Dr. Olga Lemberg Specialty: Pediatrics
Tell us about your work.
I work for two different institutions as a part-time pediatric hospitalist and urgent care physician in the San Francisco Bay Area. I love pediatric acute care and enjoy shift work as it gives me maximum flexibility over both my work and personal schedule. I jumped into moonlighting immediately following my chief resident year in order to explore which work environments were a good fit for me. I’ve since worked at a number of different inpatient and outpatient academic and community institutions. The freedom to work at multiple facilities has allowed me to maintain a wide variety of clinical skills and keeps my day-to-day workload interesting and rewarding.
What helped get you there?
I was always very intentional about cultivating a flexible and diverse workload after graduating residency. And as a moonlighter it has been critical that I maintain a wide range of skills (e.g., newborn nursery care, urgent care, inpatient care, subspecialty care, etc.) so that I could be considered and perform well in various roles. Because of this, I benefitted from an abundance of work opportunities and never had to worry about a lack of shifts resulting in insufficient income (a common concern for brand new moonlighters).
Have there been any interests that you have continued to pursue outside of medicine? Have you been able to combine these with your medical career?
Approximately three years out of residency I decided to design and launch a line of boutique scrubs for women healthcare professionals. My company is called Fabled. As a new attending who wore scrubs all the time, I founded Fabled with the intent to help women healthcare professionals like myself feel, perform and look their best through workwear that sparked confidence and joy. But launching my own business also came out of a strong desire to nurture and express creativity in my daily life. I’m a big advocate of investing time and energy in activities that speak to our passions outside of medicine. I believe this helps us be more happy, authentic versions of ourselves, and even serve our patients better.
What advice do you have for students?
Understand and fully embrace that there is no one “right” way to enter into or practice medicine. Don’t be afraid to curate your work life in a way that helps you thrive emotionally, financially and professionally. Stay curious and creative and don’t shy away from seeking out or creating your own opportunities based on your interests and strengths. And keep an eye out for mentors who are manifesting life values similar to yours…there is a lot we can learn from each other!
