SGO Wellness: What a Privilege It Is to Struggle for a Goal of Our Own Choosing | Katelyn Tondo-Steele, DO
Katelyn Tondo-Steele, DO
“I cannot believe I am getting paid to do this,” I exclaimed to my chief as I walked into Labor and Delivery triage. I was a brand new OBGYN intern, and I was so happy to finally be seeing patients and practicing medicine. My chief just shook her head, amused by my inexperience, and said, “That feeling will pass quickly.”
Now, as a gynecologic oncology attending, I still cannot believe that I get paid to do this amazing job.
I’ve been asked several times throughout my training, “How do you keep such a positive attitude?” I am not pushing toxic positivity, actually, just the opposite. It is the acknowledgement that we will face hard things. Struggle is a part of life. We all chose to face hard things when we picked this subspeciality. The key is how we interpret our circumstances and then respond to the struggle that shapes what the experience becomes.
Over time, I’ve found this understanding to be grounded by three key insights:
- You find what you look for.
- Taking ownership of every situation allows you to make an impact.
- Every challenge is an opportunity to develop yourself.
1. It is easy to look around and find negatives. My hours are long. I make mistakes. My patients are sick. My work pulls me from family and friends. It can spiral into ‘everything is bad’. However, when I look for the good, I see the small but present progress I am making each day. We are helping people. We are inspiring others. We are gaining knowledge. When I look, I see—there is so much good in this career. You find what you look for.
2. In medicine, it can often feel like the control is out of your hands, reinforcing the belief that everything is happening to you. However, taking ownership for my actions, the good and bad, gives me more agency. This shift allows me to find ways to make a positive impact on the environment around me, including my patients, my team, and my family. I can’t always control the system, the chaos, or the schedule, but I can choose how you show up, respond, and lead others. Take ownership of everything you do.
3. By seeing every challenge as an opportunity for personal development, it can transform the meaning into a vehicle for learning and improvement. It can become something empowering. For example, giving difficult feedback is uncomfortable. But when I zoom out, those experiences can make me better at having difficult conversations in the future, which then translates to relationships or a future leadership position. It’s no longer just a burden—it becomes something that has contributed to my evolution as a person. Challenges can be an opportunity to develop yourself.
This field of oncology has taught me that life is too short to let the hard parts steal the whole picture. Though choosing your perspective doesn’t eliminate struggle, it can give it a different meaning. In the end, I have found that how I interpret and respond to those struggles defines the experience more than the challenge itself ever could.
*This article is not meant to romanticize burnout or self-sacrifice – both of which are real and serious risks in our field. There are challenges that require professional support, and seeking help should always be encouraged and fully supported.
Katelyn Tondo-Steele, DO, is a gynecologic oncologist at the University of Utah Huntsman Cancer Center in Salt Lake City, UT.