Description:
Explore inspiring stories of 35 physician couples thriving in dual medical careers, sharing strategies for balancing love, family, and professional demands.
Brief description: Deborah M. Shlian, MD, MBA, and Joel N. Shlian, MD, MBA, are board-certified family physicians with over three decades of experience in clinical practice and healthcare management. Married for 54 years, the Shlians have successfully balanced their medical careers with a shared passion for writing. They have authored numerous nonfiction articles, book chapters, and books on medical management, as well as several award-winning fiction novels - including one honored with the Florida Book Award's Gold Medal. For this book, the Shlians served as editors and contributed several chapters, including a personal narrative about their own journey as a happily married dual-physician couple.
Review Quotes:
"This book delivers an honest and inspiring exploration of the lives of physician couples who have sustained happy marriages across decades. Through candid reflections on both the rewards and challenges of dual-physician relationships, it offers practical wisdom and heartfelt insights. Building on the editor's influential work on women's leadership in medicine, this collection celebrates resilience, partnership, and the evolving strategies couples have used to balance love and demanding careers over the past 50 years."
Donna L. Parker, MD
PROFESSOR, DIVISION OF GENERAL INTERNAL MEDICINE, DEPARTMENT OF MEDICINE, SENIOR ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR MEDICAL EDUCATION, CHIEF ACADEMIC OFFICER FOR THE MEDICAL EDUCATION PROGRAM, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
"Lessons Learned is a treasure trove of wisdom about careers, relationships, and love, collected by long-wed MDs Deborah and Joel Shlian. The moving reflections from dedicated physician couples also resonate for families that juggle training and practicing in other professional pathways - as in our own case, medicine and engineering. Readers will delight in these glimpses of persistence, endurance, and gratitude that capture the joys and challenges of successfully navigating demanding livelihoods - and futures together."
Yolanda "Linda" Reid, MD, and Anastassios Chassiakos, PhD
"Lessons Learned: Stories from Dual-Physician Marriages may focus on physicians, but the unique insights reach beyond medicine. As a former clinical psychologist married for 34 years to an MBA, we found these inspiring stories about managing life, love, and happiness essential reading for all professional couples."
Janet Laubgross, PhD, and Alan Orloff, MBA
"As a medical school dean, and a 20+ year partner of another physician, I believe Lessons Learned highlights the many challenges and rewards that dual-physician marriages bring to a union. One works harder, one stretches understanding and compassion further, but one laughs longer and doubles the joys of patient care. Lessons Learned encapsulates these life experiences."
Elaine M. Wallace, DO, EdS, MS, MS, MS, MS
DEAN, PROFESSOR, NEUROMUSCULOSKELETAL MEDICINE, PROFESSOR, SPORTS MEDICINE, DR. KIRAN C. PATEL COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE, NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY
"Dual-physician relationships have never had more professional stressors than they do today, and learning from physicians who are making it work can provide novel insight. Fortunately, this anthology of personal stories of commitment and patience provides thoughtful counsel on longevity and love - and its advice on flexibility, vulnerability, and compassion is likely to be helpful for every relationship."
Eileen Barrett, MD, MPH
2025-2026 PRESIDENT, THE AMERICAN MEDICAL WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION
"The medical profession is a difficult career choice for any one person these days. Forging a dual-career path with both parties in the medical profession is even more complex! And yet, the couples profiled in this book are proof that it can be achieved. Kudos to all of them for their successes, and thanks for their level of sharing as they each provide us a host of insights from which we can all benefit as we consider our own collection of relationships. The editors have done masterful work in bringing these stories together and offering pearls of wisdom from these exceptional couples. Readers will not be disappointed."
Peter Angood, MD, FAAPL(Hon)
PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR PHYSICIAN LEADERSHIP(R)