.
Dr. Chawla, with his wife, Internist Dr. Bandana Chawla, is also a founder of the non-profit Peaceful Planet Foundation. I attended their conference last year, and came away very inspired.
For medical students and practicing physicians, his career arc provides some insightful lessons, while his experience as a practicing Lifestyle Medicine physician will be very helpful to those considering this as a career.
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