Former NFL player Jon Dorenbos tells burned-out physicians to remember why they started

Jon Dorenbos was newly traded to the New Orleans Saints in August 2017 when a team physical turned up an aortic aneurysm. The finding ended a 14-season NFL career, most of it spent as the Philadelphia Eagles' long snapper, and sent the two-time Pro Bowler and "America's Got Talent" finalist into emergency open-heart surgery.

Dorenbos, now a magician and speaker, gave the main stage keynote "Live in Vision, Not in Circumstance" on Sept. 28 at the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) 2026 Annual Conference in San Antonio. He sat down with Medical Economics at the conference.

What he remembers about his care team

Dorenbos said publicity around his diagnosis meant surgeons around the world took his calls. He chose to have the operation in Philadelphia at Penn Medicine, where Joseph Bavaria, M.D., performed the surgery.

On the recovery floor, walking to the door and back counted as a big day, he said. Working up to a trip down the hall for a juice box took weeks, and the nurses, other clinicians and his surgeon cheered him on.

"The world's a better place because of people like them," he said. He described their work as "the most selfless act that you can imagine."

His advice for physicians who feel stuck

Asked what he would tell physicians and practice leaders worn down by political shifts and new systems, Dorenbos said everyone hits a wall at some point in a career. A job change can lead right back to the same point, he said. His advice was to remember why you got into the work.

"When you get burned out, just take a deep breath. You're where you belong," he said. "I'm a patient. You're making the world a better place, and we need people like you."

Change he didn't choose

Dorenbos describes happiness as a decision rather than an emotion, and he said he starts each morning with a motto: "It's a great day to be alive."

He said losing out on a hosting job he wanted sent him back to Philadelphia. The Eagles then traded him to New Orleans, where the physical found his aneurysm.

"With change comes opportunity, and you don't really know if it's a good thing or a bad thing yet," he said. Of the trade: "I got traded. I didn't want to get traded, right? Ended up being the best thing that ever happened to me."

Medical Economics is in San Antonio at the MGMA Annual Conference, Sept. 27-30, celebrating 100 years of MGMA, attending sessions and speaking with industry leaders. Follow our coverage on our MGMA conference page.