Bucket List: 20 Things to Do Before You "Kick the Bucket"

Bucket List: 20 Things to Do Before You "Kick the Bucket"

Leslie Kane, MA

Editorial Director

Medscape Business of Medicine

Author: Cynthia Starr, MS, RPh

Freelance writer, Ridgewood, New Jersey

Doctors' Bucket List

20 Things Doctors Should Do Before They "Kick the Bucket"

We know we're not here forever. But we can make the most of life while we can. Whether there's a hidden adventure lurking in your psyche or a goal that's been rattling around in your brain, it may be time to tap into that desire.

A bucket list, while much like a list of life goals, is imbued with a sense of urgency because it introduces the idea of finite time, says Caroline Adams Miller, MAPP, a certified professional coach and co-author of Creating Your Best Life: The Ultimate Life List Guide. "The list should consist of things you plan to attempt and want to reach for so that you leave behind the imprint you wanted to have," says Miller.

The bucket list was popularized by the eponymous 2007 movie in which 2 men (played by Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman) given grim prognoses set off on a series of adventures.

How to Create a Bucket List

Constructing a bucket list could improve your satisfaction with your life. "The research is clear," Miller says. "The happiest people wake up every day to short- and long-term goals that involve taking risks, connecting with others, and persistence." Set specific, challenging objectives that move you beyond your comfort zone. "Properly-set goals provide a roadmap for our lives, and we end up being proactive instead of reactive," she notes. "We are also more optimistic because we are always looking forward, not behind."

Medscape asked doctors whether they had a bucket list, and if so, to share their entries. Many offered both medical-related and personal aims. Using their responses, we built a suggested bucket list for physicians. Let it inspire your own catalog of dreams.

Be the Athlete You Were Meant to Be

The resolve and focus that propelled you through medical school can help you accomplish some amazing physical feats.

Many physicians secretly wish to become a fit physical specimen. Admittedly, some wishful athletes know that they have a long way to go, but that's no reason not to start.

A number of physicians have biked across America. David Quincy, MD, family medicine doctor and Regional Medical Director of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, rode from California to Annapolis, Maryland, in 6 days and 16 hours to complete the 2010 Race Across America.

"The sensation of hitting a hole in one" is the dream athletic goal for Roland Goertz, MD, MBA, Immediate Past President and Board Chair of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP.) For Lawrence D. Rosen, MD, founder of The Whole Child Center in Oradell, New Jersey, in 2012, a triathlon -- running, swimming, biking -- is "the ultimate challenge."

Earning a spot on the US Veteran Men's Saber Team is the aspiration of avid fencer Andreas Xagoraris, MD, Director of Pediatric Anesthesia at Hackensack University Medical Center, Hackensack, New Jersey. "I'll be eligible when I turn 50 in 2015, so I have a few years to improve my skills and gain consistency," he explains. He's already won medals on his way to his goal.

Do Lifesaving Work in a Third-World Country

Most doctors have seen heart-wrenching photos of suffering children in impoverished countries and may have said to themselves, "I want to do something to help" but never actually did so.

Senator William H. Frist, MD (R-TN), former Majority Leader, told Medscape, "If you are in medicine, volunteer overseas. There is a place for you, and the healing you can do in several days or weeks can make a lasting impact, not only for an individual but for an entire community."

Some doctors make this goal come true by working through Doctors Without Borders, an international humanitarian organization. For example, David Austin, MD, from Albion, Maine, has made 4 trips to underdeveloped countries, including Sudan, Congo, and Haiti.

Humanitarian work is also on the bucket list for Dr. Goertz, who wants to go to Africa. "My friend has established a permanent medical mission in Uganda," he says. "My wife and I have wanted to go for some time to fulfill both a dream we have had and a desire to help him." Dr. Rosen and his family traveled to Cambodia with supplies for several schools. One houses children who used to scavenge in the Phnom Penh garbage dumps. "I would love to help establish self-sustaining health clinics for these children," he remarks.

Write a Bestseller or TV Script

Many doctors have found writing to be their true life's dream. Michael Crichton, MD (Jurassic Park), and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, MD (Sherlock Holmes series) are 2 better-known physician authors. But even if your book isn't on top 10 lists, plenty of physicians want to write and believe they have something valuable to write about.

Joseph A.C. Girone, MD, a developmental pediatrician in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, wants to write poetry and children's stories. David J. Shulkin, MD, President of Morristown Medical Center in Morristown, New Jersey, advises starting a blog or social-networking site. "There is nothing better than watching an idea grow and affect others around you," he says.

Richard Kovar, MD, Medical Director of Country Doctor Community Health Center, Seattle, Washington, and the AAFP 2012 Family Physician of the Year, would like to produce -- and possibly act in -- a show that tells an exciting story while supplying vital information. For example, an episode might show how an early diagnosis of colon cancer saves a patient's life. "Imagine the viewer watching the colonoscope passing," he says. "Perhaps advertisers would urge people not to delay preventive care and screenings."

Kathy D. Miller, MD, Sheila D. Ward Scholar in the Department of Medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine in Bloomington, Indiana, would love to host a stealth-health show, Cooking With Kids, on the Food Network. "If you approach the issue as 'Eat this -- it's healthy,' you turn children off," she says. "They don't realize that nutritious food can be really delicious."

Say "I'm Going to Change the World" -- and Mean It

It sounds grandiose. It sounds like a hippie dream. But individuals have indeed changed the world. And if it's on your bucket list, you can do it.

Senator Frist believes that one tool for crafting change is health diplomacy. Caring for the world's poor improves lives while bolstering links between the United States and other countries, he says. To that end, he created Hope Through Helping Hands, which funds agencies working to offset poverty, disease, or the effects of natural disaster. US-based endeavors are also subsidized.

Omar Khan, MD, MHS, Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Vermont (UVM) College of Medicine, with his colleagues, supports a slum-based primary care clinic in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He also directs a tropical medicine elective for UVM medical students who study at a Bangladeshi research center. "In the future," he says, "I would like to engage more deeply in the needs of the underserved, whether in the United States or abroad."

Learn to Fly a Plane

An estimated 630,000 people in the United States have a private pilot license. Most fly single-engine propeller planes, but if you want to fly twin-engine planes or larger planes or jets, you will have to get additional training and be rated in each aircraft you wish to fly.

Senator Frist suggests learning to fly, a pastime he finds energizing and inspiring. He has transported organs for transplantation, visited constituents, and flown into remote areas while on medical mission trips.

Thomas C. Owens, MD, a surgeon in Hawaii, earned his private pilot license (as well as his seaplane license) and flies between the Hawaiian islands to visit clinics on Molokai, Hilo, and Kona.

Visit a Foreign, Exotic Land

Traveling to places far beyond one's daily experience is a popular bucket-list item. New Zealand, where Lord of the Rings was filmed, beckons many. Gregory A. Hood, MD, an internist in Lexington, Kentucky, and governor of the Kentucky Chapter of the American College of Physicians, longs to sail around the island country and see the spectacular Southern Cross and Aurora Australis.

Some amazing journeys are best made by train. Dr. Hood's bucket list also includes riding the Glacier Express, which crosses 291 bridges and threads through 91 tunnels between St. Moritz and Zermatt, both in the Swiss Alps. "It has a reputation for being the slowest 'express' in the world, but it's also one of the most beautiful routes," Dr. Hood says. He'd also like to take the West Highland Railway from Glasgow, Scotland, to Fort William and then on to Mallaig.

Party! Party! Party!

Okay, not every goal is important, noble, and meaningful. Several doctors told us that they spent so much time working and studying that they regret not having had more fun. But it's not too late to make up for it!

Mardi Gras is one of the best-known US bashes, but New Orleans also hosts an annual Jazz and Heritage Festival. Visit Florida's Carnaval Miami; the International Balloon Festival in Albuquerque, New Mexico; or the Summerfest Music Festival in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Every state has a specific theme celebration. Asbury Park, New Jersey, had over 4000 people dressed as zombies for its fourth annual Zombie Walk down the boardwalk, with a weekend full of associated festivities.

But don't limit yourself to US parties. Carnival is celebrated in Rio de Janeiro and Venice. Check out India's Holi Festival or England's Glastonbury Music Festival. Dr. Hood's party plans include Hogmanay, a 3-day event in Edinburgh, Scotland, with concerts, ceremonies, and fireworks. "I've never been much for New Year's celebrations, but this sounds like too much fun," he says.

Fight for the Medical Profession

Many physicians feel that the medical profession is under siege. Certainly professional organizations offer advocacy opportunities. For example, the American Medical Association's Physicians' Grassroots Network keeps members informed of relevant measures under consideration in Washington, DC, so that they can weigh in with lawmakers. Current issues include medical liability reform.

"I want to develop the premier physician group dedicated to teaching other physicians about documentation of services, coping with grievances, and handling appeals," says Lorena Chicoye, MD, Corporate Medical Director for Managed Care and Network Development, Baptist Health of South Florida. "My physicians are starting to train, and we are partnered with a vendor on the documentation side. Our hospital system -- Baptist Health of South Florida -- should see a return on investment within the next 3 months. We have already proven ourselves in the area of appeals."

Robert Morrow, MD, Associate Director of Interventional Continuing Medical Education (CME), The Center for CME, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, would want to make "an academic CME that is more lively, engaging, and based on practice outcomes."

Martin S. Levine, DO, MPH, Associate Dean for Educational Development at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in New York, New York, would like to redevelop allopathic education to "more reflect" community-based osteopathic learning. "Osteopathic medicine can answer many, if not all, problems associated with healthcare today," he says.

Indulge Your Intellectual Curiosity and Your Love of Learning

Doctors log countless hours in library carrels during their schooling. Despite that, Kenneth I. Mirsky, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, New Jersey Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark, thinks about retaking some medical courses. "With the experience I now have, they would be more meaningful," he says. "And I'd appreciate getting updated in areas I don't deal with."

Other doctors talked about taking college courses in philosophy, getting an MBA, or even studying for another specialty.

Start an Organization or Clinic to Help Multitudes

Don't wait for the place, opportunity, or structure; create one. When need intersects with passion, consider forming a nonprofit group. That's what David J. Shulkin, MD, President of Morristown Medical Center in Morristown, New Jersey, advises. Or, he says, "if one exists that you're passionate about, jump in. Leave something of value that will make the world a better place." And medicine is not the only option. Physicians have started organizations for the arts, the environment, and social issues.

Alieta Eck, MD, President of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, and her husband, John Eck, MD, opened the Zarephath Health Center, a free clinic in Somerset, New Jersey. "The poor are cared for at one-tenth the cost of care given in federally funded health centers," she says, noting that such clinics could be more common if states supplied malpractice coverage for doctors who volunteered in them.

Find Your Professional or Familial Origins

Some doctors have an urge to seek the core of knowledge that inspired their medical path. Martin Kane, MD, a psychiatrist in Altamonte Springs, Florida, hopes for a trifecta of Sigmund Freud history: He wants to visit the Sigmund Freud Museum in Vienna, Austria, the city where Freud lived and worked from 1881 to 1938; the Sigmund Freud Statue at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts (where he introduced psychoanalysis to the United States); and the Mütter Museum in Philadelphi, a museum of medical oddities.

Perhaps it's your family roots that you want to explore. With technology, it has become easier to trace your ancestry. You might visit the country and town where your ancestors lived and meet relatives you never knew existed.

Work as a Locum Tenens

Dr. Kovar would like to do 6-12 months of locum tenens coverage in a rural practice. "Ideally, it would be near the mountains, where I could ski in winter, and a blue-ribbon trout stream, where I could fly-fish," he says. New Zealand would be a perfect location, Kovar notes. "I love the kiwis," he added.

Most locum tenens assignments last between 2 weeks and 2 months, although they can range from 1 day to 1 year. Most doctors work through a locum tenens agency; they're paid by the agency and are independent contractors. A small percentage of physicians make their own locum tenens arrangements.

Search for a Cure

Physicians are keenly aware of the pain, the misery, and the struggles of those with disease. Many dream of finding the cure, or at least moving research a step further along the way.

Admittedly, this bucket list item is easier for someone already in the research field. Eradication is the goal for physicians who study disease. Eric Topol, MD, Director of the Scripps Translational Science Institute, La Jolla, California, hopes to "achieve prevention of heart attacks or another major disease."

A cure for cancer is the aim of John Marshall, MD, Associate Director of Clinical Research, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, and Maurie Markman, MD, National Director of Medical Oncology, Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania."The only way to do that is personalized medicine," Marshall says. Therapy would be based on the tumor's molecular make-up. A vital point: Tumor site does not establish cancer type. "Breast cancer is hundreds of diseases," Dr. Markman says. "Some we can control, some we can't. We'll learn as we go along."

Learn a New Language

Challenging, fun, broadening! Why not start learning a new language? The Berlitz School, the international language education company, notes that more than 300,000 people a year learn a language through Berlitz. Some physicians have learned Spanish or Korean to better communicate with their patients.

Charles M. Wiener, MD, Dean and CEO of Kuala Lumpur's new Perdana University Graduate School of Medicine, is learning Malay. Dr. Goertz plans to become fluent in Spanish. "It's important to the future," he says. Others have chosen Mandarin, Italian, and Hindi.

Raise the Nation's Fitness Level

Dr. Xagoraris wants to "introduce a fitness agenda into the permanent psyche of the public." Children should be taught to avoid outsized portions, sugar-laden drinks, and empty-calorie snacks, he says. Even so, advertisements for cheap, high-fat, fast-food meals and all-you-can-eat buffets remain an obstacle. Obese children suffer teasing from peers, and then they grow up to be obese adults who require disproportionate resources to deal with related disease, he says, adding that "fitness should be a way of life."

Dr. Rosen, who cycles, runs, and swims in preparation for his 3-sport competition next year, agrees that children need more motivation to become fit. "I am always counseling kids about fitness and want to be a real role model for them," he says.

Take Your Talents to the Max

"My aspiration is to win first place in competitive salsa dancing," says Dr. Chicoye. She discovered dancing when she took a job in Miami. "We took third place last year, but this year I'm going for the gold!"

In grammar school, Jeffrey K. Pearson, DO, a family and sports medicine practitioner in San Marcos, California, had a keen interest in magic. With practice, he learned to magically pull objects from young patients' ears, to their delight.

Decades later, in 2005, Dr. Pearson met magical mentor-to-the-stars Bob Elliott at a local magic club and discovered that a doctor can learn new tricks. Pearson has since become so proficient and polished that he was accepted to the Academy of Magical Arts and received a prestigious invitation to Fechter's Finger Flicking Frolic. He attained a standard beyond his dreams. "Not many magicians are offered one," he says. Dr. Pearson uses his skills to make "magic house calls" to hospice patients and their families.

Spread Your Medical Experience Through Teaching

Dr. Levine went to Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China, where he helped family medicine residency directors prepare to teach a discipline that was new to them. "West China Hospital has about 4260 beds and 2.7 million outpatient visits a year," he says. "Now they recognize that the family physician is like a decathlete and that patients need to be seen in an inpatient setting."

"It's an amazing professional opportunity," says Dr. Wiener, describing his post at Malaysia's new medical school, the first based on the American rather than the British model. "Many of the best things about American medical education and training are being integrated into the new program," he says.

Chuck the Rat Race and the Nonsense; Head for the Simple Life

Sick of text messages, TV gadgets, competition, status battles, and social obligations? A low-technology diversion can offer a respite from the nonstop rush. Make something with your hands; build or refinish furniture; landscape your property; go camping in the country's national parks; piece together a quilt.

Sandy Brown, MD, an independent practitioner in Fort Bragg, California, says, "I would like to be able to go into the woods and make a cord of firewood when I'm 80 -- after scoping out the area on my dirt bike." Dr. Goertz has fantasies of owning a bait stand on the Texas coast, where he could fish on impulse.

The soul-soothing effect of water also calls to Dr. Morrow. "I dream of a smooth, coordinated, paddling stroke that will push my kayak over the 6-knot range," he says. "It's as close to flying without an engine as an old man can get! Ask the flocks of geese and cormorants who fly over me, with their wingtips at water level."

Always Seize the Day

Some physicians would change very little about their lives. "My bucket list boils down to managing work more effectively, allowing me to enjoy my family, exercise, and hobbies," Dr. Hood says. Dr. Brown wants to "practice medicine part-time when I'm 80 and still remember the names of my patients and their diagnoses, because medicine is such fun."

Although you may not plan to do something extremely different, you should always make way for the unexpected, Dr. Wiener advises. "Most of the greatest things that have happened to me, professionally or not, have been things I never imagined," he says. "My best jobs were the ones I never applied for. I never thought I'd participate in a traditional Malay wedding, Hari Raya celebration, or Hindu wedding festival; or that I'd meet the Prime Minister of Malaysia. I never would have seen these chances coming if I'd had blinders on."

No matter how you prepare, much of life happens by chance. When something seems like it might present an interesting adventure, be ready to seize it.

Thank the People Who Have Made a Difference in Your Life

People are gratified to think they've had an impact on someone else's life. Most likely, various people have helped you at some point in your life, whether through words of wisdom, encouragement, standing up for you, or going out of their way to help you move forward. Maybe it's a long-ago professor who unknowingly motivated you to keep on your tough path when your enthusiasm was beginning to flag.