Ending Physician Overwhelm: Recent Episodes

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There is no algorithm for being everything to everyone. There is no version of you that can close every note, remember every modifier, sort every piece of garbage correctly, and never make anyone unhappy. And yet somehow we keep walking around asking ourselves how we're supposed to do it all, like the failure is ours instead of the expectation being the problem.

This week I want to talk about a question I hear constantly, from my clients, in physician Facebook groups, in my own head some days: how am I supposed to do this? How am I supposed to remember that, attend to this, keep everyone happy, and still function as a human being?

We dig into a real story from a session with a client, one that involves a shame-based email about note closure rates, a naughty list of underperforming physicians, and, somehow, a fight over which garbage can is allowed to hold what. It sounds almost funny until you realize how much mental bandwidth these invisible, ridiculous burdens actually take from us. We walk through why we keep landing in this stuck loop of self-blame, and I give you eight questions you can come back to again and again to figure out what's actually yours to carry and what isn't.

This is not a one-time fix. This is a practice. And once you have it, you will never look at your own overwhelm the same way again.

If this resonates and you want support actually living it, let's talk. Schedule a free discovery call here: https://calendly.com/healthierforgood/coaching-discovery-call

The eight questions, so you have them ready:

1. What is my load like right now?
2. What feels truly important to me right now?
3. What are the external goals, tasks, or priorities that others are putting on me right now?
4. Which of these, if any, feel important to me?
5. Which of these feels unimportant to me?
6. What feels like it's not mine to carry?
7. How do I want to show up if others don't agree with my priorities?
8. How am I going to have my own back? (Don’t skip this one!!!)

Connect with Megan:

Instagram: @MeganMeloMD
Website: healthierforgood.com
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

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Tell me a place in your life that is not home and not work where you feel fully like yourself. And no, sitting in your car in the driveway does not count.

This week we are talking about the idea of a third place, a concept that is part physical space and part something you do, a hobby or an activity that lets you show up as a full human being instead of Dr. So and So. Think the coffee shop from Friends. Not home, not work, just a place where you get to exist without your degree attached to you.

We walk through what makes a third place actually count (there are five characteristics, and yes, they matter), and I run through a long list of ideas to help you figure out what yours might be, whether that is running, gardening, artisanal cooking, a book club, or getting out on a paddleboard. I also get real about three things that feel like hobbies but usually are not doing what we actually need: credit card points, online shopping, and scrolling.

If you have let this part of your life shrink down to nothing, this episode is your permission slip to bring a piece of it back, even in a season where it can only be small.

If this resonates and you want support actually living it, let's talk. Schedule a free discovery call here: https://calendly.com/healthierforgood/coaching-discovery-call

Resources mentioned in this episode:

The concept of the "third place" comes from sociologist Ray Oldenburg, from his 1989 book The Great Good Place.

Connect with Megan:

Instagram: @MeganMeloMD
Website: healthierforgood.com
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

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I spent 48 hours trying to get home from a trip to see my mother in law. A canceled flight, a rerouted city that turned out to be smack in the middle of World Cup weekend, a storm system, and a whole lot of nothing I could control. And somehow, it turned into one of the clearest lessons on values I have had in a long time.

Here is the thing. Most of us do not think about our values until something falls apart. We spend our energy on the to do list, the aggressive game plan, the five AM wake up call we are never actually going to sustain. But when chaos hits, and in medicine and in life it always does, it is not the plan that saves you. It is knowing what actually matters to you.

In this episode I walk you through what happened when my well organized travel plans blew up in real time, and how a values clarification exercise I had done just hours earlier completely changed how I moved through it. No spinning. No fighting with gate agents who could not do anything anyway. Just clarity on what I actually wanted in that moment, and the ability to act on it.

We talk about what this looks like when you bring it into your clinical world too. The quiet days that suddenly explode. The trauma bay. The board that is empty until it is not. You already know how to triage a crisis at work. This episode is about learning to do that for your life.

If this resonates and you want support actually living it, let's talk. Schedule a free discovery call here: https://calendly.com/healthierforgood/coaching-discovery-call

Resources mentioned in this episode:Parents Who Lead by Stew Friedman and Alyssa Westring

Connect with Megan:

Instagram: @MeganMeloMD
Website: healthierforgood.com
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

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Quick: without overthinking it, what area of your life could use some more attention right now? If your answer was "all of it," or if you just went completely blank, this episode is exactly for you.

In this episode, we work through the five areas where I see physicians struggling most. Not in some abstract, general-public kind of way, but in the specific, trained-out-of-us, system-conditioned ways that make these particular struggles feel so hard to name and even harder to address. We talk about your health, your boundaries, your emotional well-being, your time, and your career arc. And we get honest about how they all bleed into each other while also being distinct enough that trying to fix all five at once is a recipe for fixing none of them.

The point of this episode is not to give you a five-point plan. It's to help you identify the one thing that is actually calling your attention right now, in this season of your life, in these specific circumstances. Not the thing you should be working on. Not the thing you worked on six months ago. The thing that, if you're being honest with yourself, is where the energy needs to go.

We also talk about why that single focus matters more than you might think, and how making real progress in one area tends to create ripple effects into the others in ways you don't always see coming.

Grab a piece of paper. This one's worth sitting with.

Want more of this in your inbox? Join the email list at healthierforgood.com and get weekly messages made for physicians like you.

Connect with Megan:

Instagram: @MeganMeloMD
Website: healthierforgood.com
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

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Raise your hand if you've hit December and suddenly realized your CME credits are nowhere close to where they need to be. Yeah. Me too. That particular flavor of end-of-year panic is incredibly common, and it doesn't have to keep happening.

In this episode, we dig into the unsexy but necessary work of getting a handle on your CME, your board certifications, and all the credentialing requirements that somehow always feel like they sneak up on us. Not because we're disorganized, but because no one else is managing this for us, and we're already running at capacity.

We talk through how to figure out exactly what you're responsible for reporting and where it needs to go, how to think about CME formats that actually fit the way you work, and how to stop leaving credit on the table for education you're already doing at the point of care. I also share a little experiment I ran using an AI tool to fill out a CME reporting form, and what surprised me about how it handled the task.

The goal isn't to add another thing to your plate. It's to build a small, repeatable system so that the documentation catches up to the work you're already doing.

Hit play. Let's end the December scramble for good.

If this resonates and you want support actually building systems that make your professional life more sustainable, let's talk. Schedule a free discovery call here: https://calendly.com/healthierforgood/coaching-discovery-call

Connect with Megan:

Instagram: @MeganMeloMD
Website: healthierforgood.com
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

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You are halfway through 2026 and I have a feeling you have not stopped once to notice what you have actually done.

That is exactly what this episode is for. Not a performance review, not a goal-setting hustle session, just a real pause to look at where you are, what you want for the rest of this year, and what is honestly getting in the way of you having it. We are going to do a little of the work that good coaches do with their clients, right here, right now, together.

I walk you through seven questions in this episode, and I want you to have something to write with because this one is worth doing, not just listening to. We start with celebrating what has already gone well, because you are almost certainly skipping that part. Then we get into what you actually want for the next six months, in the order that matters: personal first, then family and friends, then professional. And we get honest about what is getting in the way, how to make things easier, what needs to get on the calendar now, and what you can finally just drop.

If you have use-it-or-lose-it PTO sitting there quietly judging you, your dentist appointment is six months overdue, or you keep putting the same five things on your to-do list and never doing them, this episode was made for you.

Grab something to write with and hit play.

Want more of this in your inbox? Join the email list at healthierforgood.com and get weekly messages made for physicians like you.

Connect with Megan:

Instagram: @MeganMeloMD
Website: healthierforgood.com
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

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When was the last time you actually saw your own doctor? If you just cringed a little, you are exactly who this episode is for.

I take care of a lot of physicians in my practice, and I have heard every version of the story: self-prescribed thyroid meds, skipped physicals, and a very impressive collection of coping strategies that are working just well enough to keep going. I get it because I live it too. But there are things I say to my patients, including my physician patients, that I want to say directly to you.

In this episode I walk through 10 things I would tell you if I was sitting across from you in the exam room. Some of them are the basics you already know and are not doing. Some of them are the harder truths about rest, stress, and the lie we have all been sold about what it means to handle everything. And one of them is about Botox, because we need to have that conversation.

This is not a lecture. This is what peer-to-peer honesty sounds like when your doctor actually knows what your life is like.

Hit play. You have earned this one.

If this resonates and you want support actually living it, let's talk. Schedule a free discovery call here: https://calendly.com/healthierforgood/coaching-discovery-call

Connect with Megan:

Instagram: @MeganMeloMD
Website: healthierforgood.com
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

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(Trigger Warning: This episode does briefly reference physician suicide)

Have you ever looked up and realized you've slid back into a pattern you thought you'd left behind, and immediately wondered what is wrong with you? That moment of recognition, the one where you feel like you've undone all your progress, is exactly what we're digging into today.

One of my clients came to a session recently carrying something heavy. A patient had died unexpectedly. And in the days that followed, she found herself spending hours consoling the patient's spouse, plus building out this ever-growing to-do list of promises she'd made to other patients. Things that were genuinely above and beyond what anyone could reasonably expect of her. When we looked closely at what was actually driving all of it, the answer was guilt.

Here's the thing about guilt: it doesn't just sit there. It moves. It shapes what we do, what we promise, how we spend our time and energy. And for us as physicians, it gets even more complicated because so much of our training was shame-based in ways we may not have fully unpacked. There's a difference between "I did something wrong" and "I am something wrong," and that line gets blurry fast when you've been trained in environments where a bad outcome means someone has to be responsible, and that someone is usually you.

We also get into something I think is becoming more and more urgent: the patients who are making significant health decisions without looping us in. GLPs sourced online, compounded peptides from a doctor friend, supplement stacks from a wellness influencer. And when something goes sideways, guess who feels responsible? We talk about what it actually means to be a consultant to our patients, not the owner of their choices, and why drawing that line isn't about caring less. It's about being able to stay in this work at all.

This one is worth your time. Come listen.

If this resonates and you want support actually living it, let's talk. Schedule a free discovery call here: https://calendly.com/healthierforgood/coaching-discovery-call

Connect with Megan:
Instagram: @MeganMeloMD
Website: healthierforgood.com
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

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How many times have you apologized today? Not for something you actually did wrong. Just for existing, taking up space, having needs, being human?

This episode is about that. We're going through 10 specific things that women physicians have been socialized to apologize for, and we are done. Not because we're going to become difficult or stop caring, but because the apologizing is costing us, and it's not serving anyone.

Some of these will feel familiar. A few might surprise you. One of them is about what happens when you're the patient, not the doctor, and you still find yourself folding the table paper after your own exam. Another is about medical uncertainty, and why your willingness to sit in that uncertainty is actually what makes you safer than the ChatGPT accounts your patients are consulting. And a few are about the things we've been quietly told not to want, feel, or say out loud.

This is inner work with real-world application. We're talking about what it actually looks like to stop apologizing in the exam room, in the OR, in the portal, and in your own life.

Come listen. You'll probably find yourself nodding along, and maybe feeling a little less alone in all of it.

If this resonates and you want support actually living it, let's talk. Schedule a free discovery call here: https://calendly.com/healthierforgood/coaching-discovery-call

Connect with Megan:

Instagram: @MeganMeloMD
Website: healthierforgood.com
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

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You did the hard part last week. You sat with the feelings, let the thoughts tumble out, and didn't immediately sprint toward a job board. Good. Now we figure out what's actually next.

Part 2 is where we get practical, but not in the way medicine trained us to be practical. We're not just dusting off the CV and hitting LinkedIn. We're doing something harder and more useful: getting clear on what we actually want before we start telling people we're available. Because the goal isn't just to land somewhere. It's to land somewhere better.

We start by looking honestly at the finances, not from a scarcity mindset, but from real numbers. Because a lot of us feel more financial pressure than the math actually justifies, and that pressure is what sends us straight into the first job that looks familiar. We also ask the question that tends to stop people cold: what would you tell your friend to do if she were in your exact situation? And then, more importantly, why won't you allow that for yourself?

From there, we work through a set of questions designed to help you use your lived experience as data. What did you tolerate that you won't anymore? What actually lit you up? What does your ideal Tuesday afternoon look like? And then we talk about how to get out there in a way that opens doors most people don't even know exist, because the best opportunities rarely show up on a job board.

This one is worth listening to whether you've been laid off, are thinking about leaving, or are just quietly starting to wonder what else is possible.

If you want to work through these questions with someone in your corner, I'd love to help. Book a free discovery call at https://calendly.com/healthierforgood/coaching-discovery-call and let's figure out your next move together.

Connect with Megan:
Instagram: @MeganMeloMD
Website: healthierforgood.com
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

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Raise your hand if you or someone you know has been laid off. Not fired. Laid off. It's happening more and more, and if you've been watching what's going on in healthcare right now, it probably doesn't surprise you. What might surprise you is how complicated it feels, even when part of you is relieved.

In this episode, we dig into something that doesn't get talked about enough: the emotional experience of being let go when you had no say in the matter. Because being laid off is fundamentally different from choosing to leave, and pretending otherwise doesn't serve you. When you resign, you write the first line of the next chapter. When you're laid off, someone else does. And even when you know it had nothing to do with your competence, even when you can see the financial writing on the wall, something in your physician brain starts asking: was it me?

It wasn't. But we have to do some work to actually believe that.

We talk about why the instinct to jump straight into job search mode can actually backfire, why the feelings underneath the anger deserve more airtime than we usually give them, and what complicated grief looks like when the thing you lost was something you were already half-ready to leave anyway. This is Part 1, and it's the part that most of us skip. We're not skipping it today.

Part 2 is coming next week, and that's where we get into the practical next steps. But you can't build a good next chapter on top of unprocessed feelings. So we start here.

If you're in this place right now, or you can feel it coming, let's talk. Book a free discovery call at https://calendly.com/healthierforgood/coaching-discovery-call and we'll figure out what you actually need and where you want to go.

Connect with Megan:
Instagram: @MeganMeloMD
Website: healthierforgood.com
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

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Let's talk about the hassle factor, and why that term doesn't even begin to cover what we're actually dealing with.

I'm coming into this episode a little fired up, and honestly, that's the point. In the last two weeks, I've been flooded with prior authorization requests for patients on GLP-1 medications. Patients who already have approval. Patients we know don't have coverage and have been paying cash. Patients whose prescriptions are not new. And yet, there it is, over and over in my inbox.

None of it required action. But I still had to look. Every. Single. Time. Because the consequence of missing one that actually matters? A patient doesn't get their medication.

That is not a hassle. That is moral injury stacked on top of administrative burden stacked on top of the very real risk of patient harm.

In this episode, we dig into what the hassle factor actually is, why physicians are leaving medicine because of it, and what we can do to take care of ourselves when we're living inside it.

Here's what we cover:

Why "hassle factor" is both useful and inadequate as a term, and what's really underneath it

The three-step process I use to move from reacting to responding when the system is piling on

Radical acceptance and what it does (and does not) mean

Why naming your emotions matters before you try to fix anything

How I personally handled a workplace policy I disagreed with, and what intentional non-participation looks like in practice

Why leaving medicine or your job is sometimes the right answer, and why you still want to do it from a clean, grounded place

The hassle factor is real. The moral injury is real. And you deserve to navigate all of it with your whole self intact.

Ready to get some support? Let's talk. Book a free discovery call at https://calendly.com/healthierforgood/coaching-discovery-call

Connect with Megan:
Instagram: @MeganMeloMD
Website: healthierforgood.com
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

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Whole. Capable. Perfect. Just as you are.

Go ahead and sit with that for a second. Because if you're anything like most of us in medicine, those three words probably don't come naturally when you think about yourself. We weren't trained that way. We were trained to find what's wrong, what's missing, what needs to be corrected. And that lens? It doesn't always stay at work.

In this episode, we're trying something on together. What happens when you choose to see yourself as whole, capable, and perfect, right now, inside a broken system, with imperfect tools and an inbox that never fully empties? And then, what happens when you extend that same belief to your patients? To your staff and colleagues? To the people you love?

We're walking through all three, and I think you might be surprised where this lands.

A few things we get into:

What it actually looks like to separate your worth from the dysfunction of the system you work in

Why seeing your patients as capable adults might be one of the kindest things you can do for yourself

How this framework quietly shifts the way you set limits and stop carrying what isn't yours

The one-week experiment I want you to try, and why you don't have to believe any of this is true to benefit from it

Note: we are making a deliberate carve-out for vulnerable adults, minors, and anyone who doesn't have full decision-making capacity. This conversation is about the capable adults who make up much of your practice, and the capable adults in your personal life too.

Ready to try it on? Hit play.

If this resonates and you want support actually living it, let's talk. Schedule a free discovery call here: https://calendly.com/healthierforgood/coaching-discovery-call

Connect with Megan:

Instagram: @MeganMeloMD

Website: healthierforgood.com

Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

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You pull into the driveway after a full day. Patients, staff, meetings, inbox, all of it. You open the door and immediately there are more people who need something from you. And you have nothing left.

If you have ever sat in your car in the driveway just a little longer than you needed to, you are not broken. You are not someone who doesn't love the people waiting for you inside. You are someone who has been on stage all day with no time off stage. And today we are going to fix that.

What we cover in this episode:

On Stage vs. Off Stage: What It Actually Means

On stage is any time your energy is going outward. You are performing in some kind of role, whether that is physician, leader, parent, partner, or PTA secretary. It includes clinic, charting, inbox, staff interactions, and yes, family time counts too if you are managing emotions and playing a role.

Off stage is genuine time where there is no performance element. You are just a human being allowed to exist. A solo walk, reading for pleasure, crafting, time with friends who know all your secrets and expect nothing from you. It is not scrolling social media while you tell yourself you are resting. It is actual restoration.

The Gray Zone

Some time feels like it should be off stage but is actually draining you. Social media is the big one. If you are reaching for your phone out of habit and putting it down feeling worse, that is gray zone time, not off stage time. We have to be honest about this or the audit will not work.

Introversion, Extroversion, and What You Actually Need

This is a spectrum, not a binary. More introverted physicians need quiet solo time to recharge. More extroverted physicians might actually need more time with people they genuinely choose, not just the people at work. Neither is better. Both require intention. And where you fall on that spectrum can shift depending on stress, illness, life season, and what you are carrying right now.

The Audit

This is a doing episode. Here is what we are walking through together:

Step 1: Map one to two weeks of your actual schedule. One week if your schedule is fixed. Two or more if you are a hospitalist, nocturnist, or work variable hours. Include work time AND home time. Both matter.

Step 2: Label everything. On stage, off stage, or gray zone. Be honest. Family time that feels like a performance goes in the on stage column even if you love your family deeply.

Step 3: Look at the ratio. Where is your off stage time? Is there any? How does that balance feel?

Step 4: Reflect. Does this match what you actually need given where you are on the introversion/extroversion spectrum? What would need to shift, even just slightly, to give you more of what you need?

Making Changes Without Flipping the Table

Small shifts create sustainable change. Before you decide you need to leave medicine, consider whether you have actually had any off stage time lately. Not as a reason to stay if you truly need to go, but because we do not make our best decisions from a completely depleted state. Protect one or two off stage blocks per week. Put them on the calendar. Practice the boundary of keeping them there. That is where the work begins.

Your 24-hour action: Pull up your calendar today. Map your week. Label it honestly. Just see what you are working with. You do not have to fix everything right now. You just have to see it clearly.

And if you do that audit and what you find scares you a little, if the off stage time is basically nonexistent and you have no idea where to start, that is exactly the work I do with physicians. Book a discovery call and we will figure out together where to begin. Click here to schedule

Connect with Megan:

Instagram: @MeganMeloMD

Website: healthierforgoo

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

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Have you ever had something completely figured out — only to find yourself right back at square one a little while later? That's not failure. That's life moving through seasons. And today, we're going to talk about how to navigate those transitions with a lot more grace and a lot less self-judgment.

I open this episode sharing a conversation I had with Sarah Smith, the Charting Champion Coach, someone who has built her entire career helping physicians tame their inbox and their charts, who told me she found herself needing to start over and figure it out again. And instead of finding that discouraging, I found it humanizing. Because it's a reminder that none of us are done. We are always in a season.

In this episode, we're walking through a practical framework for thinking about seasonal transitions; whether you're becoming a parent, becoming an empty nester, caring for an aging parent, switching jobs, leaving clinical medicine, or just noticing that the things that used to work… aren't anymore.

What we cover:

The Arrival Fallacy — Seasonal Edition We usually talk about the arrival fallacy in terms of goals ("once I make attending, I'll be happy"). But there's another version: the belief that once you figure out a habit or a system, it will work forever. It won't — and that's okay. The habits and routines that serve you right now are not the same ones that will serve you in three, five, or ten years. Mental flexibility is the skill.

Sitting in Reality: What Do You Need Right Now? Not what worked last year. Not what will work someday. What do you need right now, given your current work environment, your home life, what's happening in the world, where you are in your career, and what your body needs? We walk through a few key categories: support, movement, sleep, creative expression, and collaboration.

Anticipating the Other Side of This Season One of my favorite exercises: imagine yourself at the end of this season looking back. What do you want to have experienced? What would disappoint you? What would you regret not prioritizing? This is not morbid; it's proactive. It gives your current choices direction and meaning.

Whether you're in a season you chose or one that chose you, this episode will help you get more intentional about the time you're in — and more honest about what you actually need.

🎧 Listen now and give yourself the gift of being thoughtful about this season.

Connect with Megan:

Instagram: @MeganMeloMD

Website: healthierforgood.com

Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

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What if one sentence could pull you out of a spiral? What if a five-second pause could change the entire tone of your day?

In this episode, I'm sharing three simple tools I actually use — the ones that have quietly transformed how I move through hard moments, difficult patients, chaotic travel, and the everyday grind of being a physician. No fluff. No toxic positivity. Just practical, repeatable ways to speak to yourself more kindly and show up more fully.

This one is worth listening to twice. Maybe keep some notes nearby.

What You'll Learn in This Episode

• Tool #1: Anchoring Sentences — pre-loaded phrases that interrupt the spiral before it takes hold
• Tool #2: Mini-Celebrations — how to create positive reinforcement loops that actually stick
• Tool #3: Quick Pep Talks — a three-part framework for walking into hard moments grounded and ready

Tool #1: Anchoring Sentences

These are short, pre-thought-out phrases you keep in your back pocket for when things get hard. Not affirmations — realistic reframes that stop the swirl and give your brain somewhere useful to land.

My go-to during the Japan trip? "It's going to be hilarious." A patient suggested it and I latched right on. Every time the chaos ramped up, I'd return to that sentence — and it worked. I let go of needing to control the things I couldn't. I stayed in the adventure.

Try these on:

• "It's going to be hilarious."
• "Future me will laugh about this."
• "I have survived 100% of my hard days so far."
• "We can do hard things."

Find your sentence before you need it. Think about what your best friend would say to grab your attention when you're starting to spiral — that's your anchoring sentence.

Tool #2: Mini-Celebrations

We celebrate every tiny milestone when kids do it. Then we grow up and suddenly nothing is worth noticing unless it's a board exam or a publication. That ends now.

Mini-celebrations are about pausing to say "yay me" — out loud or in your head — for the things that don't come with a trophy but absolutely deserve acknowledgment.

Things worth celebrating this week:

• You packed and actually ate a healthy lunch
• You closed half your notes before leaving
• You got through a brutal day without losing your compassion
• You replied to a seven-paragraph portal message with "That's an excellent point — let's schedule a visit"
• You said no without over-explaining
• You put on matching socks

This isn't lowering the bar. This is noticing the bars you've already cleared — and there are a lot of them.

Pause the episode right now and name one thing you did this week. Say it out loud: "I did that. That was real." That little hit of dopamine? That's not indulgence — that's how positive reinforcement works.

Tool #3: Quick Pep Talks

You're looking at your schedule and you see that patient. The one that makes your stomach drop a little. This is exactly when you pull out the three-part pep talk. It takes less than sixty seconds.

Step 1: Name what's hard. What specifically is it about this encounter or situation that feels challenging? Get honest. It might be the person, the diagnosis, the history, the unknown. Name it.

Step 2: Acknowledge how you've handled things before. You have navigated this patient. You have handled similar challenges. You have managed situations where you didn't know enough and figured it out anyway. Call one of those receipts forward and hold it.

Step 3: Set your intention. Who do you want to be going into that room today? Not perfect. Not fearless. Just present, grounded, and clear.

Put it together: "I have a hard time seeing this patient because no matter what I do, they seem dissatisfied. And yet I have gotte

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

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You know that feeling when you're in the middle of something completely outside your comfort zone and you realize — wait, I'm actually handling this? That's exactly where I'm recording from today: a hotel room in Osaka, Japan, chaperoning my son's eighth-grade school trip with a group of middle schoolers, their parents, and approximately infinite drama.

And instead of talking about the middle school gossip (though, trust — there's plenty), I'm bringing you something better: what happens when a recovering perfectionist takes a real vacation, in a country where she doesn't speak the language, and decides to actually let go.

We come back to these themes over and over together — perfectionism, people pleasing, boundaries — because they don't just show up at work. They show up everywhere. On vacation. On a train platform in Osaka. When a kid's laundry gets left behind in a hotel two cities away.

Here's what we're unpacking in this episode:

1. Asking for Help

We were trained to be the expert in the room. Asking for help can feel like failure — like we should be able to figure it out ourselves. But what if asking is actually the smartest, most powerful thing we can do? I share what it felt like to navigate Japanese train apps, lost laundry, and a language I don't speak — and what I learned about letting other people in.

2. Being Present

Before I left, I made a bold decision: I paid a trusted colleague to run my inbox while I was away. No checking in. No "just a quick peek." I share what it took to set that up, why I almost talked myself out of it, and what it's felt like to actually be here — fully, completely present — for the first time in years of travel.

3. Knowing What You Need

We're all wired differently. I didn't plan this trip — which for a planner like me was its own practice in letting go. But I did show up as the first aid person, fully stocked and ready. Is that a little perfectionist? Maybe. But it's also knowing myself well enough to honor what helps me feel grounded — so I can actually enjoy everything else.

Sit with these this week:

• Where are we refusing to ask for help — and what is that costing us?
• What would it actually take for us to be truly present, not just physically there?
• What do we each need to feel like ourselves — and are we giving ourselves that?

Perfectionism got us here. But presence is what makes the life we've worked so hard for actually worth living.

Connect with Megan:

Instagram: @MeganMeloMD

Website: healthierforgood.com

Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

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Has your AI scribe ever produced garbage notes for days on end? Has Epic ever crashed mid-clinic and sent you into a spiral? And did a little voice in your head whisper, "Maybe I shouldn't have been relying on that in the first place"?

Yeah. We need to talk about that voice.

In this episode, we're getting honest about our relationship with the tools we use — technology, AI scribes, in-person scribes, and the systems that are supposed to make our lives easier. Because when those tools fail, a lot of us don't just get frustrated. We turn it inward. And that's costing us way more than a bad day of notes.

Here's what we cover:

1. What it really means when the tools fail: When a tool stops working, it's easy to spiral into "I never should have depended on this." But that thought is a trap. A physician client hit a 10-day stretch where her AI scribe was producing unusable notes — and instead of just getting through it, she found herself arguing with the tool and feeling like she'd forgotten how to do notes at all. Sound familiar? We dig into why this happens and how to stop letting tool failures become a referendum on your judgment.

2. Tools are here to serve you: Not the other way around. When Epic came on the scene, it wasn't built just to help you document. It was built to capture revenue — and suddenly doctors were spending more time serving the system than serving their patients. The same creep can happen with AI. We talk about recognizing when you've crossed from "this tool helps me" to "I'm working for the tool" — and how to course-correct fast.

3. Tools will not replace you: Patients are feeding their MRI reports into ChatGPT… and then showing up in your office anyway. Because they need a human. We explore what AI can and can't do — and why your expertise, your judgment, and your ability to catch what the tool got wrong is exactly what makes you irreplaceable.

The bottom line: You deserve help. You deserve tools that make your life easier. And when those tools fail, the answer isn't shame — it's a Plan B.

Connect with Megan:

• Instagram: @MeganMeloMD
• Email: megan@healthierforgood.com
• Coaching discovery call: Schedule here

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

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Let's be honest — have you ever fantasized about calling in sick? Not because you're actually sick, but because it feels like the only way to justify taking a break? Maybe you picture finally cleaning out that closet, taking a nap in the middle of the day, or just... breathing. If that fantasy has ever crossed your mind, this episode is for you.

Because here's the thing: most of us are terrible at sick days — whether we're fantasizing about them or actually having one.

In this episode, I'm coming to you with a slightly squeaky voice (yes, I got sick too) and some real talk about what we do wrong when illness forces us to slow down — and what we need to do differently.

What we cover:

The Don'ts — things we need to stop doing when we're sick:

• Stop misreading your capacity. We already run at 150% on a normal day, operating on less sleep, less fuel, and less self-care than we should. When we get sick and drop down to 80%, we think that's practically normal. It's not. When you're sick, you are genuinely depleted — and pushing through makes it worse and longer.
• Stop expecting a hall pass without asking for one. If you show up to work or to your household looking "mostly fine," people will expect everything from you that they always do. You have to be explicit about what you can and can't do — or better yet, take yourself offline entirely.
• Stop confusing appropriate rest with laziness. Lying on the couch watching TV when you're sick is not a moral failing. It is literally the correct treatment. Your brain will tell you otherwise. Don't listen to it.

The Do's — what we should actually do:

• Delegate. Ask for help. Whether that's your partner, your kids, your staff, or your neighbors — people can and will step up, but you have to ask and be clear.
• Rest. For real. Sleep more. Nap in the middle of the morning if you need to. Stop pushing.
• Knock off the low-lift, naggy tasks you can do horizontally — the overdue multiple-choice CME questions, that one thing on your to-do list with a soft deadline. Keep it low-stress and low-brain.
• Get cozy. Fuzzy socks. Warm tea. A blanket. You've spent enough time in cold operating rooms and stiff scrubs. Lean into comfort.
• Let go of the guilt. You can be sick with guilt, or you can be sick without guilt. Either way, you're sick. Choose without.

The systems we work in were not designed with our humanity in mind — but that doesn't mean we have to internalize that. We have human bodies. We get sick. We are allowed to rest.

If you've been fantasizing about a sick day, that's a sign you need a real break — and that's something we can work on together.

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

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What's your number one work fantasy?

For so many of us, it's walking out the door and never looking back. But what does it actually look like to quit — not in the dramatic, table-flipping way we imagine, but in the real, messy, meaningful way? This week, we're getting into it, because it's my five-year quitversary, and I'm taking you behind the scenes of how I left the job I thought I always wanted.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why I stayed in a job I wanted to leave for nearly five years — and what finally broke me open
• The moment a stranger's "how are you?" made me burst into tears and changed everything
• The very deliberate steps I took before I ever sent that resignation letter (including a $20,000 reason to wait one more week)
• What "quiet quitting" can actually mean in a healthy, empowering way — even if you're not ready to leave
• Why our employers benefit when we keep believing we're not good enough
• What life has looked like on the other side: the coaching certification, this podcast, the expert witness work, the poorly-paid sabbatical — all of it
• The real thing we're leaving behind when we quit: not just a job, but a set of thoughts and beliefs we've been carrying way too long

This isn't a "burn it down" episode. It's an honest look at what it takes to choose yourself — and what's waiting for you when you do.

Next week: We're continuing the conversation with lessons learned from the other side of quitting. You don't want to miss it.

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

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There's a kind of tired that drains you to the bone — and then there's a kind of tired that feels almost like a gift.

In this episode, I'm coming to you fresh off a red-eye from our twice-yearly EntreMD Business School conference, messy hair and all. I'm exhausted. And I'm more energized than I've been in a long time. And I want to talk about what it means that both of those things can be true at the same time — because for so many of us, we've forgotten that they can.

What we talk about in this episode:

When did you last feel excited tired — the kind where your mind is buzzing with possibility, not dread? Where you stayed up too late not because you were charting or on call, but because the conversation was just too good to end?

We're so accustomed to the other kind of tired. The chronic, grinding fatigue of long hours, late nights charting, replaying difficult patient interactions, being paged in the middle of the night. We've been trained to normalize it, to push through it, to tell ourselves we're fine.

But here's the truth: when we ritualize that kind of numbing, we stop being curious. We stop being compassionate. We stop feeling fully human.

This episode is an invitation — a gentle but urgent one — to ask yourself:

• When was the last time you felt both tired and excited?
• If you can't remember, what would need to be true in your life for that to happen?
• What would it look like to intentionally put yourself in spaces that energize you, connect you, and remind you of what's possible?

We don't stumble into those spaces. We have to choose them. And that choosing? That's the work. And while we're very good at hard work, we're also very practiced at avoiding this kind of work — the tuning in, the reflecting, the deciding that something needs to change.

You deserve to feel energized. You deserve connection that lights you up. You deserve a life where the tired you carry sometimes is the good kind.

I'll be back with you next week. Until then — take care of yourself.

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

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Sometimes you feel off… but you can’t quite name why.

You’re tired.
Maybe a little cranky.
Maybe a little stuck.

And the instinct is often to change something big.

Quit the job.
Overhaul your schedule.
Throw everything out and start over.

But what if the real question isn’t what should I change?

What if the better question is:

What do I actually need right now?

Because not every moment calls for a big life overhaul.

Sometimes you need a reset.
Sometimes you need a refresh.
And sometimes you just need to recharge.

Knowing the difference can save you from wasting energy—or making decisions you’ll regret later.

In this episode of Ending Physician Overwhelm, we explore how to recognize which one your mind and body are actually asking for.

A Question to Sit With
The next time you feel overwhelmed, ask yourself:

What do I actually need right now?

• A reset to reconnect with my values?
• A refresh to update something that no longer fits?
• Or a recharge because my batteries are empty?

Your answer might change everything.

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

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Send us Fan Mail

What happens when you get an unexpected pocket of free time?

Be honest.

Do you rest?
Or does your brain immediately start scanning for something productive to do?

Laundry.
Inbox.
Charts.
Research.
That Spanish program you’ve been meaning to start.

If you’re a woman physician, chances are your brain does not tolerate white space very well.

In this episode, we unpack why.

Because this isn’t about poor time management.
And it’s not because you’re “just wired this way.”

This is conditioning.

You were trained to believe you could do anything.

Somewhere along the way, that became:
I should do everything.

And that belief is quietly stealing your rest.

Why We Fill Every Pocket with Work
There are three patterns I see again and again in coaching:

1️⃣ “I Should Be Able to Do It All.”
2️⃣ The Achievement Itch
3️⃣ “I Can’t Rest Until This Is Done.”

Imagine If…

• A free hour didn’t trigger a productivity spiral.
• You could take a nap without guilt.
• You could delegate without shame.
• You didn’t feel behind all the time.
• You believed rest was allowed before the list was complete.

Work is the devil you know.

Rest is unfamiliar.

But unfamiliar doesn’t mean wrong.

It might just mean you’re growing.

If this episode resonated, I’d love to hear from you.
You can reach me at healthierforgood.com, or email me megan@healthierforgood.

And if you’re ready to do this work with support, coaching is where we untangle this for real.

Until next time—take care of yourself like you matter.

Because you do.

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

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How many times have you held your own happiness hostage?

“I’ll feel better when my notes are closed.”
“I can rest when the work is done.”
“I’ll finally feel confident when I’m an attending.”

We’ve all done it. We tie positive emotions to achievement and convince ourselves that relief, joy, or rest are rewards we earn later.

But here’s the problem: later keeps moving.

In this episode, we’re talking about the subtle but powerful habit of postponing positive emotions — and why it’s quietly keeping you stuck, even when you’re accomplishing incredible things.

We Were Trained to Live in “When/Then”

Medicine conditions us early:

• I’ll feel smart when I pass this exam.
• I’ll feel competent when residency is over.
• I’ll feel secure when I’m established.

And every time we hit the milestone, there’s a brief lift… then we adapt. Psychologists call this hedonic adaptation — our nervous system returns to baseline after positive changes. The “arrival fallacy” tells us happiness lives in the next achievement. It doesn’t.

If we keep believing we’ll feel better when, we spend our lives postponing joy.

And here’s the kicker: we lose the skill of feeling good in the present.

Three Ways This Shows Up

1️⃣ We Postpone Positive Emotion

You finally close your notes. You go on vacation. Your inbox is covered.

And you still can’t relax.

Why?

Because we’ve practiced vigilance far more than we’ve practiced ease. We know how to be hyper-alert. We don’t always know how to feel delight.

Joy feels foreign. Rest feels suspicious.

So we must relearn how to experience positive emotion now — not as a reward, but as a human capacity.

2️⃣ We Tie Moral Worth to Productivity

This one is dangerous.

Somewhere along the way, we absorbed the idea that:

• If I achieve more, I am more worthy.
• If I’m behind, I’m failing.
• If I’m not exceptional, I’m not enough.

Your moral worth is not determined by whether you finished residency, got promoted, or became famous.

It is determined by your values and how you live them.

You are not more virtuous because you’re productive.
And you are not less worthy because you’re tired.

3️⃣ The Goalpost Always Moves

Medical training is hierarchical by design. Every stage has another “next.”

Intern → senior resident → fellow → attending → faculty → leadership.

If we keep waiting for the next level to allow happiness, we will wait forever.

There is always another win.

So we must learn to uncouple:

“I want to become an attending.”
AND
“I can practice joy and steadiness now.”

Both can be true.

What Changes When We Stop Waiting?Imagine:

• You enjoy the smell of your baby’s head even while exhausted.
• You feel pride in your work even while growing.
• You take a moment of rest without earning it.

We don’t deny reality. Hard seasons exist.

But we stop telling ourselves that positive emotion is reserved for after achievement.

We start practicing it.

And yes — it may feel uncomfortable at first. That’s normal. You’re retraining a nervous system built on vigilance.

This Is the Work

So many women physicians tell me:

“I just want to feel better.”

We often think that means changing jobs, fixing the inbox, or closing the notes.

Sometimes we do improve systems.
But the deeper work is this:

Learning how to feel good now.
Learning how to rest now.
Learning how to believe you are worthy now.

You are not broken.
You were trained this way.
And you can unlearn it.

🎧 Listen to Episode 217: Stop Waiting to Feel Better and begin practicing joy where you

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

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Raise your hand if the last couple of weeks have felt… heavy.

Not just busy. Not just frustrating.
Heavy.

As more information comes out about the Epstein files and the physicians connected to them, many of us are noticing something uncomfortable stirring beneath the surface. And today, we’re naming it.

Vicarious shame.

Not guilt. Not embarrassment. Not even anger—though that may be there too.
Shame.

And here’s the important distinction:

• Guilt says: I did something bad.
• Shame says: I am bad.
• Vicarious shame is when we feel shame on behalf of someone else and their actions.

You haven’t done anything wrong.
And yet you may feel the weight of it.

Because we are physicians.
Because we identify deeply with our profession.
Because we carry responsibility seriously.
Because we are highly empathic women who have been socialized to hold things together.

And medicine? Medicine has trained us in shame.

We trained in environments where missteps equaled inadequacy.
Where not knowing something meant being exposed.
Where performance and worth blurred into one.

So when we see male physicians—powerful, wealthy, prominent—implicated in abuses of power, something hits close to home. Not because we are like them. But because we share the title.

And if you’ve noticed:

• A heaviness in your chest
• A compulsive urge to scroll and read more
• A sense of disgust that somehow turns inward
• A quiet questioning of the profession

You are not alone.

But here is what we will not do:

We will not carry their shame.

They deserve to experience shame for their actions. Shame is an appropriate human response to wrongdoing. If they do not feel it, that is their pathology—not your burden.

We do not atone for abuses we did not commit.
We do not hold shame for the profession.
We do not absorb the moral weight of other people’s misconduct.

What do we do instead?

1️⃣ We name it.

Naming vicarious shame immediately loosens its grip. When you say, “Oh. That’s what this is,” your nervous system settles.

2️⃣ We speak it.

Shame thrives in silence. When we talk about what we’re feeling—with trusted colleagues, friends, or within supportive spaces—we metabolize it.

3️⃣ We give it back.

There are practices for this. Writing a letter and burning it. Speaking aloud that you are releasing what isn’t yours. Sitting in witness with another human and choosing to let it go.

You are allowed to release shame that does not belong to you.

4️⃣ We practice critical awareness.

You may notice how quickly you internalize responsibility. How readily you identify with the profession. How often you hustle to represent medicine “well.”

You are not the bad actor.

You provide care.
You carry responsibility with integrity.
You have not abused your privilege.

We will not confuse ourselves with them.

This is heavy work. But it is human work. And it is especially the work of women physicians who already carry more than enough.

When we name it, speak it, and release it together, we heal.

And my hope is that today helps you put down something you were never meant to carry.

until next week, take care.

References:

Any talk about shame that I do and how we feel is incomplete without acknowledging the work of Brenè Brown, PhD, LMSW. The above episode centers ourself in her research, and I highly recommend starting with her book Rising Strong if you are not familiar with her work.

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

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You listen.
You nod.
You try to apply what you’re learning.

And still—something isn’t quite moving.

If that’s you, pause with me for a moment, because here’s the truth we don’t say out loud enough:

You are not doing anything wrong.

Most of what you’re trying to change—burnout, boundaries, habits, presence, sustainability—was never meant to be done in isolation. Not squeezed between patient visits, portal messages, and bedtime routines. Not silently. Not perfectly.

In this episode, we talk about what actually changes when women physicians stop trying to do this work alone and start doing it in community.

We explore three powerful shifts that happen when you’re supported instead of self-managing everything:

1. Community changes what feels possible
When you hear someone name your thought out loud, shame loosens its grip. You realize your struggle is patterned—not personal. And suddenly, you’re not wasting energy on self-judgment. You’re solving the real problem.

2. Accountability becomes support, not pressure
This isn’t about being pushed harder. It’s about being witnessed. About having your intentions held with you when your energy is depleted—and celebrating the small, meaningful wins that actually move the needle.

3. Self-kindness grows faster in relationship
Most of us didn’t learn compassion alone—we learned it by being treated kindly. In supportive spaces, we borrow that voice at first… until it becomes our own. And that voice is what sustains real change.

This episode also introduces The Practice—a connected community for women physicians who are done trying to “fix themselves” and ready to practice a more sustainable way of living and working.

Inside The Practice, you’ll find:

• Twice-monthly themed group sessions
• Open office hours for real-time problem-solving
• Monthly 1:1 coaching with me
• A space where your intelligence is assumed, your exhaustion makes sense, and your humanity is not treated as a problem

You don’t need more discipline.
You don’t need to try harder.
You don’t need to do this alone.

🎧 Listen to the episode, and if something in you whispers “this is what I’ve been missing,” that voice is worth trusting.

👉 Learn more about The Practice.

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

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Without overthinking it (yes, I know—that’s a tall order), I asked you to name one difficult emotion you’ve felt in the last few days. Anger. Frustration. Disgust. Resentment.

If your immediate instinct was to judge yourself for it—or to shove it down and keep functioning—this episode is for you.

As women physicians, we’ve been trained to override our internal signals. Push through. Stay professional. Don’t be “too emotional.” And yet, here we are—exhausted, overwhelmed, and wondering why everything feels so heavy.

In this episode, we slow it way down and start with the basics:

• What emotions actually are (and no, they’re not weaknesses)
• Why naming an emotion matters more than “fixing” it
• How emotions show up in the body—and why that’s information, not a flaw
• The simple (but powerful) process of connecting feelings → thoughts → actions
• How to stop judging yourself for having very normal human responses to very real circumstances

We talk about why staying stuck in unexamined emotions often leads to actions we regret—and how creating even a little space lets you choose differently. Not from suppression. Not from explosion. But from clarity.

This is about digesting emotions instead of drowning in them or pretending they don’t exist. It’s about honoring what your feelings are telling you—especially in a world (and a medical system) that benefits when you don’t.

And yes, I also share a bit about a new group experience I’m opening for women physicians who are craving connection, clarity, and a place where they don’t have to hold it all alone anymore.

You are not broken.
Your emotions are not wrong.
They might actually be pointing you back to who you are.

🎧 Listen in and let’s practice being human—on purpose.

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

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Send us Fan Mail

You already work hard.
The question is: why are you still making it harder than it needs to be?

In this episode, we’re talking about tools—and not just scalpels and stethoscopes. We’re talking about AI scribes, support teams, GLP-1 medications, Epic features, macros, automation… all the things that are supposed to help—but somehow end up wrapped in guilt, resistance, or overwhelm.

If you’ve ever thought:

• “I shouldn’t need this.”
• “Using that feels like cheating.”
• “I’m too overwhelmed to learn one more thing.”

This conversation is for you.

We break down three places physicians get stuck with tools and how to shift out of each one—without abandoning your values or your integrity.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why physicians are trained to “just get it done” with dull tools—and how that backfires outside of emergencies
• The difference between being the master of a tool and being controlled by it
• Learned helplessness: when you technically have support, but aren’t using it well
• Resistance and resentment toward tools (AI, Epic chat, GLP-1s)—and how it quietly drains your energy
• Overwhelm as a signal, not a failure—and how support can actually reduce it
• Real examples of using AI scribes beyond charting: coaching, expert witness work, summaries, timelines
• Why using the right tools doesn’t make you less competent—it makes you more masterful

You are not a resident.
You are not a student.
You already know how to do this work well.

The invitation here is simple but powerful:
What would change if you let your tools actually support you?

🎧 Listen in, then ask yourself: What’s one tool in my world that I could start using better—starting this week?

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

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January has a very specific way of messing with people-pleasing perfectionists.

We start the year with big intentions—this will be the year we exercise, sleep, get our notes done, take better care of ourselves. And then… reality hits.
Clinic runs late. Staffing falls apart. The inbox explodes.

And somehow, we decide we are the problem.

In this episode, I want you to hear this clearly: you are not failing.
You’re just missing one skill—and it’s a skill you can absolutely learn.

Today, we talk about the one practice that quietly changes everything: learning to delight yourself, and tolerating the discomfort that comes with not meeting everyone else’s needs.

We break this down in a very physician-appropriate way (yes, there’s a 2×2 matrix), and we name the trap so many of us are stuck in: delighting everyone else while constantly disappointing ourselves.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why people-pleasing perfectionists feel ambushed every January
• How medical training wires us for struggle, sacrifice, and self-criticism
• The hidden cost of constantly trying to undo other people’s disappointment
• The 2×2 “delight vs. disappoint” matrix—and where physicians get stuck
• Why delighting yourself feels like disappointing others (even when it isn’t)
• How practicing delight expands your bandwidth, generosity, and effectiveness
• Simple, everyday ways to practice savoring—not scrolling
• Why leaving a job or changing circumstances isn’t enough without this skill

This is not about indulgence.
It’s not about checking out or caring less.

It’s about learning to take care of yourself without abandoning the people you care about—and without abandoning yourself.

Your invitation this week:

Choose five small sources of delight already in your life.
Notice them. Savor them. Practice letting them count.

That’s the skill.
And it changes far more than you think.

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

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You don’t need a brand-new personality this year.
You don’t need kale, CrossFit, or a personality transplant on January 1st.

What you do need are a few small, intentional tweaks—decisions that actually respect the life you’re living and the woman you already are.

In this episode, we’re officially past the “New Year, New You” nonsense and back in real life. And from that grounded place, I’m sharing 10 tweaks I’m committing to for 2026—not as rules, not as resolutions, but as lived practices that protect energy, reclaim time, and make space for delight.

This list is personal.
It’s also wildly transferable.

As you listen, I want you asking:
“Which one of these is mine?”

In this episode, we talk about:

• Why protecting your energy isn’t selfish—it’s survival (and leadership)
• How taking care of yourself is taking care of others (yes, even in medicine)
• Why waiting to meet your own needs is a fast track to burnout
• How to master your time without doing everything yourself
• Knowing when and where to speak your mind (and where not to)
• Saying no without over-explaining or apologizing
• Why delight is not frivolous—it’s fuel
• How questioning your assumptions quietly changes everything
• The power of retiring unnecessary apologies
• What it really means to detach from medicine—mentally and physically

This is not about becoming someone else in 2026.
It’s about becoming more you, with better boundaries, more joy, and fewer open tabs in your brain.

Your invitation:

• Steal this list.
• Adapt it.
• Make your own.
• Choose one tweak and practice it this week.

If you want support doing this work—figuring out how to protect your energy, reclaim your time, and show up as yourself again—I’d love to help.
You can reach me at megan@healthierforgood.com, check out my website (www.healthierforgood.com) or schedule at https://calendly.com/healthierforgood/coaching-discovery-call

And if this episode resonated, please:

• Leave a rating and a written review (both matter)
• Share this episode with a physician who needs it

We don’t make change alone.
We pass it on.

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

Send us Fan Mail

Rewriting the “New Year, New You” Narrative

New Year’s can be a surprisingly difficult time, especially for women physicians who already carry a heavy load of responsibility, perfectionism, and self-judgment.

In this episode, I explore why the familiar “New Year, New You” energy so often leaves us feeling discouraged rather than renewed, and offer a more compassionate, sustainable way to reflect and move forward.

Instead of trying to wipe the slate clean or fix what feels broken, I invite you to think about your life as a story told in chapters; with you as the hero.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Why New Year’s resolutions often amplify feelings of lack and failure
• How “magical thinking” keeps us stuck instead of supported
• An alternative framework to reflect: viewing your life as a novel with chapters
• Common chapters many women physicians move through (training, parenting, burnout, transition, diagnosis, change)
• What shifts when you see yourself as the hero of your own story
• A simple reflective exercise to reframe the past year with more compassion
• Why it’s okay, and often necessary, to ask for support in the chapter you’re in

As Jeff Moore reminds us:
“You wouldn’t quit a show or a book just because the character hit a low point. You’d lean in to see how they rise.”

This episode is an invitation to do the same for yourself.

Ready for support?

If you’re tired of doing this reflection work alone and want help navigating the chapter you’re in with more clarity, self-compassion, and intention, I’d love to talk with you.

• Learn more about 1:1 coaching: www.healthierforgood.com
• Or email me directly: megan@healthierforgood.com

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

Send us Fan Mail

You get asked questions all day long.

By patients. By staff. By your family. By the system.

But when was the last time you asked yourself a question that actually helped?

In this final week of our 10-week Recharge Challenge, we’re talking about one of the most overlooked (and powerful) stress-reduction tools you already have: better questions.

Not the stuck, spiraling ones:

• Why is this happening to me?
• What now?!
• How am I supposed to manage all of this?

Those aren’t really questions. They’re expressions of overwhelm.

This episode is about learning how to ask questions that create movement instead of paralysis, clarity instead of self-blame, and agency instead of burnout.

As physicians, curiosity is our superpower. We use it expertly with our patients—but we rarely turn it inward. This week is about changing that.

We reflect on:

• Why unanswerable questions keep us stuck
• How asking better questions helps you interrupt autopilot and conditioned overworking
• Why this is not about blaming yourself or ignoring systemic problems
• How small, daily check-ins can fundamentally change how you experience your life and work

This isn’t about fixing healthcare overnight.
It’s about giving yourself back some power today.

🔑 The Core Practice This Week
Start asking questions that:

• You can actually answer
• Help you understand your thoughts and feelings
• Reveal unmet needs and misalignment
• Open the door to self-compassion and change

You don’t need to ask all of them.
You just need to start asking some—consistently.

📝 Reflection Questions from the Episode
(Bookmark these. Screenshot them. Come back to them often.)

• What am I feeling right now?
• What thoughts are creating this feeling?
• What do I need right now?
• What are my top three values in this season of life?
• Am I living in alignment with those values?
• What is getting in the way?
• What is true right now?
• If I had more time, what would I do—and is that actually true?
• Who do I want to be here?
• Where am I not being honest with myself?
• Where am I not being honest with someone important in my life?
• What is meaningful to me?
• What brings me joy?
• What is one thing I will do for myself today?
• What was hard today?
• What was good today?
• What am I proud of today?
• What will I celebrate today?

If you want a simple daily practice, start with the last three.
That alone can change everything.

Let's Connect

Need more support? Schedule a coaching consultation at https://calendly.com/healthierforgood/coaching-discovery-call

Connect with us:

• Website: healthierforgood.com
• Email: megan@healthierforgood.com
• Instagram: @meganmelomd

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review and share with a colleague who might benefit!

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

Send us Fan Mail

What do you need more of right now?

Your brain will say: time, sleep, money, peace on earth, a functioning Epic inbox. Fair.

But this week, we’re naming the thing that quietly drives everything else: connection.

Not “more people.” Not “more social plans.”
More moments where you actually feel connected—to your people, to your purpose, and to yourself.

Because you can be surrounded all day (patients, staff, family) and still feel… nothing. Or worse: irritated, numb, braced, and already mentally leaving the room while your body is still sitting there.

This episode is a gentle—but very real—invitation to come back.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Why connection is often the missing ingredient for stressed, high-functioning women physicians
• The difference between being around people and feeling connected
• The secret ingredient you can’t skip: presence
• How to recognize what connection feels like in your body (not someone else’s Pinterest version)
• Three kinds of connection to practice this week:
  1. Connection to other humans
  2. Connection to a cause/passion
  3. Connection to yourself
• The hard truth: if connection feels totally inaccessible right now, that’s not a character flaw—it’s a signal you need support

Your Week 9 Challenge: Micro Moments of Connection

Pick one focus area this week—don’t do all three unless you genuinely want to.

1. Connection to other humans

Try one “micro moment” per day:

• Put the phone down, face someone, make eye contact
• Give a real hug (not the drive-by shoulder bump)
• Share one honest sentence instead of your highlight reel

• Be fully there for 60 seconds (yes, even at the dinner table)

• Connection to a cause or passion

If connection with people feels like… a lot right now, connect to something that matters:

• Contribute, participate, show up, or simply remember why you care

• Let your work link you to meaning (even if the system is a mess)

• Connection to yourself

This one is underrated—and powerful:

• Notice your self-talk: is it kind, or is it a hostile attending who never goes off service?
• Try a few minutes of journaling, stillness, prayer, meditation, or a walk with no input
• Choose one moment where you stop abandoning yourself

A quick reflection (do this right now)
Think of a time you felt genuinely connected.
Ask:

• What did that feel like in my body?
• What thoughts were present?
• What made that moment possible?

Then choose your tiny practice for the week.

Because connection isn’t a grand gesture.
It’s a repeatable skill.

You’re not behind
If you’re joining mid-challenge, welcome. You can start here and still benefit immediately. And if you want the full sequence, go back to Episode 200 (Oct 28, 2025) and catch the earlier weeks.

Next up: We’re almost at the end of the 10-week Recharge Challenge. Stay with us.

Let's Connect

Need more support? Schedule a coaching consultation at https://calendly.com/healthierforgood/coaching-discovery-call

Connect with us:

• Website: healthierforgood.com
• Email: megan@healthierforgood.com
• Instagram: @meganmelomd

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review and share with a colleague who might benefit!

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

Send us Fan Mail

Let’s be honest: when you’re exhausted, under-resourced, and working in a system that keeps asking for more… gratitude can feel like a stretch.

In this episode, we’re talking about gratitude—but not the fluffy, bypass-y kind that tells you to “just be thankful” while everything burns down. We’re talking about real gratitude: the kind that helps regulate your nervous system, protect your mental health, and increase resilience without denying how hard things are.

If you’ve ever had a patient thank you—and felt nothing but resentment, numbness, or exhaustion—this episode is for you.

In this episode, we explore

• Why gratitude is not the same as toxic positivity
• How burnout can make it impossible to receive gratitude—even when it’s offered
• The thought–feeling–action loop and how gratitude fits into it
• Why forced gratitude doesn’t work (and what does)
• How small, honest gratitude practices can reduce stress physiology
• The science linking gratitude to better mental health, cardiovascular outcomes, and even longevity
• Why gratitude works best when layered with sleep, rest, movement, nutrition, and boundaries

We also talk about what to do if you’re too burned out for gratitude—and why that’s not a personal failure.

The science we reference:

• https://clinmedjournals.org/articles/ijda/international-journal-of-depression-and-anxiety-ijda-4-024.php?jid=ijda
• https://www.uclahealth.org/news/article/health-benefits-gratitude
• https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2820770
• https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/gratitude-enhances-health-brings-happiness-and-may-even-lengthen-lives-202409113071

This episode is part of our 10-Week Stress Reduction Challenge for Women Physicians—and this week’s focus is learning how to experience gratitude in a way that actually supports your health.

🎧 Listen in, then ask yourself:
here could a little more honest gratitude make my day feel lighter—without asking me to pretend?

Let's Connect

Need more support? Schedule a coaching consultation at https://calendly.com/healthierforgood/coaching-discovery-call

Connect with us:

• Website: healthierforgood.com
• Email: megan@healthierforgood.com
• Instagram: @meganmelomd

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review and share with a colleague who might benefit!

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

Send us Fan Mail

What if the best medicine you take this week doesn’t come in a bottle, a supplement, a perfectly periodized strength program, or a color-coded workout app… but from simply moving your body the way it was designed to move?

In this week’s episode of Ending Physician Overwhelm, we’re looking at rhythmic movement — walking, running, swimming, biking, anything repetitive and steady — and why it is one of the most powerful, accessible stress-reducers we have.

And yes… we’re talking real stress reduction.
Not “go for a walk because it’s good for you.”
Not “steps are important.”
We’re talking:

✨ Actual telomere protection
✨ Improved cellular resilience
✨ Better cognitive processing & creativity
✨ Nervous system regulation
✨ The kind of mental clarity you cannot get staring at a computer

If you’ve ever wondered why your best thinking happens on a walk (and never while screaming at your inbox), this episode breaks it all down.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why rhythmic movement has measurable effects on telomerase and telomere length
The Telomere Effect highlights two specific kinds of exercise that protect your DNA: moderate aerobic movement and HIIT. The surprise? Strength training did not have the same effect — which doesn’t mean “don’t lift,” it just means rhythmic movement deserves its own spotlight.

• Movement as meditation (even if you’re listening to a podcast or audiobook)
Your brain needs space to think its own thoughts — unstructured, uninterrupted time that no number of productivity apps can replicate. Rhythmic movement is one of the easiest ways to access that state.

• Why physicians need mindful motion more than ever
Between the broken healthcare system, endless inbox escalation, and policy shifts that directly impact our patients… our bodies are absorbing far more stress than we realize. Movement helps metabolize what can’t be solved.

• How rhythmic movement stimulates autophagy & cellular cleanup
When you move rhythmically, you activate AMPK and other repair pathways that make your cells more efficient, more resilient, and frankly… younger.

• Practical, zero-perfection ways to start
You don’t need to run. You don’t need to sweat. You don’t need special leggings.
You need:
10 minutes.
A door.
Your body.
Repeat.

If you’re following the 10-Week Stress Reduction Challenge…

Here’s where we are:
Week 1 → Yoga Nidra
Week 2 → Greens
Week 3 → Breath
Week 4 → Sleep
Week 5 → Laughter + Play
Week 6 → Berries
Week 7 → Rhythmic Movement

Layer this on top of your other practices — gently, imperfectly.
Every little nudge you give your nervous system matters.

Resources Mentioned

• The Telomere Effect — available through Megan’s Bookshop.org page (not Amazon 🙏): https://bookshop.org/shop/meganmelo
• Episode 200 — Kickoff for the 10-Week Recharge Challenge

Let's Connect

Need more support? Schedule a coaching consultation at https://calendly.com/healthierforgood/coaching-discovery-call

Connect with us:

• Website: healthierforgood.com
• Email: megan@healthierforgood.com
• Instagram: @meganmelomd

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review and share with a colleague who might benefit!

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

Send us Fan Mail

Berry Good Medicine
Ending Physician Overwhelm – Episode 205

This week we’re diving into one of the easiest, most delicious ways to lower stress and protect your health as a women physician: berries. Yes… berries.
No, they won’t fix the existential dread of your overflowing inbox, but they will equip your brain and body to handle the demands of physician life with more ease, more resilience, and more energy.

In Week 6 of our 10-Week Recharge Challenge we’re focusing on how berries help reduce oxidative stress, improve endothelial function, support cognitive performance, lower LDL, reduce inflammation, and literally protect your telomeres. (Translation: they help you age well despite the dumpster fire of modern medicine.)

Inside this episode we explore:

• Why berries outperform apples, bananas, and mangoes on anti-inflammatory scales (by a landslide)
• The surprisingly robust research on berries and heart health, cognition, joint inflammation, and blood pressure
• How berries can support metabolic health when chronic stress, cortisol, and irregular schedules work against us
• Why separating dairy from your antioxidants helps you get the full benefit (no shame—just physiology)
• Easy ways to get more berries into your day, no perfectionism required
• How this week fits into the broader arc of yoga nidra → greens → breath → sleep → laughter → berries

We’re not aiming for perfect. We’re aiming for better—one small intentional practice at a time.
You deserve a body and brain that feel supported, not just squeezed for output.

✨ Browse the books mentioned in this challenge:
How Not to Age and The Telomere Effect on my Bookshop page:
👉 https://bookshop.org/shop/meganmelo

✨ If you’re joining us mid-challenge, start at Episode 200 (Oct 28th)—no behind, no guilt.

Let’s eat some berries, protect this incredible physician body of yours, and keep going.

Let's Connect

Need more support? Schedule a coaching consultation at https://calendly.com/healthierforgood/coaching-discovery-call

Connect with us:

• Website: healthierforgood.com
• Email: megan@healthierforgood.com
• Instagram: @meganmelomd

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review and share with a colleague who might benefit!

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

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When was the last time you laughed so hard you lost control?
Not the polite workplace chuckle. Not the “ha-ha-that’s-funny” text response.
I mean full-body, shoulders-shaking, snort-laughing, tears-in-your-eyes, I-might-pee-a-little laughter.

…Yeah.
If you can’t remember, you are exactly who this week is for.

In Week 5 of the 10-Week Recharge Challenge, we’re talking about one of the most overlooked, most physiologic, and most delightfully human tools we have against burnout and cellular stress:

👉 Laughter and play.

Yes, intentional laughter counts.
Yes, even if it feels weird.
Yes, even if your brain says, “I don’t have time for this—I have charts.”

This week, we explore:

Laughter is literal medicine

• Lowers cortisol
• Improves cardiac output, stroke volume, and oxygen delivery
• Supports immune function in conditions ranging from cancer recovery to rheumatoid arthritis
• Positively impacts mood, subjective well-being, and stress resilience

Your body doesn’t care if the laughter is “fake”

Laughter yoga—yes, it’s a real thing—has measurable health benefits even when your brain doesn’t think anything is funny. Your nervous system responds anyway.

Physicians who laugh the least get the most benefit

Studies show that the people who start out the most laughter-deprived have the biggest gains. (Hi, it’s us. We’re the people.)

This week’s challenge practice

Laugh or play—every day.
Two minutes is enough.
More if you want it.
Joy is a muscle.
We are training it.

Resources Mentioned

• Laughter Yoga Worldwide
• Instructional Laughter Yoga videos (check the VIP Challenge portal)
• The Gifts of Imperfection — Brené Brown
• Dr. Stuart Brown’s research on play
• Prior weeks of the Recharge Challenge: Yoga Nidra, Breathwork, Greens, Sleep
• Join the VIP Challenge for curated weekly support → healthierforgood.com

If you’re just finding the challenge now…

Start here.
Or go back to Episode 200 (Oct 28, 2025).
Or join the VIP Challenge and get every week’s tools laid out for you.

There’s no “behind” in this challenge.
There’s only today.
And today, my friend, we play.

Let's Connect

Need more support? Schedule a coaching consultation at https://calendly.com/healthierforgood/coaching-discovery-call

Connect with us:

• Website: healthierforgood.com
• Email: megan@healthierforgood.com
• Instagram: @meganmelomd

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review and share with a colleague who might benefit!

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

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You don’t have “insomnia.”
You have too much on your mind, too much on your plate, and a healthcare system that treats your sleep like an optional hobby.

In this episode of Ending Physician Overwhelm, we’re diving into sleep as a radical act of self-preservation for physicians. This is Week 4 of the 10-Week Recharge Challenge, and we’re getting honest about why you’re not sleeping—and what you can actually do about it.

We’ll talk about:

• 🧠 “Too-much-on-my-mind-ia” vs true insomnia
  Why most of us don’t have a broken sleep system, we have an overloaded brain, revenge bedtime procrastination, and zero wind-down time.
• 🏥 The real physician sleep blockers
  Call schedules, overnight shifts, EMR inboxes, moral injury, perimenopause, kids, partners, pets, and the culture that tells you to just “push through.”
• 🧬 What chronic sleep loss is doing under the hood
  How poor sleep shows up in your telomeres, metabolic health, inflammation, mood, and decision-making (yes, even when you think you’re “used to it”).
• 🧡 Seasons vs systems
  When sleep disruption is a season (new baby, illness, training)… and when it’s a system problem that may require rethinking your role, boundaries, or schedule.
• 🛏️ What you can control right now
  Small but powerful shifts in:
  • Bedtime behaviors (no more Epic in bed)
  • Wind-down routines (hello, Yoga Nidra)
  • Thoughts about sleep (CBT-i and MBT-i style ideas)
  • Boundary-setting with other humans in your life
• 🧘 How the Recharge habits stack together
  • Week 1: Yoga Nidra → deep rest and nervous system downshift
  • Week 2: Greens → cellular repair, telomeres, metabolic support
  • Week 3: Breath → portable calm under pressure
  • Week 4: Sleep → the foundation that makes everything else work

This episode is your invitation to stop treating sleep like a “nice-to-have” and start seeing it as clinical necessity — for your patients, your people, and your own humanity.

👉 If you want more support applying this in real life, make sure you’re on my email list so you don’t miss future challenge updates, stories, and tools for women physicians who are done sacrificing themselves to the system.

Let's Connect

Need more support? Schedule a coaching consultation at https://calendly.com/healthierforgood/coaching-discovery-call

Connect with us:

• Website: healthierforgood.com
• Email: megan@healthierforgood.com
• Instagram: @meganmelomd

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review and share with a colleague who might benefit!

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

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You’ve been told to “just take a deep breath” more times than you can count.
Usually by someone who doesn’t realize you’ve been holding your breath since pre-med.

This week on Ending Physician Overwhelm, we’re talking about something deceptively simple — breathing. Not the kind of “calm down” breath that makes you want to throw a stethoscope, but intentional, physiologic breathing that actually changes your body chemistry.

In Week 3 of the 10-Week Recharge Challenge, we’re taking a minute (literally, one minute) to breathe — on purpose. Because even when the world doesn’t give you space, your breath can.

In this episode, we’ll explore:
🫁 Why most of us are over-breathing and under-resting — and how to fix that
⏱️ A one-minute breathing practice that resets your nervous system (no mat, no app, no drama)
📚 What the research (and the book Breath by James Nestor) reveals about how our modern lives have changed how we breathe
🧠 How intentional breathing retrains your brain to recognize safety — and why that matters in burnout recovery

You’ll finish this episode feeling calmer, clearer, and ready to reclaim your next inhale.

🎧 Listen now, and then try the practice right where you are — standing in line, sitting in your car, walking into a patient room.

👉 Join the 10-Week Recharge Challenge for Women Physicians — where we’re layering micro-habits to unwind the stress you’ve been carrying for years.

📚 Curious to go deeper? Find Breath and other favorites in my Bookshop collection.

Next week: we’ll keep building on these habits as we explore how movement reconnects us to ourselves — even when we’re tired, busy, and a little skeptical.

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

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This week, we’re getting a little leafy. In Week 2 of our 10-Week Recharge Challenge, we’re focusing on feeding your cells from the inside out. No, you don’t need to become a kale evangelist — but yes, your mitochondria are begging you for some help.

As physicians, we’ve been trained to care for everyone else first. We run on caffeine, cortisol, and guilt, and we convince ourselves that “real” self-care can wait until the inbox is empty. But your body isn’t a machine — it’s an ecosystem. And if you’ve been running it on fumes, it’s time to replenish the soil.

In this episode, we’ll talk about:
🌿 Why cruciferous veggies (like broccoli and kale) literally boost your immune defense and repair gut lining
🧬 How greens increase nitric oxide, improving blood flow, brain clarity, and energy
🩸 The connection between greens, telomere repair, and cellular aging
🥗 The habit science of “I’m someone who takes care of myself”
🍃 Simple ways to get more greens into your day (no perfectionism required)

Join the 10-Week Recharge Challenge for Women Physicians and get curated weekly resources — recipes, guides, and accountability — to make these habits stick.

👉 Join the VIP Challenge for $49

Mentioned in this Episode:

• The Telomere Effect by Elizabeth Blackburn & Elissa Epel
• Yoga Nidra practice (see Week 1)
• Broccoli sprouts (tiny but mighty!)

Next Week: We’ll explore breathwork — your built-in stress reset button.

Let's Connect

Need more support? Schedule a coaching consultation at https://calendly.com/healthierforgood/coaching-discovery-call

Connect with us:

• Website: healthierforgood.com
• Email: megan@healthierforgood.com
• Instagram: @meganmelomd

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review and share with a colleague who might benefit!

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

Send us a text

Hey friend — can we talk about the badge of busyness for a minute?
That invisible medal we wear to prove our worth?

In medicine, we’ve turned endurance into identity. We work through exhaustion, chart through dinner, and treat rest like a reward we haven’t quite earned. But that constant hustle for worthiness isn’t just costing us our joy — it’s literally aging us faster.

In this 200th episode of Ending Physician Overwhelm, we’re diving into the science of stress, telomeres, and how chronic overload is changing our bodies — and more importantly, how we can start to change it back.

You’ll learn:

• Why the “cortisol swamp” of modern medicine is eroding our health and energy
• How telomeres hold the key to cellular aging (and why chronic stress shortens them)
• What’s changed in medicine that keeps our responsibility high but our control low
• How to stop blaming yourself for existing in chronic stress — and start paying down your “stress debt”

And, we’re kicking off the 10-Week Recharge Challenge — a series of small, science-backed weekly practices to help you lower stress and rebuild energy.

This week’s focus: Yoga Nidra — the guided “yogic sleep” practice proven to decrease cortisol and improve rest.

Because feeling better isn’t a luxury. It’s your prescription for longevity, clarity, and peace.

👉 Join the free challenge by listening to the episode or upgrade to VIP for curated Yoga Nidra resources and reminders:

https://www.healthierforgood.com/the-10-week-recharge-challenge-for-women-physicians

📚 Mentioned in this episode:

• The Telomere Effect by Elizabeth Blackburn & Elissa Epel (Buy it here at bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/110729/9781455587971)
• Episode 12 of “Ending Physician Overwhelm” with guest Dr. Rashmi Schramm on Yoga Nidra (and go listen to Dr Schramm’s podcast “Inner Peace and Power”

You are not alone. You are not broken. And you are so much more capable than you realize.

Let's Connect

Need more support? Schedule a coaching consultation at https://calendly.com/healthierforgood/coaching-discovery-call

Connect with us:

• Website: healthierforgood.com
• Email: megan@healthierforgood.com
• Instagram: @meganmelomd

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review and share with a colleague who might benefit!

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

Send us a text

You're Not Broken. You're Just in a Broken System.
After four years of coaching women physicians, I've noticed patterns; patterns that show up again and again in brilliant, capable doctors who feel like they're barely holding it together.

If you've ever felt like a hot mess inside while everyone thinks you have it all figured out, this episode is for you.

What You'll Discover in This Episode:
1. We all feel like hot messes inside You think it's just you who's struggling to thrive in healthcare. It's not. Every woman physician I've coached feels this way. The problem isn't you; it's the system. But this belief keeps us isolated, thinking we're the only ones falling apart.

2. We're all carrying trauma (even if we don't see it) Migraines. Panic attacks. That third glass of wine. Emotional numbness. These aren't character flaws; they're trauma responses. Our bodies weren't designed to hold this much stress for this long.

3. We think we "should" know how to take care of ourselves. Here's the truth bomb: You were never taught self-care. You were taught self-sacrifice. Stop that sentence in your head that says "I'm a doctor, I should know better." Knowing medical facts doesn't mean you know how to care for yourself.

4. The system doesn't value your unique gifts You have patients who say "I never want to see anyone else." You make a real difference. But the system treats you like a widget. When you don't fit in their box, you internalize the message that you're not valuable. That thought is killing us.

5. We get in our own way "Who I am isn't enough. What I want doesn't matter. I need to be better before I deserve what I want." Sound familiar? This belief is the biggest stumbling block keeping you stuck.

6. We won't set boundaries until we believe in our own value You think you have to prove your worth first, then you'll deserve boundaries. But that day never comes. The system profits from your lack of boundaries. You have to believe in your value NOW to set them.

7. We think there's ONE right way to do everything Medical training taught us to look for the algorithm, the evidence, the one best answer. So we keep searching for the perfect planner, the ideal system, the magic app. Meanwhile, we take no action at all. The best system is the one that works for YOU.

8. Change is uncomfortable—and we hate that You can rewire yourself. You can set boundaries. You can take better care of yourself. But it requires time you don't think you have and attention you don't think you have. Growth feels awkward. That's how you know it's working.

9. The answer isn't out there. It's in here. I know you want a hack, an app, a planner that will fix everything. But no external system will replace doing your own internal work. You need tools and support, yes—but you have to do the work yourself.

10. The doctors crushing it aren't doing it alone They hire help. They delegate. They're in communities. They have support systems you can't see. You only see what they're doing—not all the things they're NOT doing and not the he

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

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What if you gave yourself permission to dream bigger?
We spend so much time answering questions about our patients, our practice, our responsibilities. But when was the last time someone asked you questions just about you? Not you as a physician. Not you as a professional. Just... you.

In this episode, we're doing something different. I'm inviting you to sit down with me—imagine we're in a cozy space, maybe sipping something warm—and explore seven powerful questions together. These aren't clinical questions or administrative puzzles. These are the kind of questions that crack open possibilities you didn't know existed.

Why this matters now
Recently, I attended a celebration of life for a neighbor who died far too young. Her wife, a physician, shared how cardiovascular disease took her suddenly. As I sat there, I couldn't help but think about how we spend our time, what we prioritize, and whether we're living in alignment with what truly matters to us.

We're so practiced at ignoring our own desires, our own needs, our own dreams. We've been trained to see self-care as selfish and ambition as ego. But what if that's exactly backwards?

How to use this episode
This isn't a typical listen-and-forget episode. I want you to actually engage with these questions. You can:

• Speak your answers out loud in the car
• Journal through them in a quiet moment
• Discuss them with a trusted friend
• Schedule a call with me to explore them together

The magic happens when you let yourself answer honestly, without judgment, without immediately jumping to "but that's not practical."

The Seven "What If" Questions

1. What if I didn't need to make any money? How would you spend your time if income wasn't a factor? This opens up what you'd choose versus what you feel obligated to do.
2. What if I couldn't fail? What would you attempt if success was guaranteed? This reveals the desires you're holding back because of fear.
3. What if I chose to love myself more? How would your daily choices change if you treated yourself with the same unconditional love you give others?
4. What if I knew when I was going to die? Would you spend this much time at work? Would you over-perfect everything? This question cuts through to what you don't want to regret.
5. What if I believed their actions? Whether it's believing when people show they don't value you, or when they show they genuinely want to help—what would change?
6. What if only my desires mattered? Not to ignore others, but to remove the external noise and hear what you actually want. You're not the only solution for your patients, even though they've told you that you are.
7. What if I chose to keep it easy? What if you didn't make everything so complicated, so perfect, so systematic? How would that simplify your decisions?

The exercise that changes everything
I challenge you to pick just one of these questions and let yourself really sit with it this week. Don't rush to the practical answer. Don't i

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

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How to keep showing up when the system keeps breaking down

Recording from my car today because perfectionism can take a back seat - we've got more important things to talk about.

Let's not sugarcoat this: Healthcare is a dumpster fire right now. Between government officials spreading vaccine misinformation, declining reimbursements, inadequate staffing, and the general chaos of October 2025, you have every reason to feel cynical.

But here's what we're NOT going to do: We're not going to gaslight ourselves into pretending everything's fine. And we're also not going to drown in cynicism.

What You'll Learn:

• Why cynicism is a protective mechanism (and why it backfires)
• The critical difference between cynicism and clear-eyed realism
• How to set boundaries without abandoning your patients or yourself
• Where to put your limited energy when everything feels like a five-alarm fire
• Why "doing less" isn't failure - it's survival

The Truth About Cynicism: Cynicism tells you: "If I expect nothing, I can't be disappointed." But you know what? You're still getting hurt. You're just getting hurt while also becoming passive, disengaged, and spreading negativity to everyone around you.

Clear-Eyed Realism Says:

• The system is broken AND I choose how I respond
• I can't fix everything AND I can decide what's worth my energy
• I'm under-resourced AND I won't compromise patient safety
• Things are hard AND I deserve to take care of myself

Your Reality Check: When you're short-staffed and expected to maintain full productivity, something has to give. You're not making up for systemic failures with your personal exhaustion. That's not noble - it's unsustainable.

Bottom Line: You're not broken. The system is. Your job is to decide how you'll navigate that reality without sacrificing your humanity in the process.

Let's Connect

Need more support? Schedule a coaching consultation at https://calendly.com/healthierforgood/coaching-discovery-call

Connect with us:

• Website: healthierforgood.com
• Email: megan@healthierforgood.com
• Instagram: @meganmelomd

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review and share with a colleague who might benefit!

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

Send us a text

The question that reveals everything about why you're stuck (and how to get unstuck)

Before we dive in, I want you to do something. Right now, finish this sentence: "If I had more help, I'd..." Don't filter it. Don't edit it. Just let your brain complete that thought.

What came up for you? Was it "see more patients" or "finally start that exercise routine"? The answer reveals more about your relationship with help than you might realize.

What You'll Learn:

• Why women physicians are systematically under-resourced (and why acknowledging this matters)
• The stories we tell ourselves about help that keep us stuck
• How to distinguish between task help and cognitive load relief
• The difference between "done" and "done perfectly" (and why it matters)
• Practical strategies to reduce mental load without micromanaging

Key Insights:

• If your story is "more help means more work," you'll never accept help
• Most of us are already doing more work than we're given credit for
• Clear expectations aren't micromanaging - they're essential for actual support
• Cognitive load often weighs more than actual tasks

The Reality Check: You walk around with an instruction manual in your head for everything. Other people don't have access to that manual. The gap between what you expect and what others deliver isn't about their incompetence - it's about unclear communication.

Your Action Step: Identify one area where you need help, then get specific about what "done" actually looks like. Not perfect - just done.

Let's Connect

Need more support? Schedule a coaching consultation at https://calendly.com/healthierforgood/coaching-discovery-call

Connect with us:

• Website: healthierforgood.com
• Email: megan@healthierforgood.com
• Instagram: @meganmelomd

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review and share with a colleague who might benefit!

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

Send us a text

When you're stuck in a grumpy spiral and can't seem to shake it off

We've all been there - that Sunday afternoon where everything feels irritating, you're snapping at people you love, and you just can't seem to pull yourself out of the funk. This week, I'm sharing the exact process I used to work through my own "petty pity party" and how you can use these same tools when you're feeling stuck.

What You'll Learn:

• Why naming your emotions out loud is so powerful (and why "hormonal" totally counts as a feeling)
• The three-step process to move from stuck to unstuck: Name it, dump it, decide about it
• How to validate your feelings without staying trapped in them
• Why gratitude works better AFTER you've processed the hard stuff
• The difference between seeking comfort and actually feeling better

Key Takeaways:

• You're allowed to feel irritated, worried, and even petty - you're human
• Separating yourself from your feelings ("I feel mad" vs "I am mad") creates space for choice
• Some feelings deserve your energy; others don't serve you
• Having a process gives you power over your emotional state

The Bottom Line: You don't have to stay stuck in negative emotions, but you also don't have to judge yourself for having them. Sometimes the fastest way out is straight through - with intention.

Let's Connect

Need more support? Schedule a coaching consultation at https://calendly.com/healthierforgood/coaching-discovery-call

Connect with us:

• Website: healthierforgood.com
• Email: megan@healthierforgood.com
• Instagram: @meganmelomd

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review and share with a colleague who might benefit!

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

Send us a text

What are you waiting to give yourself permission to do?

Let me guess. You want to leave work on time. Say no to that extra committee. Cut down your FTE. Set an actual boundary with that colleague who dumps last-minute requests on you.

But you're waiting. Waiting for someone in authority to tell you it's okay. Waiting until you've "earned" enough loyalty points. Waiting until you feel expert enough, senior enough, liked enough.

Here's the hard truth: That permission isn't coming.

The Permission Trap That's Keeping You Stuck
We're brilliant at following rules and understanding hierarchy - it's how we survived medical school and residency. But when it comes to the rest of our lives, we're still constantly seeking permission, even without naming it.

You tell yourself:

• "I don't have enough seniority for that"
• "I haven't proven my worth to the group yet"
• "I don't have the social currency"
• "I'm not expert enough"

But here's what you're missing: The systems benefit from us not having boundaries. There's no world where leadership wakes up and says, "You know what? You've worked hard enough. Here are tickets to Hawaii, and we're canceling all your patients next week."

It's not happening. No amount of good deeds will earn you that outcome.

The Extra Layer for Women in Medicine
As women in medicine, we carry an additional burden. We've been socialized to:

• Feel grateful to be here "alongside the menfolk"
• Apologize frequently and not take up space
• Be team players at the expense of our wellbeing
• Work with inadequate support while being told we're "not being team players" if we object

We're expected to be self-sacrificing, work without boundaries, and do it all for less compensation than our male colleagues.

When your male colleague gets automatic chaperone support for procedures (giving them extra hands), while you're unglowing and regloving alone - that's not coincidence. That's systemic under-resourcing that you've been taught to accept.

What You're Really Afraid Of
Let's name what's underneath this permission-seeking:

Conflict. But conflict is already happening - you're just having it all internally through resentment and exhaustion.

Judgment. Being called "difficult" (raise your hand if you've been there). But you're already judging yourself more harshly than anyone else would.

Being wrong. Like when they tell you, "If you drop your FTE, we can't guarantee you'll ever be able to increase it." My friends, there's always enough work. This is gaslighting and fear-mongering.

Not being "nice." You're afraid of losing your title as the approachable one everyone goes to with questions. But you're worth more than just being nice.

How to Start Giving Yourself Permission
1. Name your needs. What do you actually need? Not what would be nice - what do you NEED? Quiet time, adequate sleep, connection, support, movement. Stop minimizing these as optional.

2. Don't pr

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

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Death by a thousand paper cuts.

You know exactly what I'm talking about. Those small, repetitive frustrations that chip away at your energy every single day. The outdated dot phrase you keep meaning to fix. The cluttered workspace that makes you cringe. The workflow that slows you down every. Single. Time.

We tell ourselves these things shouldn't bother us. That we should have figured this out already. But here's the truth: these nagging tasks are silently draining your energy and undermining your sense of self-efficacy.

The Hidden Cost of "Small" Problems

Think about your last workday. How many times did you encounter something that made you think, "Ugh, I really need to fix this"?

• That template that no longer serves you
• The repetitive task you do the clunky way every time
• The pile of clutter staring at you from your desk
• The to-do list item that keeps getting pushed to next week

Each encounter costs you:

• Time (even 30 seconds adds up)
• Emotional energy (frustration compounds)
• Mental bandwidth (decision fatigue is real)
• Self-confidence (when nothing feels like it gets better)

What You Can Control vs. What You Can't

Yes, some things are beyond your control. Broken hospital equipment, IT system failures, front desk workflow issues – these contribute to burnout, but today we're focusing on what's within your sphere of influence.

At Work:

• Outdated documentation templates
• Inefficient personal workflows
• Workspace organization
• Tasks you repeat multiple times daily

At Home:

• Household organization systems
• Family workflow improvements
• Personal space optimization
• Those projects that never seem to get done

The Momentum Secret

Here's what my husband and I discovered over Labor Day weekend: Success breeds success. When we tackled one small project and celebrated the improvement, we naturally wanted to keep going. That satisfaction of noticing "this is better" creates momentum.

Breaking the "I Don't Deserve Help" Cycle

As women in medicine, we've been socialized to accept under-resourced conditions. While our male colleagues might have chaperoned procedures (extra hands!), we're doing the same procedures solo, ungloving and regloving when we need supplies.

This socialization teaches us:

• We don't deserve help
• We should work harder than everyone else
• Asking for help means we're not capable enough

This stops now.

Your Action Plan

Start Small (10-15 Minutes Weekly)

• Update one dot phrase or template
• Organize one small workspace area
• Streamline one repetitive task
• Delegate one appropriate responsibility

The Teaching Investment

Yes, training others takes initial energy. Whether it's a scribe, medical assistant, or your kids packing their own lunches – the upfront investment pays dividends in reclaimed time and energy.

Celebrate Every Win

When you fix something

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To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Ever wonder why setting boundaries as a physician feels like trying to learn rocket science? You're brilliant, you've mastered complex medical concepts, yet saying "no" to one more request feels impossibly difficult. Here's the truth: You weren't taught how to set boundaries – you were actively trained to sacrifice yourself for others.

The Car Manual Revelation
Picture this: I'm sitting in my new electric car with my tech-savvy 13-year-old, trying to learn the features while driving. He's read the entire manual and is spewing facts about the parking system when all I need to know is where the windshield wiper button is. Sound familiar? That's exactly how most of us approach learning boundaries, self-care, and making our lives easier – we get overwhelmed with information instead of practical, immediately applicable skills.

Why Boundary-Setting Feels Like Medical School All Over Again (But Worse)
As physicians, we survived years of hierarchical learning where we were fed information and tested on facts. But here's what nobody told you: Adult learning is completely different, and understanding these principles is the key to finally mastering boundaries without the overwhelm and burnout.

The 5 Adult Learning Principles That Will Transform Your Boundary Practice:

1. Internal Motivation (Not External Pressure)

You need crystal-clear reasons WHY you're setting boundaries. When that email request comes in asking you to take on "just one more thing," you better know exactly why you're saying no:

• "I need space to exist in my own life"
• "I cannot add anything more without drowning"
• "This isn't my responsibility at my licensure level"

Without internal motivation, you'll cave every time. The overwhelm will win.

2. Relevance (Immediately Applicable)

Forget reading 10 books about boundary theory. You need to practice saying no to the next request that comes your way – even if it's small. That salesperson pushing you to "just sign here"? Perfect boundary practice. You don't need to wait for the "perfect" boundary moment.

3. Experience (Hands-On Practice)

You cannot learn boundaries from lectures about boundaries. You learn by feeling the discomfort of saying no and sitting with it. You learn by disappointing someone and discovering you both survive. You practice in low-stakes situations so you're ready for the high-stakes physician overwhelm moments.

4. Task-Oriented (Not Information Overload)

Stop consuming more boundary content and START practicing. Learn to do, then do more, then learn more. The physician who practices setting one small boundary daily will master this skill faster than the one who attends every wellness CME but never says no.

5. Self-Directed (With Strategic Accountability)

You're used to being accountable to everyone – patients, bosses, colleagues. Now you need to be accountable to yourself. This is where external support (like coaching) becomes crucial for breaking the physician burnout cycle.

The Truth About Physician Overwhelm

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Welcome back to Ending Physician Overwhelm! As we head into the last week of August 2025 and prepare for back-to-school season, it's time to think about something we do constantly as physicians: learning.

The Evolution of Medical Learning

You've been a professional learner your entire career. Medical school, residency, fellowship, boards, CME requirements - you've mastered the art of absorbing information and passing tests. But here's the question that might change everything: Who are you actually learning from?

If you're like most of us who trained in the early 2000s, your medical education came primarily from older white men reading the same traditional journals and following conventional pathways. While this wasn't inherently wrong, it created a narrow lens that may no longer serve you - or your patients.

Breaking Out of Traditional Learning Boxes

As medicine evolves, so should your sources of knowledge. Whether you're exploring:

• Obesity medicine (where traditional training left massive gaps)
• Menopause care (practically non-existent in most curricula thanks to the WHI study fallout)
• Lifestyle medicine approaches
• New practice models that prioritize patient connection

You need voices that reflect the reality of modern healthcare delivery, not just academic theory.

The Current Medical Learning Landscape

Here's what's happening right now that affects how you learn:

Traditional resources are under threat: With political forces dismantling institutions like ACIP and creating uncertainty around CDC guidance, you're losing historically reliable sources of information.

AI is changing everything: Your residents and students are using AI tools that you may not fully understand, yet you're expected to guide them safely through this new landscape.

Diversity of voices matters: The patients you serve come from all backgrounds - shouldn't your teachers reflect that diversity too?

Finding Your New Learning Path

Ask yourself these critical questions:

• Who is doing the work the way you want to do it?
• Are you open to being challenged and learning new approaches?
• Can you unlearn outdated information that's no longer serving your patients?
• How will you vet new sources of information in an era of compromised traditional resources?

Practical Steps for Better Learning

Seek out practitioners who:

• Are actively treating patients (not just publishing papers)
• Offer practical, real-world applications
• Discuss the full picture including costs, side effects, and patient experience
• Challenge traditional approaches with evidence-based alternatives

Consider learning formats beyond traditional CME:

• Podcasts from practicing physicians
• Courses from specialists doing the work
• Mentorship from independent practitioners
• Books and resources from diverse voices in medicine

The Power

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Last week, we talked about the toxic assumptions that make everything worse when crisis hits. This week, we're diving into what to actually DO instead - because bad things will happen in your medical career, but they don't have to destroy you in the process.

The Framework That Changes Everything

When something goes catastrophically wrong - termination, disciplinary action, devastating outcome - you need a different approach than the self-blame spiral you've been trained to default to. Here's the four-step framework that actually works:

Step 1: Allow the Emotions (Yes, Really)

Before you do anything else, you need to let yourself be human. What are you actually feeling? Angry? Sad? Scared? Guilty? Responsible? Devastated?

Can you name it? Can you feel where it sits in your body?

We're so afraid of the discomfort of emotions that we immediately try to push them away, judge ourselves for having them, or pretend they don't exist. But here's the truth: you have feelings because you're human, not because you're weak.

Caveat: Obviously, if there's something urgent that needs your immediate attention (like a code situation), handle that first. But most of the time, you have space to feel your feelings before jumping into action.

Get yourself an emotions wheel if you need to. There are dozens of feeling words beyond "fine" and "stressed." The research shows that when you can name and label emotions (affect labeling), it actually helps you move through them instead of getting stuck in them.

Step 2: Explore What's Here to Learn (Without Self-Hatred)

There might be something for you to learn from what happened. The key word here is "might." And the crucial part is learning without beating yourself up.

Sometimes the lesson is clinical: "I need to ask different questions" or "I should have involved a specialist sooner."

But sometimes the lesson is about the system: "People make irrational decisions" or "Logic doesn't always apply" or "Sometimes there's no good explanation for why things happen."

If you've been terminated without cause and you genuinely can't identify anything you did wrong - no bad outcomes, no complaints, no feedback suggesting problems - then maybe what you're learning is that medicine operates in ways that aren't fair or logical. That sucks. It's devastating. But it's also reality.

Take one or two passes through this reflection. Don't sit and microanalyze every interaction from the past six months. That way lies madness.

Step 3: Choose to Have Your Own Back (Even If You Made a Mistake)

This is the big one. You need to decide that you're going to support yourself through this, even if you made an error in judgment.

You are not perfect. You are not infallible. You will make mistakes because you're human. Sometimes those mistakes have bigger consequences than others. But if you're going to throw yourself under the bus every time something goes wrong, where will your mental health be?

Think about how you'd respond to a friend going through the same situation. Even if they made a mistake, would you tell the

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
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⚠️ TRIGGER WARNING: This episode discusses challenging topics including job loss, disciplinary actions, and references to physician suicide. While this episode is not about physician suicide specifically, these topics are mentioned in the context of understanding how certain thought patterns can contribute to physician mental health struggles. Please prioritize your wellbeing - if this feels too heavy today, consider skipping to next week's episode which focuses on solutions and moving forward.

When Everything Falls Apart: Why Your Default Thinking Might Be Making It Worse

We need to talk about what happens when things go wrong in medicine. Really wrong. Like getting terminated without cause, facing disciplinary action, or dealing with a bad outcome that leaves you questioning everything.

If you're like most physicians, your first instinct is probably to ask: "What did I do wrong?" And that question? It might be the very thing keeping you stuck in a cycle of self-blame that's slowly destroying your mental health.

The Responsibility Trap We All Fall Into

You were trained to be hyper-responsible. Before medical school, you were the reliable one, the one who turned things in on time, the one people trusted. Then medicine amplified this tenfold. Morbidity and mortality rounds, medical-legal responsibility, the weight of life-and-death decisions - all of it reinforced one core message: You are responsible for everything.

This serves us well in many ways. Patients need physicians they can trust. But it becomes toxic when we start believing we're responsible for everything - other people's emotions, their satisfaction, outcomes beyond our control, and yes, even the broken systems we work within.

The 5 Deadly Assumptions That Keep You Spinning

When something goes wrong, we default to these thought patterns that feel logical but are actually destroying us:

1. Logic Always Applies

You assume there's a clear reason for everything. But here's the brutal truth: many physician contracts now allow "no cause" terminations. They literally don't have to give you a reason. They can just say you're done. No explanation, no opportunity to learn or improve. The logic you're searching for might simply not exist.

2. Everything Is Preventable

Medicine teaches us that preparation and knowledge prevent harm. Hand hygiene prevents infections. Sterile technique saves lives. But we take this too far, believing we should have been able to prevent whatever bad thing happened. Bodies didn't read the textbook. Cancer advances despite perfect care. Deaths happen even when we do everything right.

3. Everyone Else Has It Together

You assume other adults - especially those in authority - are logical, rational beings who have their emotional lives sorted out. Meanwhile, you feel like a hot mess. Plot twist: they're human too. They make decisions based on emotions, incomplete information, and sometimes pure irrationality. You just don't get to see their internal chaos.

4. You're Responsible for Bad Outcomes (But Never Good Ones)

W

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
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The strategic art of dialing friction up and down to protect your sanity

Friction Management?

Friction management is the work of boundaries, and it might just be your secret weapon against overwhelm. In this episode, we dive deep into how technology has reduced friction in ways that are actually making your life harder, and what you can do about it.

The Problem: When "Convenience" Creates Chaos

Epic Chat, Teams, and other instant messaging systems were designed to make communication easier. But here's what actually happened: they removed the friction involved with interrupting you, creating a constant stream of non-urgent interruptions while you're trying to provide patient care.

Picture this: You're in the exam room with a patient, fully focused on their care, when ping "Mrs. Jones checked in 17 minutes late for her 20-minute appointment. I know the cutoff is 15 minutes, but should we see her anyway?"

Now you're the bad guy. The front desk person avoided their discomfort with enforcing policy, Mrs. Jones gets to bypass the boundary, and you're left making split-second decisions while trying to care for the patient in front of you.

This is friction management gone wrong.

Where You Need to DIAL UP the Friction

1. Non-Urgent Staff Communications

Stop answering every ping immediately. Create friction by:

• Simply not responding to non-medical, non-urgent messages
• Using auto-responses: "I am currently seeing a patient and cannot answer non-urgent questions. If this is a medical emergency, contact [appropriate person]."
• Making staff think twice before interrupting you

2. Patient Portal Messages

When patients send you multi-paragraph messages with complex medical questions, increase friction by responding with: "Thank you for your questions. These are important and I'd love to discuss them with you. Please schedule an appointment."

You are not resourced to spend 5-10 minutes crafting thoughtful responses to detailed medical questions outside of visits. This isn't about not caring—it's about sustainable practice.

3. Difficult Patients Who Constantly Disagree

You're allowed to set boundaries with patients who:

• Never agree with your medical advice
• Can't communicate effectively with you
• Continue returning despite constant disagreement

Let them know they're welcome to seek other opinions or see different providers. You don't have to be everyone's doctor.

4. Non-Medical Tasks That Don't Light You Up

When asked to join committees, plan parties, or take on leadership roles you don't want: "I'd be happy to participate, but I'll need dedicated admin time blocked from my schedule to do this properly."

Make it more expensive (in time/resources) for them to voluntell you.

Where You Need to DIAL DOWN the Friction

1. Getting Your Notes Done

• Use AI scribes or human scribes
• Create dot phrases and templates for common documentation
• Write less, u

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
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How to return to self-care and self-kindness when you're struggling

What’s in This Episode

You're not failing at self-care; you're navigating something unprecedented. As we hit the end of July (yes, summer is flying by!), it's the perfect time to remember how to come back to taking care of yourself when you feel like you've been struggling.

Drawing from Dr. Julie Smith's book "Open When," this episode draws parallels between modern parenting and practicing medicine in 2025. Here's what you need to remember when you're feeling overwhelmed:

The Truth About What You're Facing

You are the first generation of physicians working with full knowledge of medicine's harm to your health. Just like parents today are the first to actively parent with awareness of emotional well-being, you're practicing medicine while explicitly knowing about:

• Physician burnout (which exploded as a topic in the last 10-15 years)
• The impossible math: The average primary care physician needs 26.7 hours per day to meet all patient needs
• The reality that your health suffers while you help others heal
• The systemic toxicity that comes with healthcare work

This knowledge didn't exist in previous generations of physicians. You're not supposed to have all the answers because there is no single right answer.

Why You Feel Disconnected (Even When Surrounded by People)

You're living in the most connected yet disconnected time in history. Being around people all day—patients, staff, colleagues—isn't the same as being emotionally connected to them. Your relational needs aren't being met just because you're never alone.

Start reconnecting with people you love first. Reach out to friends, family, your partner, your children—even your pets. Practice being present with them before trying to feel more connected at work.

The Boundary Reality Check

Boundaries are an inside job. They can't come from the outside, and they will bump up against external expectations. People expect you to be an autonomous robot without needs—but that has never served you well.

You cannot resolve everyone else's unrealistic expectations before you start taking care of yourself. That's a complete setup. You must set boundaries to continue doing the work you're called to do, because you cannot sustain this without rest and self-care.

The Ripple Effect of Self-Care

When you take care of yourself, you bring your best self to your patients and work environment. If you believe your mistakes cause lasting damage, you must also acknowledge that everything you do to prevent those mistakes brings lasting positives to your medical career.

Remember This When You're Struggling

• You're navigating challenges that didn't exist for previous generations of physicians
• You don't have perfect models for how to balance medicine with wellness
• Being around people isn't the same as being connected to them
• Boundaries will face external resistance—that doesn't make them wrong
• Taking c

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

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Recording live from the Washington coast - because sometimes the best content comes from breaking your own rules.

The Big Question That Changes Everything

Last week we talked about what's NOT possible - all those unrealistic expectations we carry. This week? We're flipping the script. What IS actually possible when you stop following rules that don't serve you?

Breaking the Rules (Starting with Mine)

I'm literally recording this on a beach with my kids digging in the sand behind me. Three years ago, I would have written a formal script and recorded in perfect conditions. Today? I'm embracing the messy, real, human version of showing up.

Because here's what I've learned: The rules we create for ourselves are often the biggest barriers to what's actually possible.

The Three Questions That Open Possibility

1. What rules have you created that aren't really necessary?
   We've all internalized that "angry old white man" voice from medical training - the one that taught us to police ourselves into perfectionism. But some of those rules? They're not serving you.

Real talk: I used to dutifully fill out the "double book schedule" every day at my old job, choosing when I wanted to be overworked. Until I realized - I don't have to participate in planned incompetence. So I stopped writing anything down. Zero people commented. Zero consequences.

Your turn: What workplace "requirements" are actually just expectations you can quietly opt out of?

2. When you zoom out from your immediate circumstances, what's actually important about this moment in your life?

I could have canceled this family trip because we're navigating a health crisis with one of my kids. My crisis-mode brain said "no fun allowed." But when I zoomed out, I remembered: I want my kids to have good memories of this summer, even during challenging times.

The pandemic affected our kids when they were young. Now they're 10 and 13, fully conscious and creating lasting memories. That perspective shifted everything.

3. How will you use this information to take action?
Medicine will always operate like everything is a crisis. Healthcare will always want you sprinting. But your career is a marathon, not a sprint. You get to choose your pace.

What This Looks Like in Real Life

• Sometimes it's quietly not participating in systems that don't serve you
• Sometimes it's scheduling the "good enough" vacation instead of waiting for perfect
• Sometimes it's turning off the computer to be present with your family
• Sometimes it's choosing the hotel with the pool and free breakfast because that's what your kids love (even if you don't)

The Integration

What will you let go of to create space for what's important to you?

This isn't about adding more to your plate. It's about questioning the rules, gaining perspective on what matters, and making space for what you actually want.

If you're loving this podcast, please leave those gold stars and write a review - i

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
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When "Impossible" Becomes Your Superpower

You know that feeling when you're drowning in demands that feel completely unrealistic? When you're staring at a schedule that would require 26.7 hours in a 24-hour day? When you're being held responsible for things that are literally impossible for one person to handle?

We've all been there. And today, we're talking about a simple but powerful shift that can transform how you handle these overwhelming moments.

The Tone That Changes Everything

Picture this: You're facing an impossible situation - maybe it's covering a maternity leave with a year-long waitlist, or managing a patient panel that research shows requires more hours than exist in a day. Your first reaction might be: "It's IMPOSSIBLE!" - that frustrated, overwhelmed, reactive tone that makes your shoulders tense and your stress skyrocket.

But here's what we're going to do instead. We're going to shift that tone from reaction to response:

"It's not possible."

Feel the difference? Your shoulders settle. Your cortisol drops. You've moved from being a victim of circumstances to being someone who can clearly assess reality and make decisions from a place of calm.

The Four-Step Framework: Do, Delegate, Defer, Dump

Once you've settled into "it's not possible," you can move into problem-solving mode. Here's your framework:

DO

Keep this list small. What absolutely must be done by you, and only you? For our maternity leave example, this might be a quick scan of the schedule to identify patients who absolutely need to be seen during that time period.

DELEGATE

What can someone else handle? Yes, we know delegation isn't always easy in our systems, but remember - if you don't delegate it, and it truly can't be done by you, someone else will have to figure it out anyway. Make it their problem to solve, not yours to stress about.

DEFER (Creative Procrastination)

Some things are important but not urgent. Keep a list of these items so they don't take up mental energy, but give yourself permission to put them aside for now. You might come back to them later, or you might realize they weren't that important after all.

DUMP

Yes, you have permission to let some things go completely. That project you people-pleased your way into? That committee work that has no clear timeline or support? Sometimes you need to go back to someone and say, "I agreed to this, but I'm not able to do it anymore."

The Research That Validates Your Reality

Here's something crucial: A 2022 study in Medical Economics found that to properly care for a typical primary care panel, you'd need 26.7 hours per day. With a high-functioning team supporting you? That drops to about 9 hours per day.

Most of us don't have that high-functioning team. Most of us are working in systems that expect us to squeeze more out of skeleton crews while taking on more responsibilitie

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

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The Epic List You've Been Waiting For: What Women Physicians Are DONE Caring About

Welcome back to the revolution, my friends. This is Part 2 of our "We Do Not Care Club" series, and today we're sharing the crowdsourced, unfiltered, absolutely brilliant list of things that women physicians are officially done caring about.

But first, let's give proper credit where it's due:

This entire movement exists because of Melani Sanders (@justbeingmelani) - an African-American content creator who courageously started sharing her perimenopause experience from a Whole Foods parking lot. She felt like a hot mess and decided she wasn't going to care about it anymore. That single moment of authenticity has created a viral movement with over a million followers and has been featured in the New York Times and on Katie Couric's platform.

Melani gave women permission to speak up about experiences we've been silent about for far too long. This is her movement, and we're honored to be part of it.

Why This Matters for Women Physicians

We are a special group. We care for others professionally, but we're also women navigating our own health transitions in a system that expects us to be superhuman. We've been socialized to:

• Care that our appearance is 100% professional
• Never show emotions (while somehow conveying empathy)
• Be team players who give 110% but never be "too loud"
• Micromanage our appearance more than our male colleagues
• Put everyone else first, always

The result? We're exhausted from caring about the wrong things.

The Epic List: What We Do NOT Care About Anymore

Note: This list came directly from women physicians who responded to my call. It's unorganized on purpose - because perimenopause isn't organized, and we're giving ourselves permission to say "this is good enough."

The Medical System BS We're Done With:

• Online wellness modules (seriously, stop)
• C-suite leadership telling us to be more "resilient" (we hate that word)
• Insurance formularies and their secrecy
• Efficiency training and metrics (we're just trying to get through the day)
• Corporate medicine profitability
• Academic titles earned by sacrificing mental health
• Executives losing money because we did the right thing for patients

Patient Nonsense We're Over:

• "What you saw on TikTok" (vinegar isn't going to help here)
• How happy people look in drug commercials (you don't have rheumatoid arthritis)
• The internet telling you that you have ADHD (it's probably perimenopause)
• How "explosive" your diarrhea was (that doesn't help me help you)
• College roommate's third cousin's reaction to sertraline (it's still a good choice)
• Kardashians getting full-body MRIs

Life Stuff We're Liberated From:

• Wearing bras (special shoutout to the contributor who said "I only have one nipple after canc

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

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What if you could stop wasting your precious brain energy on things that don't deserve it?

Welcome to a very special edition of Ending Physician Overwhelm, where we're diving deep into the revolutionary concept of the "We Do Not Care Club" – specifically designed for perimenopausal women physicians who are DONE with burning themselves out for a system that doesn't value them.

Shoutout to Melani Sanders (@justbeingmelani) for creating this life-changing movement that's resonating with millions of women!

The Truth Bomb You Need to Hear

We care. We care A LOT. But here's what's killing us: we've been pressured and scared into caring about things that are literally destroying our well-being, our families, and our ability to practice medicine the way we know it should be practiced.

It's time to stop. It's time to reclaim your power. It's time to join the club.

The 3 Permission Slips You Need Right Now

🔹 **Permission Slip #1: You Are NOT Expendable or Replaceable

We do not care** about the lie that you're just another cog in the medical machine.

The truth? You are irreplaceable. Your expertise, your experience, your special sauce of care – that cannot be replicated. Yes, they might hire someone else, but they will never replace YOU.

Stop living in fear. Stop working yourself to the bone hoping to "earn" respect that should already be yours. The finish line where you'll finally be valued? It doesn't exist, and that's not your fault.

What would happen if every woman physician walked out tomorrow? The system would collapse. Because we provide safer care, safer surgeries, better patient outcomes. We are the backbone of medicine.

🔹 Permission Slip #2: Your Human Needs Actually Matter

We do not care that the system expects you to work like a robot.

You need food. You need bathroom breaks. You need REAL time off (not vacation days spent getting colonoscopies). You need adequate maternity leave. You need to be able to call in sick without guilt.

The pushback you'll get when you start taking care of yourself? That's their problem, not yours. You cannot pour from an empty cup, and eventually, if you don't take care of yourself, you won't be able to show up for anyone.

🔹 Permission Slip #3: Your Critical Thinking Skills Are Your Superpower

We do not care if using your brain makes leadership uncomfortable.

You were trained to think critically, to question, to evaluate. But somehow, when you use these skills to challenge policies or advocate for better patient care, suddenly you're "not a team player."

This is medicine's biggest contradiction: they pay you to think, then punish you for thinking.

Your Mission for Part 2

I want to hear from YOU. What are the things you do not care about anymore? Send me:

• Instagram message: @MeganMeloMD
• Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Let's build our collective list for Part 2 (dropping July 8th)!

One Thing I'll Share Right Now

I do NOT care if your "normal"

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
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What You'll Learn

Life doesn't pause for your perfect plans. Whether it's a scary diagnosis, staffing changes, or family emergencies, curveballs are coming. But here's what we don't talk about enough: how to navigate these storms with self-compassion instead of burning yourself out trying to hustle through everything.

In this episode, we're diving deep into four powerful strategies that will help you maintain your sanity when everything feels like it's falling apart.

The Reality Check We All Need

As physicians and high achievers, we're masters at rallying our resources and throwing 120% into whatever crisis hits us. But that unsustainable hustle? It's not always helping us. The real challenge is learning to sit in the discomfort of knowing there might not be a whirlwind of actions that will magically fix everything.

Think about navigating a cancer diagnosis - yours or a loved one's. You know the steps that need to happen, you understand the system, but you have to sit in the uncomfortable slowness of how care actually unfolds. You can't hustle your way through waiting for biopsy results or treatment plans.

Four Game-Changing Strategies

1. Recognize Your Hustle Pattern (And When It Doesn't Serve You)
We need to acknowledge that yes, we're incredible at problem-solving and taking action. But some problems have to unfold over time. They can't be managed with our usual "throw everything at it" approach.

The work: Sit in the discomfort of not being able to fix everything immediately. Breathe through it. This is part of being human.

2. Know Your Thought Loops (And Have Compassionate Responses Ready)
During stress, your brain falls into familiar patterns. Maybe it's "I'm trapped" or "I don't know what to do" or "I'm not good enough." These thoughts will spin endlessly if you let them.

The breakthrough: You don't have to stop having these thoughts to make progress. The goal is recognizing the pattern and responding with compassion. When that familiar thought loop starts, pause and offer yourself a gentler alternative: "I'm not stuck - I'm choosing to be here for my family."

3. Allow Yourself Stress Responses (Without Judgment)
We all have them. Maybe it's shopping (hello, perfectly stocked pantry), scrolling social media, or reaching for that extra glass of wine. Some stress responses are relatively harmless, others cross into potentially harmful territory.

The balance: It's okay to scratch the itch sometimes, as long as you're not causing harm to yourself or others. But also recognize that these responses aren't actually addressing the underlying emotion. Ask yourself: "What do I really need here? What am I really seeking?"

A note on alcohol: If you find yourself turning to wine or other alcohol to soothe your nervous system, please consider whether this is tiptoeing into harmful territory. I'm not your mom, but as an obesity medicine physician, I see this pattern slip into problems more often than we'd like to admit.

4. Push the Easy Button (Seriously)
How can you make things easier for your future se

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

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Stop Playing Around and Start Making AI Work FOR You

If you're still on the fence about AI tools, or you've tried them and felt frustrated, this episode is for you. We're talking about how to actually use these tools to make your life easier—not add another complicated task to your already overwhelming day.

What We Talk About

• The three non-negotiable rules for using AI tools effectively (and why thinking of AI as your employee changes everything)
• How I went from trial-and-error with multiple AI scribes to finding one that actually works for my complex primary care visits
• The letter-writing hack that saves me hours of Googling templates
• Why I let AI write my show notes, emails, and blog posts (and why that's not cheating—it's smart)
• How to create your own AI coach that asks you the right questions when you're stuck
• Real examples: from risk management letters to policy manuals to patient handouts

The Three Rules That Change Everything

Rule #1: Give Clear Instructions Just like with human employees, vague directions get you garbage results. Be specific about what you want and how you want it delivered.

Rule #2: Practice Before Going Live Don't push record on that AI scribe without knowing how it works. Test everything first—you'll save yourself from recreating notes from scratch.

Rule #3: Remember You're the Boss This technology exists to serve you, not the other way around. If it's creating more work instead of less, you need to retrain it or find a better tool.

Your Homework

Pick ONE area where you're spending time on tasks that don't require your medical expertise. Could AI help you write that insurance authorization letter? Create patient handouts? Draft professional correspondence?

Start there. Give it clear instructions. See what happens.

The Bottom Line

AI tools are here to stay, and they can genuinely make your life easier—but only if you approach them with the right mindset. You deserve help that actually helps. You deserve tools that work for you, not against you.

Remember: You're not being lazy by using these tools. You're being strategic about where you spend your precious time and energy.

Let's Connect

Need more support? Schedule a coaching consultation at https://calendly.com/healthierforgood/coaching-discovery-call

Connect with us:

• Website: healthierforgood.com
• Email: megan@healthierforgood.com
• Instagram: @meganmelomd

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

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Recorded from the car on a Monday morning because sometimes life doesn't wait for perfect circumstances - and that's exactly the point.

When Crisis Hits Close to Home

This is a different kind of episode. Raw, real, and recorded in the midst of what I'm calling a "semi-urgent medical crisis" in my family. You know the kind - not a code blue emergency, but the agonizing wait for test results, appointments, and answers that consume your thoughts and rearrange your entire world.

We spend so much time being on the other side of these moments as physicians. But sometimes, we're the ones sitting in the waiting room, holding our breath, and trying to navigate the impossible balance of being both caregiver and professional.

If you've ever faced a breast cancer diagnosis, fertility struggles, or watched a loved one go through a medical crisis while trying to hold your own life together, this episode is for you.

10 Ways I'm Getting Through (And You Can Too)

1. Notice Yourself and Your Needs
You can't pour from an empty cup. Even when this isn't your medical crisis, you're still a crucial part of the equation. Ask yourself moment by moment: What do I need right now to show up for what matters most?

2. Continue Your Routines with Self-Compassion
The basics still matter - maybe even more now. I'm still trying to get to bed on time, wake up for exercise, and eat regularly. These routines might look different during crisis, but they're your anchor. Don't abandon what keeps you grounded.

3. Let People Know What You Need
Here's the hard truth: I am less reliable and dependable to everyone else right now, and that's okay. I'm canceling plans, rescheduling patients, and making different choices. Being upfront about this isn't failure - it's honesty about where your energy needs to go.

4. Accept What's True AND Allow Moments of Good
You can simultaneously acknowledge that this is incredibly difficult while also letting in moments of joy, silliness, and playfulness when they appear. This isn't about toxic positivity - it's about not shutting yourself off from the full human experience.

5. Practice Creative Procrastination
Those big projects and dreams you've been planning? It's okay to put them on hold. This isn't giving up - it's being strategic about your focus. Future plans can wait when family needs you now.

6. Get Crystal Clear on Your Values
We say family is our top priority, but are we living like it? When crisis hits, you get clarity fast about what actually matters. Use this clarity to make decisions moment by moment, even when it means inconveniencing others.

7. Know Who's on Your Team
Some people in your life are good to bring into the loop during tough times. Others, despite being good people, are not equipped to help in crisis. This is boundaries work in action. Choose wisely who gets access to your vulnerable moments.

8. Prepare for Growth
You didn't choose this lesson, but here it is anyway. There are things for you to learn and ways for you to grow in this space

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

Send us a text

Welcome to another edition of Ending Physician Overwhelm - this time recorded from the car because life happens, and we roll with it.

The Question That Changes Everything

When we talk about cutting back on work or reducing FTE, we often focus on what we want less of. But here's what we miss: What do we actually want MORE of?

This episode dives deep into a conversation I had with a coaching client who was looking to reconfigure her work schedule. We weren't just trying to work less for the sake of working less - we were being intentional about creating space for what truly matters.

The Laundry Trap (And Why We're Not Cutting FTE for More Chores)

Let's be crystal clear: We are not cutting our physician FTE in order to do more laundry.

Yes, those piles of laundry create distress. Yes, the house needs attention. But if you find yourself cutting hours only to spend that precious time doing tasks that breed resentment and frustration, you've missed the point entirely.

Three Areas Where You Need to Ask This Question

1. At Work: What Professional Boundaries Have Shifted?

That evening clinic you agreed to when you first started? The complex procedures you took on to save patients a referral? The schedule flexibility you once had that no longer serves your current life phase?

Just because you were willing to do something before doesn't mean you're wrong to say no now.

Your life has changed. Maybe you have aging parents, young children, or different priorities. There's nothing wrong with recognizing that what worked then doesn't work now.

2. At Home: Where Are You Trading Time for the Wrong Things?

If you have more money than time available, why are you still doing your own laundry, cleaning, and yard work?

Your kids and partner need to learn life skills anyway. Get the humans in your house contributing, or pay someone else to handle what doesn't bring you joy.

3. In Relationships: What Are You No Longer Willing to Tolerate?

This applies everywhere - with patients, family, colleagues, and friends. Maybe you used to let visits run long, take on cases outside your expertise, or accommodate behaviors that drain your energy.

You get to change your mind about what you'll accept.

The Permission You've Been Waiting For

You don't need to justify why something that was okay before isn't okay now. Evidence changes. Life circumstances change. Sometimes you just wake up and realize you need better boundaries because you're drowning.

All of these reasons are valid.

Your Action Steps

1. Get clear on your values and goals - What do you actually want more of in your life?
2. Identify your non-negotiables - What are you willing to be flexible on, and what absolutely isn't up for discussion?
3. Practice the uncomfortable conversations - Whether it's asking for schedule changes at work or setting boundaries at home.
4. Remember: Boundaries aren't selfish - They're necessary for sustainability and showing u

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

Send us a text

The Wearable Device That Could Change Everything for Physicians

What if there was a way to get objective, real-time data about how your lifestyle choices are actually affecting your health? Not just a random cortisol test that tells you nothing actionable, but continuous monitoring that could force you to confront the truth about how you're treating your body?

In this special car edition episode, we dive into my million-dollar idea: a continuous cortisol monitor that could revolutionize how physicians approach self-care.

What We Talk About

• Why random cortisol tests are basically useless (and what question I always ask patients who request them)
• How a continuous cortisol monitor could provide the objective data your scientist brain needs to finally prioritize self-care
• The institutionalized sacrifice of women physicians—and why the system profits from your overwork without compensating you
• Why the self-care strategies that worked at 24 won't work at 44 (and what you need to do differently)
• The uncomfortable truth about why you've been conditioned to ignore your body's needs

The Million Dollar Question

If you could see in real-time how your cortisol levels spike when you're running on four hours of sleep, grabbing donuts from the break room, and charting until midnight—what would you do with that data?

More importantly: What will you do right now, without that monitor, knowing that your current patterns are harming your health?

Your Homework

Put on your imaginary continuous cortisol monitor this week. What would it be showing you? If you were tasked with reducing those levels, what one change would you make first?

Remember: You can't continue to sacrifice your health for a system that profits from your overwork. The future of healthcare depends on you figuring out how to set limits so you can stay in the game without breaking yourself.

Key Takeaway

Being a woman physician doesn't have to be bad for your health—but only if you stop living into that narrative and start making choices that honor the fact that your body at this stage of life needs different care than it did 20 years ago.

This week, choose self-compassion over self-sacrifice. Your patients, your family, and your future self will thank you.

Let's Connect

Need more support? Schedule a coaching consultation at https://calendly.com/healthierforgood/coaching-discovery-call

Connect with us:

• Website: healthierforgood.com
• Email: megan@healthierforgood.com
• Instagram: @meganmelomd

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review and share with a colleague who might benefit!

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

Send us a text

Finding Your Path to Alignment: The Antidote to Physician Burnout

Are you feeling stuck in a perpetual slog, wondering where your passion for medicine went? You're not alone, and there's a powerful principle that can help guide you back to a place of purpose and energy.

In this episode, we explore the concept of alignment—a state of living and making decisions that honors your core values, leverages your unique gifts, and energizes you through your passions and interests.

What You'll Learn

• Alignment acts as a powerful antidote to burnout (and the research showing you only need 20% of your time in alignment to see benefits)
• How to recognize when you're out of alignment and what to do about it
• The critical importance of tuning into your thoughts and feelings to find your way back
• Boundaries are essential tools for maintaining alignment in both your professional and personal life

Key Takeaways

When you're in alignment, you're like a car with properly aligned tires—moving forward smoothly and efficiently, even when the road gets bumpy. But when you're out of alignment, every mile feels like a struggle against resistance.

The good news? Research suggests that spending just 20% of your time using your gifts and talents in areas aligned with your passions can significantly protect against burnout.

Remember: It's not your fault if perfectionism and people-pleasing have brought you to a place of burnout in our broken healthcare system. AND you have the power to tune into your thoughts and begin changing them to feel better. Both things can be true simultaneously.

Your homework: Start noticing where you feel energized in your work and where you feel drained. This awareness is the first step toward finding your alignment and creating the medical career you truly want.

Next week, we'll continue our journey toward ending physician overwhelm together. Until then, remember that you deserve to practice medicine in a way that honors who you are.

Let's Connect

Need more support? Schedule a coaching consultation at https://calendly.com/healthierforgood/coaching-discovery-call

Connect with us:

• Website: healthierforgood.com
• Email: megan@healthierforgood.com
• Instagram: @meganmelomd

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review and share with a colleague who might benefit!

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

Send us a text

Rules? Who Me?

Hello my friends! Today we're diving into those self-imposed rules that might be governing your life and keeping you stuck in patterns of overwhelm. From the seemingly trivial (must shave legs before wearing shorts) to the deeply consequential (always putting yourself last), these internalized rules often lead us to burnout, exhaustion, and disconnection from what truly matters.

Key Takeaways

• Identifying Your Rules: Pay attention to thoughts that contain command language like "I can't," "I must," or "I should." These often signal an internalized rule that may not be serving you.
• Questioning Who Benefits: Many of the rules we live by primarily serve others at our expense. The medical culture of "patient first" can easily morph into "I always come last," creating an unsustainable path to burnout.
• Imagining Life Without the Rule: Who would you be without this constraint? Often, letting go of rigid rules leads to better boundaries, improved self-care, and a sustainable medical practice.

Three Steps to Use Now

1. Find Your Rules: Notice when you think "I can't," "I must," or "I should" - these indicate potential rules governing your choices.
2. Ask Who the Rule Serves: Is this rule primarily benefiting you, or is it serving others at your expense?
3. Envision Yourself Without the Rule: How would your life change if you let this rule go? Would you be happier, healthier, or more balanced?

Who Cares? You Do!

When we live bound by rigid, internalized rules, we create the perfect environment for burnout to thrive. By questioning and releasing rules that don't serve us, we create space for sustainable medical practice and a more balanced life.

Let's Connect

Need more support? Schedule a coaching consultation at https://calendly.com/healthierforgood/coaching-discovery-call

Connect with us:

• Website: healthierforgood.com
• Email: megan@healthierforgood.com
• Instagram: @meganmelomd

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review and share with a colleague who might benefit!

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

Send us a text

Ever find yourself busy all day yet feeling like you've accomplished nothing? You're not alone. As physicians, we face an overwhelming number of interruptions in our day - many of which didn't exist even a few years ago.

What You'll Learn:

• Why constant interruptions are destroying your focus and productivity
• How to set clear, kind boundaries with staff and colleagues
• Why multitasking is actually procrastination in disguise
• Practical strategies to handle both external interruptions and internal distractions

The Interruption Problem

We're bombarded with distractions that our brains aren't designed to handle - from Epic messages popping up during patient visits to constant texts and emails. These interruptions don't just slow us down; they can make patient care unsafe.

When someone interrupts you with a non-urgent question:

• Don't respond immediately
• Use clear, kind language: "I can't answer that right now. Please refer to the clinic policy."
• Remember that each time you allow an interruption, you teach people it's okay to interrupt you

Setting Boundaries

You can take control by:

• Teaching others when you'll respond (not immediately!)
• Setting specific times to check messages and email
• Communicating clear windows when staff can bring questions to you (e.g., "between 12-12:30 when I'm done with morning patients")

Handling Internal Distractions

When you feel bored, frustrated, or low energy during your workday, you likely seek distractions (checking email, social media, grabbing unnecessary snacks). Instead:

• Recognize these feelings as normal
• Take quick, intentional breaks that serve you (deep breathing, jumping jacks, brief colleague interaction)
• Choose the "uphill" task (finishing notes now) over the "downhill" task (checking email)

Remember: Finishing a note immediately after seeing a patient takes minutes, while coming back to it days later can take 10-15 minutes. Those small choices add up to major time savings.

Take Action Now

You are not lazy or broken for struggling with focus. Our human brains seek dopamine and relief from discomfort. But by making different choices about how you handle interruptions and distractions, you can regain control of your day and finally feel accomplished when you leave work.

"I will not be stopped by interruptions anymore outside of medical emergencies. I will not let my brain get disrupted. I will not blame myself or say unkind words to myself. I will just choose to make some different decisions."

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

Send us a text

Today we talk about the negative internal dialogue that plays in our heads and how it impacts our wellbeing and performance. This episode explores:

• How negative self-talk becomes our default "soundtrack" - especially during challenging moments
• Why our brains are naturally wired for negativity (an evolutionary safety mechanism)
• How high-achieving professionals often internalize harsh critical voices from teachers, coaches, or mentors
• The emotional toll this negativity takes on us and how it affects our actions

We discuss insights from Jon Acuff's book "Soundtracks" and provide practical strategies to transform our internal dialogue:

1. Filter your thoughts through three questions:
   • Is it true?
   • Is it helpful?
   • Is it kind?
2. Understand that negative thoughts aren't something we can just switch off - they're more like a volume dial we can turn down
3. Techniques for reducing negative thoughts:
   • Naming or personifying the negative voice
   • Using grounding techniques to bring yourself to the present moment
   • Creating replacement thoughts or affirmations to reprogram your thinking

I want to emphasize that changing jobs or circumstances won't automatically fix negative thought patterns; we need to actively work on them. By reducing this negative mental chatter, you gain greater mental flexibility, emotional resilience, and the ability to advocate for ourselves.

Join our challenge and practice rewiring your brain with more helpful thoughts. Like now…

Don't forget to rate, review, and share this episode with someone who might benefit from addressing their negative self-talk!

Need more support? Schedule a coaching consultation at https://calendly.com/healthierforgood/coaching-discovery-call

Connect with us:

• Website: healthierforgood.com
• Email: megan@healthierforgood.com
• Instagram: @meganmelomd

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review and share with a colleague who might benefit!

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

Send us a text

Today we're talking about energy management and why it's our responsibility to manage our own energy levels.

Key Points:

• Two of my physician clients shared calling out sick as weekly wins in coaching sessions – highlighting how we're trained to always put patient care first, often at our own expense
• Energy management is each of our personal responsibility, and no one else can see our energy levels or tank size
• Our energy tanks change throughout life stages (residency vs. parenting young children vs. empty nesting)
• Medicine falsely pretends we all have the same energy capacity
• When we choose to take a sick day when truly needed, we help change the unhealthy culture of medicine

Notable Quotes from Today's Episode:

"We are trained to put ourselves last, always. We are trained to work through, push through, ignore our bodies, ignore anything that we're feeling or experiencing... in order to put patient care first."

"No one can see the energy that we do or don't have. They can't see how big the tank is, they can't see how big the spigot is that's draining."

"Who we are and what we do matters. It matters and it makes a difference. We're going to figure out a way that we can do this and manage our energy in a sustainable way."

Practical Advice for All of Us:

• Let's assess our current life stage and energy capacity realistically
• We need to recognize when our tanks are depleted and take necessary breaks
• We should set proactive boundaries with our teams about our limitations
• We might need to consider whether our practice environments match our energy styles
• Remember that chronically pushing through low energy is unsustainable for all of us

Final Thoughts:

Finding alignment between patient care and self-care isn't mutually exclusive. By being responsible stewards of our own energy, we can create sustainable pathways to continue practicing medicine effectively while honoring our human needs.

Need more support? Schedule a coaching consultation at https://calendly.com/healthierforgood/coaching-discovery-call

Connect with us:

• Website: healthierforgood.com
• Email: megan@healthierforgood.com
• Instagram: @meganmelomd

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review and share with a colleague who might benefit!

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

Send us a text

Today we talk about the concept of "unsubscribing" – not just from email newsletters, but from the thoughts, beliefs, and habits that no longer serve us as physicians.

Episode Highlights:

• We celebrate 3 years of "Ending Physician Overwhelm" (launched March 2022)
• Unsubscribe from harmful ideas and beliefs:
  • The belief that we should be able to function in a broken healthcare system without support
  • The notion that we must respond to every patient message in extensive detail
  • The idea that asking for help makes us "difficult" or "not a team player"
• Unsubscribe from complexity:
  • Let go of complex solutions when simple ones would work better
  • Stop believing that you must figure out everything on your own
  • Recognize when to delegate or refer instead of overcomplicating your workload
• Unsubscribe from habits that don't serve you:
  • Professional habits like doing tasks below your license level
  • Personal habits that neglect your wellbeing (poor sleep, inadequate exercise)
  • The pattern of putting yourself last while caring for everyone else

Remember: You deserve a sustainable, fulfilling life with meaningful work AND connection to the people you love outside of medicine.

Resources Mentioned:

• "Atomic Habits" by James Clear
• "Tiny Habits" by BJ Fogg
• "Smarter Living" (book mentioned from library)

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review to help others find us, and share with a colleague who might benefit!

Need more support? Schedule a coaching consultation at https://calendly.com/healthierforgood/coaching-discovery-call

Connect with us:

• Website: healthierforgood.com
• Email: megan@healthierforgood.com
• Instagram: @meganmelomd

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review and share with a colleague who might benefit!

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

Send us a text

This week, we talk about the significant changes happening in medicine that aren't likely to reverse, and how we as physicians need to adapt to navigate these shifts effectively.

Episode Highlights:

• The Reality of Job Insecurity in Medicine
  1. Stories of experienced physicians being let go with little warning
  2. How healthcare organizations are prioritizing budget over experience and loyalty
  3. Why the long-term stability we once expected in medical careers is no longer guaranteed
• Historical Context vs. Current Reality
  1. How the medical career path has transformed from the days of physicians staying in one practice for decades
  2. Why the expectations we entered medicine with may no longer align with today's realities
  3. The additional challenges facing physician parents and those without stay-at-home partners
• Three Key Strategies for Navigating Change:
  1. Believe in the value of your expertise, skills, and experience
     • Separating your worth from organizational decisions
     • Recognizing that being let go reflects budget priorities, not your value
     • Protecting yourself from undervaluing your contributions
  2. Embrace technology and delegation
     • Learning to use AI and other tools effectively, not just efficiently
     • The importance of delegating tasks that don't require physician expertise
     • Finding the balance between oversight and offloading work
  3. Be your own advocate and believe what the system shows you
     • Setting clear boundaries about what's acceptable
     • Recognizing patterns of broken promises and unsupported policies
     • Making decisions based on how organizations actually behave, not what they say

Key Takeaways:

Where do YOU need to adapt to the changing medical landscape?

• Recognize that career stability looks different now than it did for previous generations
• Consider creative practice models (micro-practices, cash pay, part-time arrangements)
• Break away from the expectation of staying in one place "forever"
• Set aside time to think strategically about your career path and priorities

Connect with us:

• Website: healthierforgood.com
• Email: megan@healthierforgood.com
• Instagram: @meganmelomd

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review and share with a colleague who might benefit!

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
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In this episode, we explore the neurotransmitters that make up the acronym DOSE - Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin, and Epinephrine - and how they affect our daily lives and well-being.

Episode Highlights:

• Dopamine: The Pleasure & Reward Neurotransmitter
  • Evolved to reinforce behaviors that help us survive as individuals and as a species
  • Modern hijacking through engineered experiences (processed foods, social media, alcohol)
  • The importance of finding healthier sources of dopamine throughout your day
• Oxytocin: The Connection Hormone
  • Creates bonds between humans that enable our species to thrive
  • Many physicians are likely running low on this "love hormone"
  • Simple ways to increase oxytocin through meaningful connection
• Serotonin: The Mood & Wellbeing Neurotransmitter
  • The mind-gut connection and how our diet affects serotonin production
  • Why physicians often end up on SSRIs and whether better self-care could reduce this need
  • Importance of prioritizing sleep, sunlight, exercise, and proper nutrition
• Epinephrine/Endorphins: The Energy & Excitement Chemical
  • Not just about fight-or-flight responses but also positive excitement
  • How many of us over-rely on caffeine for our energy needs
  • Better sources: exercise, healthy intimacy, adventure, and novel experiences

Key Takeaways:

Where do YOU need to adjust your DOSE?

• Where are you currently getting these neurotransmitters in your life?
• Are these sources aligned with your health and life goals?
• What small, intentional changes can you make to create a more balanced neurochemical experience?

Resources Mentioned:

• Email me at megan@healthierforgood.com

Note: This episode discusses food and alcohol consumption, which may be triggering for some listeners with histories of disordered eating or addiction.

Connect with us:

• Website: healthierforgood.com
• Email: megan@healthierforgood.com
• Instagram: @meganmelomd

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review and share with a colleague who might benefit!

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

Send us a text

I explore how to find and create meaning in both our professional and personal lives, especially when facing burnout and challenges in medicine.

Episode Highlights

• Medicine was never meant to be easy, but the additional challenges we face today make self-care more important than ever
• When experiencing burnout, we often lose our sense of meaning and purpose in work
• Creating meaning is a challenge of adulthood that requires intentional effort
• The gap between what we imagined about being a physician and the reality of practice today

Key Takeaways

1. Identify where you find meaning in your work
   • What specific aspects of your job bring you satisfaction?
   • What emotions do you experience during meaningful moments?
   • How can you amplify these experiences in your practice?
2. Expand your search for meaning beyond work
   • We are more than our professional identities
   • Find sources of meaning in your role as a parent, homeowner, or other aspects of life
   • Take time to appreciate what you've already accomplished
3. Use meaning as fuel for resilience
   • Clarity about what matters helps establish better boundaries
   • When you know where meaning lies, you can more efficiently handle the less enjoyable tasks
   • Meaning gives you strength to cope with stresses and challenges

Final Thoughts

Getting clear on where you find meaning and joy helps you notice these experiences more often and actively seek them out. When you use your gifts and talents in work that feels meaningful, you become a better human and bring amazing things into the world.

Take time to reflect on what truly matters to you. Journal about where you find meaning, what these experiences feel like in your body, and how you might create more of these moments in your life. This work is essential for navigating the challenges ahead.

Want More?

If you're feeling stuck in default thinking patterns and ready for something different, let's talk! Reach out to schedule a time to chat about how we can work together to change those old thought patterns that keep you feeling burned out and exhausted. Schedule a time for us to chat here: https://calendly.com/healthierforgood/coaching-discovery-call

This is powerful work that can transform how you experience life - both in and out of medicine.

Let’s Stay Connected:
This work is challenging, but it’s worth it. If you’re ready to explore how you can reclaim your energy and redefine your path in medicine, I’d love to help.

📧 Reach me at megan@healthierforgood.com
🌐 Visit www.healthierforgood.com to learn about my coaching programs, including Unbound: Women Physicians Reclaiming Their Lives.

If this episode resonates with you, please share it with a colleague who might need to hear it. Your support means the world.

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

Send us a text

Ever have a moment where you suddenly realize you've slipped back into old thought patterns? In this episode, we dive into what happens when those default ways of thinking return - and how to move past them without getting stuck.

When Old Thought Patterns Come Knocking

After my emergency surgery for a perforated IUD (yes, really!), I found myself sliding back into victim mode thinking - feeling angry about missing work, frustrated about not having sick leave, and generally falling into old patterns of negativity and blame.

Sound familiar? These default thought patterns don't just magically disappear, even when we've made significant progress. They can return during times of stress, fatigue, or when we're facing situations that trigger old memories.

The good news? We don't have to stay stuck there! Here's how to notice and move beyond those default thoughts:

Three Steps to Break Free from Default Thinking

1. Notice without judgment When those old thought patterns appear, simply acknowledge them: "There are those thoughts again. I notice my brain is telling me I should feel angry/powerless/overwhelmed here." Sometimes we notice the thoughts directly, but often we catch the emotions first - that familiar feeling of being drained, resentful, or stuck can be your first clue.
2. Recognize the discrepancy This is where the magic happens! Take a moment to notice the gap between your default thinking and who you are now. "This doesn't feel like me anymore. This isn't how I typically think these days." This recognition helps us see how far we've come and prevents us from believing we've lost all our progress.
3. Be kind as you let go Instead of, "I can't believe I'm thinking this way again! What's wrong with me?" try "Yes, these are thoughts I've had before. This is an old pattern. We don't do that anymore, and it's completely normal these thoughts showed up during a stressful time." Kindness works better than judgment every time!

Changing Thoughts vs. Changing Circumstances

Here's a truth bomb: If you keep the same thoughts but change your circumstances (like leaving medicine to become a barista or work on a beach), you'll have the same emotional experience - just in a different place.

That doesn't mean we should never change circumstances! But if we want to feel different, we need to think differently. The good news is we can practice new thought patterns regardless of our situation.

Remember This

We're all on a journey. The place you are now is further along than where you were last year, five years ago, or ten years ago. When we intentionally work on our thought patterns, we're building the foundation for the next version of ourselves.

Those people you admire who seem to have it all figured out? They've faced challenges too - they've just made different decisions about how to navigate them. And you can do the same.

Want More?

Reach out to schedule a time to chat about how we can work together to change those old thought patterns that keep you feeling burned out and exhausted. Schedule a chat here:

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

Send us a text

In today’s episode, I share a personal medical experience that taught me lessons about self-advocacy, trusting intuition, and seeking help - lessons that apply both personally and professionally in medical practice.

Episode Highlights

• My recent experience with an IUD placement that resulted in a perforation of my uterus, requiring laparoscopic surgery
• The importance of honoring your initial decisions about your medical care and advocating for your preferences
• Why listening to your body's signals (especially gut sensations) is critical - they often indicate something is wrong
• How we as physicians (especially women) are conditioned to delay seeking help and downplay our own medical needs

Key Takeaways

1. Honor your decisions and advocate for yourself
   • When you've made a decision about your care, follow through
   • Don't hesitate to clearly ask for what you need
   • It's okay to be "that person" when it comes to your health
2. Listen when your gut speaks (literally and figuratively)
   • Our gut is highly innervated and sensitive to abnormal situations
   • Persistent unusual sensations are your body's warning signs
   • The gut-brain connection is powerful - stress, anxiety, and depression all affect gut function
   • Chronic symptoms like reflux, constipation, or IBS can be flags that something needs attention
3. Be willing to get help sooner
   • Don't wait until problems become severe to seek care
   • We often delay our own care to avoid inconveniencing others
   • Challenge the "comparative suffering" mindset that says your problems aren't bad enough to deserve attention
   • Set boundaries about what you are and aren't willing to do without proper support

For Healthcare Providers

• Healthcare systems increasingly pressure us to do more with less support
• When we don't insist on adequate help, there's no incentive for systems to fix the problem
• Women physicians often receive less consistent support staff than male colleagues
• Recognize that our medical training has conditioned us to ignore our own needs
• We deserve support, both professionally and personally

Final Thoughts

We are all works in progress. Taking care of ourselves isn't selfish - it's necessary. We must let go of the belief that we must suffer a certain amount before deserving help, and instead acknowledge that we are worthy of support.

Let’s Stay Connected:
This work is challenging, but it’s worth it. If you’re ready to explore how you can reclaim your energy and redefine your path in medicine, I’d love to help.

📧 Reach me at megan@healthierforgood.com
🌐 Visit www.healthierforgood.com to learn about my coaching programs, including Unbound: Women Physicians Reclaiming Their Lives.

If this episode resonates with you, please share it with a colleague who might need to hear it. Your support means the world.

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

Send us a text

Fresh off our exciting kickoff for the second round of Unbound, we're diving into something that affects nearly every physician - why we struggle to work less, even when we desperately want to. Let's explore the mindsets keeping us stuck in overwork mode!

The Hidden Beliefs Blocking Our Path

Have you ever had a free day suddenly open up in your schedule? Instead of treating it as actual free time, chances are you immediately filled it with tasks from your never-ending to-do list. This isn't random - it's a pattern revealing deeper beliefs about how we're "supposed" to work.

In this episode, we explore three key mindsets that keep us trapped in overwork:

1. "If I work less, someone else has to work more" We've been conditioned to believe there's no one else who can help us. After hearing "we don't have staff to cover that" over and over, we internalize this idea so deeply it follows us everywhere - even into settings where we're the boss! This mindset keeps us doing tasks others could handle because we're stuck thinking no one else can (or will) do them correctly.
2. "Tools and technology can't replace what I do" Many of us resist using tools (like AI, EMR features, or other technologies) that could lighten our load. We get comfortable with our current methods and hesitate to learn new approaches - even when they might ultimately save us time and energy! While it's reasonable to question if new tools are safe and effective, our resistance often comes from that deeper belief that our work should be difficult.
3. "I can't ask recipients of my help to do more" This shows up with patients who want us to do everything for them, friends texting us photos of rashes, and family members who could handle their own tasks. When we constantly swoop in as the capable problem-solver, we not only drain ourselves but also prevent others from developing their own skills and independence.

Making the Shift

When we find opportunities to work less, the key is not filling that time with more work! Instead, we need intentional rest, exercise, quality time with loved ones, or activities that nourish us. Otherwise, we'll stay stuck in the same exhausting cycle.

The hardest part? Setting boundaries with people we care about. Saying no to a friend's text about a rash or asking family members to handle their own chores can feel incredibly uncomfortable. But these skills are learnable, and they're essential for creating the life we want outside of medicine.

Join Us!

If you're a woman physician looking for community, structure, and accountability to make these changes, there may still be spots available in our current Unbound cohort! Reach out to megan@healthierforgood.com to learn more. If you miss this round, our next cohort begins in early June.

Let’s Stay Connected:
This work is challenging, but it’s worth it. If you’re ready to explore how you can reclaim your energy and redefine your path in medicine, I’d love to help.

📧 Reach me at megan@healthierforgood.com
🌐 Visit www.healthierforgood.com

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

Send us a text

Life in medicine is intense right now, especially in early 2025. In this episode, we're diving into six essential elements that can help us not just survive, but thrive during challenging times. Whether you're looking to join our Unbound physician community or just trying to figure out how to make medicine work better in your life, these are game-changers.

The Big Six (Yes, They Really Matter!)

1. Community When things go sideways (like that wild HR story we share in this episode), having people who get it makes all the difference. Sometimes only another doctor understands why that "simple work issue" feels like a punch to the gut. Having folks who truly get it isn't just nice - it's necessary.
2. Compassion Time to stop beating ourselves up! Taking a sick day, not answering all 40 questions in a 15-minute visit, or setting a boundary doesn't make us bad doctors. What if we treated ourselves with the same compassion we show our patients?
3. Safety We need spaces where we can say "I'm struggling" or "I don't know" without fear. Where we can share those thoughts that would make non-medical friends gasp but make our colleagues nod in understanding. That psychological safety? It's pure gold.
4. Structure Okay, not the sexiest word, but hear me out! Even as smart, capable physicians, we need a game plan for making changes stick. It's like having a GPS for getting from "I should really start setting boundaries" to "Look at me leaving on time!"
5. Accountability Isn't it wild how we're incredibly accountable to everyone else but struggle to keep promises to ourselves? Whether it's finally getting home for dinner or not charting until midnight, having someone in our corner makes a huge difference.
6. Reflection Not the "om" kind (unless that's your thing!) - but taking honest looks at our progress. Instead of focusing on how far we still have to go, what if we celebrated how far we've come? Game-changing perspective shift right there.

Why This Matters Now

These aren't just nice ideas - they're your toolkit for:

• Finding joy in medicine again
• Creating a life that doesn't revolve around your inbox
• Building the career you actually want
• Taking care of yourself (for real this time!)

Want to Dive Deeper?

• Grab "The Gap Versus the Gain" by Dr. Benjamin Hardy and Dan Sullivan
• Ready for more? Check out www.healthierforgood.com
• Questions? Drop me a line at megan@healthierforgood.com

Join Us!

New Unbound cohort starts Sunday, March 2nd, 2025. If you're ready to ditch the perfectionism and people-pleasing that's burning you out, come hang with us. We get it, and more importantly, we know how to change it.

PPS Are you a Pediatrician or do you work in a FQHC? If so, I'm offering a special price just for you (this is an honor system folks). Type "PEDS25" or "FQHC25" at checkout to claim your discount.

📧 Reach m

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

Send us a text

Episode Summary:
If cynicism has been creeping in lately, you’re not alone. As physicians, we’re constantly navigating uncertainty—whether it’s within healthcare, in our personal lives, or in the world around us. Over time, this can lead to emotional exhaustion, frustration, and a sense of futility.

In this episode, we’re diving into 10 intentional ways to combat cynicism before it takes over. These are practical strategies to help you step out of the negativity spiral, reconnect with yourself, and move forward with more clarity and purpose.

What You’ll Learn:
✅ How to recognize when cynicism is taking hold
✅ Why taking intentional breaks can make a difference
✅ How small moments of joy and connection can help shift your mindset
✅ The importance of focusing on the basics—sleep, food, hydration
✅ How embracing kindness (for yourself and others) can be a powerful reset

10 Ways to Combat Cynicism:
1️⃣ Take breaks (from work, from stress, from the news)
2️⃣ Focus on the fundamentals—sleep, nutrition, hydration
3️⃣ Stay connected with the people who truly support you
4️⃣ Seek out fun, joy, and awe in your daily life
5️⃣ Sit in your value—acknowledge the incredible work you do
6️⃣ Get clear on your core values and use them as a guide
7️⃣ Find safe spaces where you can be yourself and feel supported
8️⃣ Practice self-kindness—let go of guilt and judgment
9️⃣ Pay attention to your energy levels and honor them
🔟 Intentionally be kind to someone else—it benefits you too

Resources & Links:
Unbound: Women Physicians Reclaiming Their Lives– A 12-week program designed for women physicians to break free from burnout, perfectionism, and people-pleasing so you can reclaim your time, energy, and confidence. Next round starts Sunday, March 2nd! Learn more here.

Have questions? Reach out to Dr. Megan Melo: megan@healthierforgood.com

Take Action:
✔ Take a moment to reflect: Which of these strategies do you need most right now?
✔ Share this episode with a friend or colleague who could use some encouragement.
✔ If you’re ready to make real changes, come join us in Unbound—because you don’t have to do this alone.

Let’s Stay Connected:
This work is challenging, but it’s worth it. If you’re ready to explore how you can reclaim your energy and redefine your path in medicine, I’d love to help.

📧 Reach me at megan@healthierforgood.com
🌐 Visit www.healthierforgood.com to learn about my coaching programs, including Unbound: Women Physicians Reclaiming Their Lives.

If this episode resonates with you, please share it with a colleague who might need to hear it. Your support means the world.

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

Send us a text

In this episode of Ending Physician Overwhelm, we explore a question that can feel deeply uncomfortable—maybe even confrontational: Who do you think you are?

For so many of us, this question has been used to silence us. To keep us in line. To make us doubt ourselves. Whether it was a parent, a mentor, a patient, or the healthcare system itself, we’ve been conditioned to second-guess our worth and our right to take up space.

But what if we asked this question differently?

Together, we reflect on this in three ways:

1. How this question has been used against us – The ways we've internalized the idea that speaking up, setting boundaries, or advocating for ourselves is somehow wrong.
2. How we define ourselves – The negative self-concept so many of us carry, blaming ourselves for struggling in a system that demands the impossible.
3. Who we are at our core – The version of us outside of exhaustion, outside of survival mode—the person we are when we’re truly aligned with what we need and value.

The reality is this: we are not the problem. The system was never designed to care for us as human beings. But if we can step back and see the truth, we can begin to make different choices.

💡 If you’re ready to explore this work in a deeper way, consider joining Unbound: Women Physicians Reclaiming Their Lives, opening for enrollment in March.

📩 Let’s connect: If this conversation resonates with you, let’s talk. Schedule a call with me here.

🎧 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts.

Let’s Stay Connected:
This work is challenging, but it’s worth it. If you’re ready to explore how you can reclaim your energy and redefine your path in medicine, I’d love to help.

📧 Reach me at megan@healthierforgood.com
🌐 Visit www.healthierforgood.com to learn about my coaching programs, including Unbound: Women Physicians Reclaiming Their Lives.

If this episode resonates with you, please share it with a colleague who might need to hear it. Your support means the world.

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

Send us a text

In this episode, we introduce the "Knowing What I Now Know" (KWINK) analysis—a powerful tool for self-reflection without judgment. We explore how we, as physicians, can apply this framework to our careers, workplaces, and personal lives with kindness and self-compassion.

We’ve all been conditioned to self-criticize—questioning our decisions, feeling shame for past choices, and internalizing the voices of those who have judged us. But what if we replaced that with self-understanding? What if we recognized that our past selves made the best decisions possible with the information they had at the time?

In this episode, we’ll cover:
✔️ How medical training instills judgment and self-blame—and how to undo it
✔️ Using KWINK to assess our current job and whether it’s serving us
✔️ Evaluating our careers at a macro level—are we still in alignment with what we truly love?
✔️ What we need in our personal lives to create balance and sustainability

It's time to shift from self-judgment to self-compassion. Let’s embrace change with kindness and start making decisions that serve us today—not just the version of us from years ago.

💡 Reflection Questions:

1. Knowing what I now know about my job, what needs to change?
2. Knowing what I now know about my career path, is this still what I want?
3. Knowing what I now know about my life, what do I need more (or less) of?

Let’s Stay Connected:
This work is challenging, but it’s worth it. If you’re ready to explore how you can reclaim your energy and redefine your path in medicine, I’d love to help.

📧 Reach me at megan@healthierforgood.com
🌐 Visit www.healthierforgood.com to learn about my coaching programs, including Unbound: Women Physicians Reclaiming Their Lives.

If this episode resonates with you, please share it with a colleague who might need to hear it. Your support means the world.

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

Send us a text

Hello, friends, and welcome to another episode of Ending Physician Overwhelm. This week, we’re tackling a topic that resonates deeply for so many of us in medicine: the challenges of navigating relationships with our employers.

We’re not talking about the individuals you work alongside every day, but the employer as an entity. What happens when your values, mission, and vision for patient care seem to be at odds with the system you work in? And how can we move forward when trust in our workplace has eroded—or was never there to begin with?

Here’s what we cover in this reflective and empowering episode:

• Looking Back to Look Forward
  We take a moment to reflect on what we thought life in medicine would be like before med school. What were your hopes, expectations, and ideas about patient care? Now, compare that to your day-to-day reality. This isn’t about judgment—it’s about noticing the gap.
• The Trap of Self-Blame
  Too often, we internalize the struggle as a personal failure: “If only I worked harder, charted faster, or was better at my job, everything would fall into place.” But this mindset harms us and perpetuates a belief that the system we work in is fair or reasonable when it often is not.
• Evaluating the Employer-Employee Relationship
  What if we flipped the script and graded our employers? Are they living up to the promises made when you took the job? Do their values align with yours, or is there a growing mismatch? We explore how to assess this relationship without cynicism but with clear-eyed honesty.
• Recognizing Your Own Value
  Your skills, expertise, and personhood are your most important assets, and they should always be prioritized. If you feel stuck, remember that you have choices—even if they don’t feel obvious right now.
• Finding a Way Forward
  Whether you choose to stay or decide to leave, the key is recognizing your worth and aligning your actions with your values. We explore ways to approach this decision with curiosity and intention rather than anger or frustration.

This is a deep dive into the systemic challenges we face and a call to reconnect with your intrinsic value as a physician and a human being. You are not broken, and the difficulties you experience are not your fault.

As always, my friends, take care, take heart, and take the time to reflect on what you need to live and practice medicine in a way that feels sustainable and aligned with your values.

Let’s Stay Connected:
This work is challenging, but it’s worth it. If you’re ready to explore how you can reclaim your energy and redefine your path in medicine, I’d love to help.

📧 Reach me at megan@healthierforgood.com
🌐 Visit www.healthierforgood.com to learn about my coaching programs, including Unbound: Women Physicians Reclaiming Their Lives.

If this episode resonates with you, please share it with a colleague who might need to hear it. Your support means the world.

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

Send us a text

Today’s topic—self-compassion—feels especially timely. I’ve been navigating my own challenging season recently, and I wanted to share some reflections and tools that have been helping me, in the hope they’ll resonate with you too.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The January Blues: How the transition into the new year often brings a lull after the holidays, leaving many of us grappling with difficult emotions.
• The Power of Self-Compassion: Why meeting ourselves with kindness, mindfulness, and an understanding of shared humanity can build true resilience, especially during tough times.
• Recognizing Overwhelm: The importance of naming and processing emotions rather than over-identifying with or numbing out from them.

A key takeaway is that self-compassion isn’t about glossing over challenges; it’s about facing them with gentleness, clarity, and intention. Drawing from Dr. Kristin Neff’s framework of self-kindness, mindfulness, and common humanity, we'll talk about ways to reconnect with yourself and regain a sense of agency, even when the world feels chaotic.

Whether you’re experiencing a brief season of stress or something more prolonged, this episode is a reminder that your emotions matter and that prioritizing your own care is not only okay—it’s essential.

Resources Mentioned:

• Dr. Kristin Neff’s work on self-compassion
• Journaling techniques, including thought downloads
• The Lazy Genius podcast by Kendra Adachi

As always, I appreciate you tuning in. Take care of yourself this week, and remember, leaning into self-compassion is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself.

Let’s Stay Connected:
This work is challenging, but it’s worth it. If you’re ready to explore how you can reclaim your energy and redefine your path in medicine, I’d love to help.

📧 Reach me at megan@healthierforgood.com
🌐 Visit www.healthierforgood.com to learn about my coaching programs, including Unbound: Women Physicians Reclaiming Their Lives.

If this episode resonates with you, please share it with a colleague who might need to hear it. Your support means the world.

A Birthday Wish:
My birthday was January 12th! The best gift you could give me? Leave a rating, write a review, or share this podcast with someone who needs it. Let’s keep growing this community of women physicians who are ready to heal, grow, and thrive.

Listen Now and Take Control of What You Can.

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

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Description:
Deep breath, as we dive into a reality that so many physicians face daily: navigating situations over which we have so little control. From overwhelming inboxes to unrealistic expectations from patients and systemic challenges in healthcare, we discuss the emotional toll this lack of control can take—and how we can respond with intention and self-compassion.

Together, we explore the complex layers of responsibility, moral injury, and the often misplaced sense of blame we carry as physicians. Most importantly, we talk about reclaiming our power, setting boundaries, and taking care of ourselves in the midst of it all.

What We Cover in This Episode:

1. Acknowledging the Chaos of Healthcare:
   • Stories of systemic dysfunction, from termination without cause to insurance denials.
   • How physicians often bear the brunt of blame for things beyond our control.
2. The Emotional Toll of the Inbox:
   • Why the electronic medical record can be a source of overwhelm and anxiety.
   • How unrealistic patient expectations (and systemic failures) contribute to the pressure.
3. Navigating the Gap Between Responsibility and Control:
   • The tension between having high levels of responsibility and limited power to change outcomes.
   • Recognizing that we are not at fault for everything patients perceive as a problem.
4. Steps to Reclaim Our Agency:
   • Settle the Nervous System: Practices like deep breathing and grounding exercises to reduce fight-or-flight responses.
   • Examine Our Thoughts: Identifying and challenging the beliefs that keep us stuck in overwhelm.
   • Decide How to Proceed: Creating boundaries, delegating tasks, and giving ourselves permission to say no when appropriate.
5. Choosing to Stay in the Game:
   • How acknowledging what we can’t control helps us focus on what we can.
   • Practicing self-care as an essential part of staying in medicine without burnout.

Takeaways:

• We can’t wait for the broken healthcare system to be fixed before we start taking care of ourselves.
• Recognizing what isn’t ours to control allows us to reclaim our energy and focus on what matters.
• It’s okay to flounder as we practice new habits—progress takes time.

Let’s Stay Connected:
This work is challenging, but it’s worth it. If you’re ready to explore how you can reclaim your energy and redefine your path in medicine, I’d love to help.

📧 Reach me at megan@healthierforgood.com
🌐 Visit www.healthierforgood.com to learn about my coaching programs, including Unbound: Women Physicians Reclaiming Their Lives.

If this episode resonates with you, please share it with a colleague who might need to hear it. Your support means the world.

A Birthday Wish:
My birthday is January 12th! The best gift you could give me? Leave a rating, write a review, or share this podcast with someone who needs it. Let’s keep growing this community of wome

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

Send us a text

Episode Summary:

Happy New Year, friends! As we step into 2025, I’m sharing my word for the year: Integration. It’s a concept I believe we’re all seeking, even if we haven’t quite named it. Integration is about feeling present, grounded, and whole—showing up as your full self at work, at home, and in your body.

In this episode, I explore what it means to cultivate integration as a busy physician, and how this can shift the way we approach our work, relationships, and self-care. We’re talking about breaking free from perfectionism, acknowledging the systems that challenge us, and reclaiming a sense of connection and purpose in our lives.

What We Cover in This Episode:

• What Integration Means: Feeling connected to yourself, your emotions, and your values while being present with others.
• Why We Struggle with Integration: Years of training and conditioning have taught us to put our needs last, leaving us disconnected and stuck in survival mode.
• How to Cultivate Integration at Home:
  • Creating boundaries between your physician identity and your personal relationships.
  • Identifying what you need to feel present and connected after a long day.
• Integration at Work:
  • Understanding the realities of your time and resources to avoid mismatched expectations.
  • Aligning your work with your values—or recognizing when it’s time to move on.
• Reconnecting with Your Body:
  • Simple practices to feel grounded and meet your basic physical needs like sleep, nutrition, and movement.
  • Tuning into your emotions and building a better relationship with yourself.

Key Takeaways:

1. Integration is the Opposite of Survival Mode: It’s about reclaiming connection, not just “getting through the day.”
2. Small, Intentional Steps Matter: Whether it’s setting boundaries, reflecting on misaligned values, or taking a breath to reconnect with your body, integration is built moment by moment.
3. We Don’t Need to Be Robots: Efficiency isn’t about perfection. It’s about showing up as your full, human self in alignment with your values.

Actionable Steps for Integration:

• Take 30 seconds before entering your home or next patient room to check in with your body. What do you need in this moment?
• Reflect on your work environment: Are your expectations aligned with your reality?
• Identify one boundary to protect your personal time this week.

Work with Me:

If integration resonates with you, I’d love to support you. Whether it’s through my group coaching program Unbound or one-on-one sessions, I’m here to help women physicians reclaim their lives and reconnect with themselves.

Let’s make 2025 a year of integration and intentionality.

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

Send us a text

In the final episode of 2024, we reflect on the year that’s passed and look forward with intention to the year ahead. As physicians, the end of the year often brings heightened perfectionist tendencies, alongside a desire to make sweeping changes. Instead of falling into the trap of magical thinking, we walk through a healthier, more intentional process to close out the year and start fresh without unrealistic expectations.

Together, we explore how to celebrate our wins, honor our challenges, and set meaningful intentions for the new year—without guilt, self-judgment, or the weight of “should.”

What We Cover in This Episode:

• Celebrating Successes:
  • Why acknowledging our wins is critical for rewiring our brains to notice the good.
  • Practical strategies like keeping a “wins” notebook to track and reflect on daily accomplishments.
• Reflecting on Challenges:
  • Identifying areas where we fell short without resorting to harsh self-criticism.
  • Letting go of guilt, judgment, and the heaviness of unmet expectations.
• Setting Intentions for the New Year:
  • Moving beyond magical thinking to create actionable, realistic goals.
  • Prioritizing intentionality and carving out time for what truly matters.
  • Recognizing the importance of boundaries and asking for support to make space for your goals.

Key Takeaways:

1. Wins Deserve Celebration: Physicians are conditioned to focus on what’s wrong. Taking time to celebrate even small wins is essential for balance and growth.
2. Kindness Over Judgment: Reflect on challenges with compassion to gain clarity and take constructive steps forward.
3. Intentionality Drives Change: Goals require planning and action—small, consistent steps make progress attainable and sustainable.

A Simple Framework for Closing Out the Year:

1. Celebrate: What went well in 2024? What are you proud of?
2. Acknowledge Challenges: What obstacles did you face, and what lessons can you take forward?
3. Set Intentions: What do you want for yourself in 2025, and how can you start creating space for it?

Practical Tips:

• Start a notebook or journal to track wins daily or weekly.
• Reflect on where your time goes—look for areas to reclaim time for meaningful pursuits.
• Break down goals into small, achievable steps to avoid overwhelm and perfectionism.
• Create boundaries to protect time for rest, relationships, and personal growth.

Final Thoughts:

As we step into 2025, let’s carry forward the lessons of this year with compassion and clarity. Whether this year was filled with wins, challenges, or both, reflection can help us grow and set intentions for a brighter future.

Thank you for being part of this journey in 2024. Wishing you a happy and fulfilling New Year!

Thank you for tuning in! Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review. Until next time, take care.

Connect with Dr. Megan Melo:

• Website: www.healthierforgood.co

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

Send us a text

Episode Summary:

In this episode, we explore the role thought errors play in shaping how we interact with our inboxes, particularly through electronic medical records (EMRs). These common patterns of thinking contribute to moral injury, burnout, and the overwhelming sense of always needing to be “on.”

See how these beliefs keep us tethered to our inboxes after hours, why patient portals create unrealistic expectations, and how these challenges impact our ability to provide compassionate care. We'll also talk about strategies to set boundaries, challenge perfectionism, and take back control of our time and energy.

What We Cover in This Episode:

• Thought Errors That Keep Us Stuck:
  • Believing we are responsible for patient emergencies/outcomes at all times.
  • Feeling like it’s our job to accommodate patients who refuse other options for care.
  • Thinking that checking the inbox constantly can prevent bad outcomes.
• How EMRs Have Changed the Landscape:
  • The unintended consequences of patient portals and 24/7 messaging.
  • How responding to messages after hours reinforces unhealthy expectations.
• Strategies for Change:
  • Reframing our responsibility for patient outcomes.
  • Recognizing the inherent imperfections in any healthcare system.
  • The importance of protecting boundaries to maintain longevity in medicine.

Key Takeaways:

1. We Cannot Be On-Call 24/7: While technology has revolutionized patient communication, it has also created unhealthy pressures. It’s essential to reestablish clear boundaries.
2. Patient Outcomes Are Not Solely on Us: Moral injury often stems from systemic challenges, not personal shortcomings. Understanding this can lighten the emotional burden we carry.
3. Boundaries Are the Foundation of Great Care: When we prioritize our own rest and well-being, we’re better equipped to care for our patients during working hours.

Reflective Questions for Our Community:

• What thought errors keep us tethered to our inboxes after hours?
• How can we challenge the belief that constant availability equals better care?
• What’s one small step we can take this week to establish healthier boundaries?

Let’s Keep the Conversation Going:

Ready to take the next step in this work?

• Join our Unbound coaching group for women physicians to find a supportive community dedicated to breaking free from burnout and rediscovering joy in medicine. The next round starts March 2025
• Explore one-on-one coaching opportunities to develop personalized strategies for thriving in your career and personal life.

Connect with Us:

• Website: www.healthierforgood.com
• Instagram: @MeganMeloMD

Final Thoughts:

As 2024 comes to a close, let’s lean into the courage it takes to challenge ingrained beliefs and embrace self-compassion. Together, we can rewrite the narrative, letting go of unsustainable expect

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

Send us a text

In this episode, we dive into the conflict between wants and needs—a dynamic that significantly impacts how physicians manage their time, energy, and priorities. Inspired by insights from The Gap Versus the Gain by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy, Megan unpacks why physicians often prioritize external demands over their own personal goals and desires.

Key Topics Discussed:

1. The Conflict Between Needs and Wants

Physicians are highly trained to respond to external drivers and prioritize others' needs, often at the expense of their own.

• Common examples include:

  • Completing patient notes and addressing inbox messages.
  • Managing the tension between doing work efficiently versus meeting perfectionistic expectations.

• Why Change Feels Difficult

The brain is wired to focus on survival and external validation, not personal desires like more free time or less stress.

• Many physicians are conditioned to value perfection and external praise, which reinforces time-consuming habits.

• Three Steps to Align with Your Wants:

• Step 1: Clarify the Value of Your Goal

  • Ask: Why do I want this? (e.g., to avoid late nights finishing notes, reduce stress, or be present with family).
  • Write down at least 20 reasons to connect emotionally with the goal.
• Step 2: Identify Deep-Seated Beliefs
  • Explore beliefs about what is “necessary” in your work, such as writing perfect notes or avoiding mistakes at all costs.
  • Challenge whether those beliefs truly serve you.

• Step 3: Bridge the Gap

  • Compare your list of wants to the obstacles in your way.
  • Take small, measurable steps toward progress and celebrate those wins.

• Practical Applications:

• Understand the difference between doing something “good enough” versus striving for perfection.

• Focus on incremental changes, like finishing one note before moving on to the next task or closing mental loops at the end of the day.
• Use this process for bigger goals like reducing administrative burdens or transitioning to a more fulfilling career.

Takeaways:

• Recognize that your training predisposes you to prioritize others’ needs—but embracing your own wants is essential for your well-being.
• By shifting your mindset and making small, consistent changes, you can free yourself from overwhelm and reclaim your time.
• Progress is not linear, and setbacks are normal—but each step forward is a win worth celebrating.

Resources & Mentions:

• The Gap Versus the Gain by Dan Sullivan & Dr. Benjamin Hardy PhD

Thank you for tuning in! Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review. Until next time, take care.

Connect with Dr. Megan Melo:

• Website: www.healthierforgood.com
• Instagram: @MeganMeloMD
• Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

Send us a text

In this episode, we dive into the pervasive challenge of managing the harsh inner critic many women physicians face. We explore the origins of this critical voice, how it develops, and its impact on our lives. Let’s also talk about compassionate strategies to identify, understand, and quiet this inner critic, so you can learn to live life with less negative noise.

Key Takeaways:

Understanding the Inner Critic

• Origins:
  • Often rooted in societal expectations to excel and please others, reinforced from childhood through adulthood.
  • Influenced by environments that equated worthiness with achievement, perfection, and making others happy.
• Behaviors and Patterns:
  • Turns leisure activities into measurable achievements.
  • Critiques rest and relaxation as laziness, perpetuating burnout and overwork.
  • Mirrors external voices like strict authority figures, internalized as self-judgment.

Why It’s Harmful:

• Keeps high achievers in a cycle of overwork and self-criticism.
• Prevents true rest, joy, and connection with oneself and others.
• Leads to feelings of inadequacy and perpetuates burnout.

Strategies for Taming the Inner Critic:

1. Recognize and Name the Critic:
   • Identify the inner voice as separate from yourself.
   • Give it a name to acknowledge when it’s active (e.g., “The Judge” or “The Boss”).
2. Understand Its Intentions:
   • Reflect on what the inner critic is trying to achieve.
   • Recognize that, while misguided, it believes it’s helping you succeed.
3. Compassionately Shift Its Role:
   • Accept that this part of you exists but doesn’t have to lead.
   • “Move it to the back seat” by listening without allowing it to dictate actions.
   • Practice self-empathy and reframe thoughts as opinions, not truths.
4. Reimagine Success Without the Critic:
   • Visualize a life where the critic isn’t in control—where rest, joy, and imperfection are part of your journey.

Mentioned Resources:

• Books and Concepts:
  • Internal Family Systems Therapy by Richard Schwartz.
  • Positive Intelligence by Shirzad Chamine.

Invitation to Join Unbound:

Are you a woman physician battling burnout, perfectionism, people-pleasing, or a lack of boundaries? Join Megan’s transformative program, Unbound: Women Physicians Reclaiming Their Lives.

Enrollment Deadline: December 13, 2024
Next Session Starts: March 2025 (don’t wait!)

Unbound offers a supportive community and actionable tools to reclaim joy and balance.

Connect with Megan:

• Website: www.healthierforgood.com
• Program Info: Click here

Let’s work together to quiet the inner critic and create a life filled with joy, rest, and purpose.

Thank you for tuning in! Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review. Until next time, take care.

Connect with Dr. Megan Melo:

• Website: www.he

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

Send us a text

In this episode of Ending Physician Overwhelm, we dive deep into the real reasons behind our struggles with setting boundaries as physicians. It’s not just about finding time for lunch or stepping away from work—it’s about uncovering the deeply ingrained patterns and thoughts that keep us stuck in cycles of guilt, overwhelm, and exhaustion.

Dr. Melo shares personal anecdotes, like the untouched chocolate croissant that became a symbol of her overcommitment (or maybe just anxiety?), and offers insights into why we often put ourselves last.

If you’ve ever wondered why you can’t seem to take a break, even when you know you need one, this episode will resonate deeply.

Key Takeaways from This Episode:

• The Root of the Problem: Why our medical training pushes us to override basic needs like eating, resting, and hydrating, and how this creates patterns of burnout.
• Thoughts Drive Actions: How subconscious thoughts like “I can’t stop until everything is done” create feelings of guilt and anxiety that keep us trapped in overwork.
• Breaking the Cycle: The importance of recognizing and challenging conditioned beliefs to reclaim your time, energy, and well-being.
• A Personal Story: Dr. Melo’s own experience of ignoring her hunger for years while navigating inboxes and patient demands—and the lessons she’s learned since.
• The Path to Change: Why curiosity, awareness, and discomfort are essential to breaking free from the patterns that hold you back.

Listener Reflection Questions:

1. Do you find it hard to stop and take a break during the day? What thoughts or feelings come up when you try?
2. What “rules” or beliefs about work might be driving your exhaustion or guilt?
3. How might starting small—like honoring your hunger or taking a 10-minute breather—create space for bigger shifts in your life?

Resources and Next Steps:

• Join the Community: If you're ready to dive deeper into this transformative work, consider joining Dr. Melo’s group, Unbound: Women Physicians Reclaiming Their Lives. Spots may still be open for December 2024—reach out to learn more!
• One-on-One Coaching: Work with Dr. Melo directly to identify and change the patterns that are keeping you stuck.
• Stay Connected: Follow the podcast and sign up for updates to hear about future group offerings and coaching opportunities.

Episode Inspiration:
“The healthcare system is broken. But waiting for it to change isn’t the answer. When we work on our thoughts, feelings, and actions, we reclaim our power and start living in alignment with what truly matters.” – Dr. Megan Melo

Connect with Dr. Megan Melo:

• Website: www.healthierforgood.com
• Instagram: @MeganMeloMD
• Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

This episode will inspire and challenge you to get curious, get uncomfortable, and start making the changes that will truly set you free. Tune in now!

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

Send us a text

In this episode, I explore the concept of Human Giver Syndrome, a term coined by Emily Nagoski, PhD, and Amelia Nagoski, DMA, in their groundbreaking book Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle. This deeply ingrained societal expectation pressures women—especially women physicians—to be endlessly selfless, cheerful, and giving, often at the expense of their own well-being.

Many of us have experienced pushback for being “too negative” or “not a teamplayer” when we’ve tried to meet our own needs. Today we unpack three specific ways Human Giver Syndrome shows up in the lives of women physicians: the silencing of your voice, the invisible labor of emotional support, and the relentless drive to be “perfectly” selfless. Finally, we envision what life could look like if you broke free from these expectations.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• What Human Giver Syndrome is, as defined by Emily and Amelia Nagoski in Burnout.
• How this toxic expectation impacts women physicians and contributes to burnout.
• Three ways it shows up in your life—and how to recognize the patterns.
• Your plan for breaking free of Human Giver Syndrome; there’s hope!

Resources Mentioned:

• Unbound: Women Physicians Reclaiming Their Lives
  If you’re ready to break free from burnout and reclaim your life, check out Unbound: Women Physicians Reclaiming Their Lives. This transformative coaching program is tailored specifically for women physicians, helping you rewrite the narrative of self-sacrifice and step into a life of fulfillment and joy.
  👉 Learn more here: Unbound: Women Physicians Reclaiming Their Lives
• Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski, PhD, and Amelia Nagoski, DMA
  This must-read book introduces the concept of Human Giver Syndrome and provides science-backed tools to complete the stress cycle and combat burnout.

Link to Register for Unbound: Women Physicians Reclaiming their Lives

https://www.healthierforgood.com/offers/azBmHaNZ

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

Send us a text

Connection is something most of us are lacking. Which is weird, because most of us are surrounded by people daily.

But it’s not just people that give you connection. It’s being able to show up, be yourself, ask for help, be vulnerable, and support others that creates connection.

We need a balance of give and take. Period. And most of us aren’t getting that, but we need that. If you are lacking this in your life, struggling as a women physician, and wanting more connection, Unbound is for you.

Join us in Unbound: Women Physicians Reclaiming their Lives. This group, exclusive to women physicians (MD, DO or MBBS), starts December 1, 2024, and it’s your opportunity to move ideas that we talk about on this podcast into your life. Out of your head, into your life. Together.

The doors are open now for registration AND, shout out to my friend, the amazing Dr Rachel Rubin, who asked me to add a buddy option. As in, bring along another woman physician and get special savings. Such a great idea!

Link to Register for Unbound: Women Physicians Reclaiming their Lives

https://www.healthierforgood.com/offers/azBmHaNZ

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

Send us a text

How do we take care of ourselves when we have BIG feelings, when we are used to taking care of everyone else.

I’m not talking politics today, though I acknowledge that I, and many of you, have some big emotions right now, which are not limited to disappointment, but too numerous to mention.

If you struggle with hard times, like most humans do, this is one to lean into. I’m sharing how to hold on to hope, acknowledge the feelings, and take care of yourself through the feelings.

This is big work my friends. But it’s important. We will always hit major challenges; the question is who do we want to be, how do we want to be in these moments?

I’m also thrilled to announce the start of a new group coaching program, Unbound: Women Physicians Reclaiming their Lives. This group, exclusive to women physicians (MD, DO or MBBS), starts December 1, 2024, and it’s your opportunity to move ideas that we talk about on this podcast into your life. Out of your head, into your life. Together.

The doors are open now for registration AND, shout out to my friend, the amazing Dr Rachel Rubin, who asked me to add a buddy option. As in, bring along another woman physician and get special savings. Such a great idea!

Link to Register for Unbound: Women Physicians Reclaiming their Lives

https://www.healthierforgood.com/offers/azBmHaNZ

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

Send us a text

Feeling a bit fiery today, but I want you to sit with this one.

I am done believing that I should look, work or speak a certain way, based on internalized norms passed down from generations of patriarchy in medicine. I don’t want to practice that way, I don’t want to speak that way, and I don’t want to receive my care that way.

But in order for us to change the dynamic, WE are going to need to show up differently, and ASK for things we’ve not asked for.

I’m also thrilled to announce the start of a new group coaching program, Unbound: Women Physicians Reclaiming their Lives. This group, exclusive to women physicians (MD, DO or MBBS), starts December 1, 2024, and it’s your opportunity to move ideas that we talk about on this podcast into your life. Out of your head, into your life. Together.

The doors are open now for registration AND, shout out to my friend, the amazing Dr Rachel Rubin, who asked me to add a buddy option. As in, bring along another woman physician and get special savings. Such a great idea!

Link to Register for Unbound: Women Physicians Reclaiming their Lives

https://www.healthierforgood.com/offers/azBmHaNZ

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

View Details

Send us a text

What happens when you clean up other people’s messes?

They don’t get to solve the problem (and learn)

They don’t get to experience the consequences (and learn)

You feel exhausted, and internalize that you SHOULD be the one who fixes ALL the problems.

In today’s episode, I’m going to walk through what this can look like, and invite you to think about these challenges differently. You are such a good problem solver. And there are some problems that truly only you can solve. But it’s easy to believe that you are the only path to a solution, and that is not tenable.

I’m also thrilled to announce the start of a new group coaching program, Unbound: Women Physicians Reclaiming their Lives. This group, exclusive to women physicians (MD, DO or MBBS), starts December 1, 2024, and it’s your opportunity to move ideas that we talk about on this podcast into your life. Out of your head, into your life. Together.

The doors are open now for registration AND, shout out to my friend, the amazing Dr Rachel Rubin, who asked me to add a buddy option. As in, bring along another woman physician and get special savings. Such a great idea!

Link to Register for Unbound: Women Physicians Reclaiming their Lives

https://www.healthierforgood.com/offers/azBmHaNZ

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

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Ok, who else here likes to feel in control? Likes it too much, I mean. As in, tries to take control of every situation and then wonders why she feels so stressed, tight and yell-y.

Today I’m talking about the idea that you can have complete control or complete freedom, but not both. Although this too is an illusion because we can’t actually control much of what we try to control. We can have rules and structure and try to manipulate people and situations, but we don’t actually succeed. We just mostly alienate people and give ourselves a headache.

Let’s talk about moving ourselves along the spectrum towards more freedom, flexibility, relaxation, and what that brings to the table.

I’m also thrilled to announce the start of a new group coaching program, Unbound: Women Physicians Reclaiming their Lives. This group, exclusive to women physicians (MD, DO or MBBS), starts December 1, 2024, and it’s your opportunity to move ideas that we talk about on this podcast into your life. Out of your head, into your life. Together.

The doors are open now for registration AND, shout out to my friend, the amazing Dr Rachel Rubin, who asked me to add a buddy option. As in, bring along another woman physician and get special savings. Such a great idea!

Link to Register for Unbound: Women Physicians Reclaiming their Lives

https://www.healthierforgood.com/offers/azBmHaNZ

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

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@MeganMeloMD

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Trauma responses are very real, and very challenging for us as humans.

Especially if you are judging yourself for experiencing them.

Today I am talking about how trauma shows up in our lives, including in ourselves and people around us. We’ll talk about seeing trauma as “too much, too fast,” and often with too little support/resources, and the ways that can manifest in your life.

As promised, here are some resources that you can explore:

• EMDR and Brain-Spotting are 2 therapeutic modalities, commonly performed by trained Therapists that help to get to wiring in the sympathetic nervous system, and help to dampen these responses to triggers.
• Irest (https://shop.irest.org/) and Yoga Nidra (find many versions of this online) are other somatic therapies that can be helpful to address sympathetic nervous system over-activation, and help people to heal. https://shop.irest.org/
• Internal Family Systems (“parts” work) is a talk-therapy modality that explores why different parts of us “take over,” in response to events, and can be very helpful for trauma.
• Friend of the show and past guest, Dr Christy Gibson (Episode 120, June 8 2024 “Is Burnout Really Trauma”), also has a wonderful book, “The Modern Trauma Toolkit,” where she shares helpful resources and practices, including havening, which can be used for brief and rapid intervention, including in the middle of a busy day. Here’s our episode: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1957629/episodes/15135760

Each of us can develop recurrent trauma responses related to the very real experience of caring for ailing humans with too little resources (too little back-up, support staff, equipment, rest/breaks, etc). Let go of judgment, and get the help that you need to feel healed.

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

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@MeganMeloMD

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Were you a great resident?

Me too

Were you the one that was kind, flexible, accommodating, hardworking?

Me too

Were you the one who left residency and worked and worked and worked, looking for validation, wanting to hear that you could take a break, that you could get the help and support you needed to take care of patients exactly the way that you wanted too, and not the way that your system expected you too (rapidly, with empathy, thoroughness, but RAPIDLY and meeting all your HEDIS and Press-Ganey metrics. Did I say rapidly?)???

Me too

Today I’m sharing 5 things that I wish I could have understood leaving residency. 14+ years later, I’m still learning these lessons, but so much more clear on why this is needed, and what I want for MYSELF as a human, let alone as a working physician mom.

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

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Do you struggle to get your notes done?

How often have you told yourself that you “just need to be more efficient” or “just need to be better at time management?”

How’s that working for you?

Today I take a deep dive into why procrastination, with special attention to our notes and inboxes, is not a simple math problem. If it were, a timer would help you 100% of the time.

Instead, let’s talk about our emotional response to the work, managing our energy bank (not judging against other people’s!), and how to start to make the changes that help us get the work done NOW.

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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What if you could use your medical expertise differently?

Today I sit down with Dr Amy Fogelman, Board-Certified and Harvard-trained Internist and the CEO and Founder of High Rock Experts. Dr Fogelman shares her journey through burnout and how it led her to recognise how she could use her medical expertise in more sustainable ways as a Medical Expert Witness and a business owner creating a unique practice matching medical experts with attorneys in need.

As a bonus, we talk about common misconceptions around malpractice, and what we can do not only to reframe our thoughts about being sued, but also how we can bring our skills to provide unbiased medical expertise that helps patients and physicians both.

During our conversation, Amy references “The Expert Witness Newsletter” on substack, find it here: https://expertwitness.substack.com

More about Amy:

Amy G. Fogelman, MD is Board Certified in Internal Medicine with 20 years of experience seeing outpatients at Harvard-affiliated practices in the Boston area. She is a leading expert in primary care opioid policies and has been recognized for her clinical excellence and leadership at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).

She founded High Rock Experts, formerly MED LAW Consulting in 2018. High Rock’s core mission is to provide ethical and credible expert reviews and they have matched over 500 and counting medical experts to attorneys across the United States. She took this one step further to also founded High Rock Academy for newer experts or those who want to hone their skills. She offers one-on-one coaching and convenient courses using her CBA framework where she shows you how to unlock the secrets to securing high-paying expert cases. Amy is also incredibly proud to be a dance mom!

To connect with Dr Amy Fogelman, find her here:

Website: https://highrockexperts.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amyfogelmanmd

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amyfogelmanmd

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyfogelmanmd

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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We think of stress as this thing we carry. But what IS it?

Stress is an emotion; a feeling. It probably gives you some physical sensations in your body (headaches, eyelid twitches, stomach upset).

And we try and treat stress by getting organized (journals, planners and apps, oh my!), doing yoga, promising that we’ll meditate (“I’ll just download this app and start meditating every day and then I’ll feel better!”).

But the stress we FEEL, comes from the thoughts that we have.

Today I’m going to show you exactly why this is true, and what to do in order to change your experience. Listen up!

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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“I should exercise more”

This episode is not for those of you who already LOVE exercising. Those of you who are runners, for example, and strongly identify as such. Or Cross-Fitters. You are welcome here, and yet this episode might not make sense to you.

Because today, I’m talking to those of us who were not athletes, who put exercise on our calendars and then don’t do it, who think we “should” do exercise, or think of exercise as something we do to “fix” ourselves in some way.

Let’s talk about some new perspectives on exercise that will pull you in and help you get those shoes on, or that class scheduled.

Here’s the bottom line:

• You’ll feel good after (and RARELY regret moving your body)
• You are more likely to engage in other self-care behaviors, like better sleep or nutrition or time with friends when you are active (with a little boundaries practice to boot!)
• Spend time with friends/loved ones OR refilling your social batteries (introverts unite!)

When the short-term gains are right in your face, when you are very clear on the immediate benefits, you are more likely to be consistent. So put down the shoulds, and let’s go for a walk!

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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How much of your day do you feel is in service to Epic and the almighty EMR?

The tech is supposed to serve us, right?

Today I am thrilled to be joined by Dr Michelle Flemmings, an ER Physician with past Hospitalist Experience, who moved into the technology space, helping to shape medical technology to fit the users, not the other way around. She shares her journey from pre-EMR medicine to her role with Oracle as a Healthcare Clinical Strategist, and all the bumps and lessons along the way.

Although we didn’t dive into this on the show, Dr Flemmings also coaches women physicians looking to expand their voices and roles within medical leadership. If you’ve been looking for guidance in this arena, you will want to be sure to connect with her!

Dr Michelle Flemmings is the Industry Executive Director for Healthcare in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.With 30+ years of experience in clinical medicine, physician leadership and technology-physician interface, Dr Flemmings is also a skilled coach, helping physicians to find satisfying, sustainable roles in medicine and medical leadership. A former CMIO and recently retired Emergency Physician, Michelle lives with her husband and two dogs in SW Colorado. Fun fact, she’s a certified Master Gardener and avid traveler.

Here’s my LinkedIn

Connect with Dr. Michelle Flemmings on LinkedIn

Here’s my YouTube Channel Link:

Check out Dr. Michelle Flemmings on YouTube

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Food is complicated; I know it, you know it.

Today, I invite you to consider how you are fueling your body, and how it’s working for how you feel? Do you fuel your body often enough, and with foods that help you feel good in terms of energy, and overall effects? Or are you eating on the go, grabbing whatever’s easy, eating so quickly you barely taste anything and soon after having heartburn or a migraine?

What and how you eat matters to your human body. And having a human body is often considered to be inconvenient to others who want you to work as though you don’t have one. But we need to start thinking about fueling our bodies in a way that supports us feeling our best.

My 2 major recommendations for humans?

-More naturally fiber-rich foods

-More plant-based protein

Additional Resources: I highly recommend reading “How Not to Age” by Dr Michael Greger; it’s a BIG book, but he really dives into the evidence of human health and longevity, and I think it’s a powerful argument towards more plants in our lives, without being preachy or political.

Caveat/Disclosure: This is not a lecture about metabolism, weight, weight loss, obesity, etc. If you struggle with disordered eating, eating disorders, binge-restrict cycles, or other trauma responses in connection with food, nutrition, dieting, etc, I’m not diving into any of these, but if you still find the topics triggering, I invite you to sit this one out. Many of us come from difficult or traumatic experiences with these areas, and my goal is not to increase distress.

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Yes, yes, you know. You should sleep more.

And most of us WANT to sleep more; or at least feel like we have slept more.

Today is part of my “4 Pillars” or “Back to Basics” series for September, and today we are talking sleep. But rather than give you a prescription, literally or figuratively, I want to talk about what’s getting in the way of you getting to bed, what it’s costing YOU (not humans in general, but the impact on your life), and then creating a customized action plan to meet your needs.

Let’s get our sleep on!

Support the Show.

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Do you get stuck in “right way” energy?

Today I'm sharing a little bit of my own anxious internal environment and talking about “right way” energy. IT’s that internal voice that tells you that there is only one right way to do things. We'll talk about where this kind of energy comes from, what it creates for us in our lives, and what it keeps us from having in our lives.

This is a don't miss episode so be sure to tune in.

Support the Show.

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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We do hard things. As physicians, we are trained to diagnose and treat complex medical illness and to be present with patients through illness, loss of function and loss of life.

But how many of us are equipped with the skills, grace and compassion to deal with a devastating diagnosis in our own families?

Today I’m joined by Dr Crystal Nelson, a board-certified Psychiatrist who shares her story of love and loss at home while completing her medical training. Because of course, life doesn’t stop just because we start medical school.

Board Certified and Licensed Psychiatrist, Dr. Crystal Nelson, is a distinguished medical authority and entrepreneur in the realm of mental health. Dr. Nelson is the CEO and founder of two Georgia Companies, Blueprint Psychiatry and Blueprint TMS and Wellness Centers of America.

Dr. Nelson has appeared nationally on Headline News with CNN and Fox. She has been featured in

articles for Working Mother, Voyage ATL, Canvas Rebel and Atlanta Magazine. Recognized as a leading expert, Dr. Nelson earned the title of Top Doc Atlanta 2023 in the field of psychiatry. She recently published her own guidebook entitled “A Blueprint to Better Mental Health”. Dr.Nelson is a college graduate of the highly esteemed Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia. She earned her Doctor of Medicine degree from Morehouse School of Medicine and went on to complete her psychiatry residency at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. Dr. Nelson also serves as an Adjunct Faculty Professor at Morehouse School of Medicine where she proudly collaborates to train the next generation of medical doctors.

Dr. Nelson is avid dancer and traveler. Most of all, however, Dr. Nelson enjoys spending time with her husband Kenny and their three children, Kenny Jr, Jordyn and Kenton.

To learn more about Blueprint Psychiatry or to request Dr. Nelson as a speaker/consultant:

Visit https://BlueprintPsychiatry.com

Follow on Instagram @drcrystalnelson

Follow on Facebook at Blueprint Psychiatry, LLC

Support the Show.

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Let’s really talk about burnout, shall we?

Today I’m diving deep into the emotional exhaustion component of burnout, and centering our conversation around the excellent book, Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily and Amelia Nagoski, a must-read. If emotions are tunnels with a start and a stop and we are supposed to move through them, emotional exhaustion is us getting stuck in the tunnel and feeling an emotion so chronically that we lose capacity to feel anything else.

Join me, and let’s explore this idea and 3 common misconceptions that are preventing you from getting help, and how to change them for yourself.

Support the Show.

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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“Anxiety is the combination of uncertainty plus our lack of trust in our ability to handle it”

Becky Kennedy, PhD Clinical Psychologist aka “Dr Becky”

Ah COVID, here we are again. Welcome to a very special, (mild) COVID edition of Ending Physician Overwhelm.

But really it’s a perfect background to explore this framework of anxiety, and talk about how instead of trying to reduce uncertainty, often with rigidity and controlling, grasping energy, we can work on leaning into self-trust instead.

When we learn to trust that we can handle difficult circumstances, simply by focusing on the next best step, we mitigate uncontrolled anxiety. Eliminate it? Probably not. Dial it down? Yes. Stop getting stuck in it? Yes. Believe that we aren’t doomed to live trapped in a bundle of anxious nerves? Yes.

Let’s stop trying to control the uncontrollable; Instead, believe in your own capability. Believe in your ability to handle other people being upset/worried/frustrated about their health, and to try to help them navigate the medical concerns.

My friends, trust in yourself. Trust in your goodness. Trust in your desire to help. Trust that you will use your knowledge and skills and do the best you can in any situation with what you have.

Want to hear more? Listen to Dr Becky on The Daily Stoic podcast, episode from December 15, 2023, link here. Or catch the YouTube version here.

Support the Show.

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Does perfectionism bleed over into your physical appearance?

Today I sit down with Dr Mary Alice Mina, a double-board-certified Dermatologist and Dermatologic Surgeon to talk about…you guessed it, skin. And appearance, and perfectionism, and how to make it all easier. In this conversation, we talk about how complicated thoughts and beliefs get around our skin, and practical advice from an expert on how to keep it simple.

Dr. Mary Alice Mina is a Harvard-trained double-board certified dermatologist, dermatologic surgeon, and leading expert on skin health and skincare. She is the host of THE SKIN REAL, a podcast for people looking for real skin care guidance, by true skin experts where she emphasizes a holistic and preventative approach to skin health and aesthetics. With over 15 years of clinical experience, she is an invited speaker on podcasts and at national meetings. She is recognized for her artistic eye and surgical skills while helping people feel good in their skin! She is co-owner of Baucom & Mina Derm Surgery in Atlanta, Georgia where she treats patients with advanced surgical and cosmetic procedures to restore and maintain healthy skin.

IG: https://www.instagram.com/drminaskin

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drminaskin

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@drminaskin

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drminaskin

Website: https://www.theskinreal.com/

Podcast: The Skin Real

Podbean: https://theskinreal.podbean.com/

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-skin-real/id1638619358

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6fusqoOa7ghC7MNy27Payd

Support the Show.

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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“I’m so behind” I thought. Uh oh…

Join me today as I dive into a well-worn thought pattern in my mind, and probably one that shows up for you as well. I share a little of how the name of this podcast came to be, my experience of a sensation of chronic overwhelm, and a deeper dive into how to use “The Thought Model,” which is a wonderful coaching tool from Brooke Castillo, the founder of The Life Coach School.

Want to see how this (and other tools) can make a difference in YOUR life, as they have for me and so many of my physician clients? Schedule a 1:1 meet and greet with me, and let’s talk about what we can do together to bring more ease to your life.

Schedule now:

https://calendly.com/healthierforgood/coaching-discovery-call

Support the Show.

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Have you ever found yourself at the bottom of a bag of chips and don’t know how you got there?

Blame “The Bliss Point;” a high desirability combination of flavors/crunch/textures that make us want to keep eating, without feeling fully satisfied. Sound familiar?

Today we talk about how profitable industries manipulate us to keep doing more of what makes them money; for the food industry, it’s eating (and buying) more foods that tempt us without satisfying us. For the medical-industrial complex? It’s just enough validation to give a bit of dopamine (for people-pleasers like us anyway), but not enough that we’ll feel content in our innate worth, or certainly in our value as professionals.

Also, be sure to check out Episode 34 from July 15, 2024 of my friend, Dr Rashmi Schramm’s excellent podcast, “Inner Peace and Power;” in the episode, she and I spoke about this concept of a “Bliss Point” in medicine, and how this leaves us hustling to prove our value. Find the show “Inner Peace and Power” on your favorite podcast app.

Support the Show.

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Disordered eating, including eating disorders, are more common in physicians than you know.

It’s yet another area of silent, shameful struggle for many people.

Today I am thrilled to be joined by a leader in this area, Dr Siobhan Key, a fellow Family and Obesity Medicine Physician, as well as a Physician Coach who specialized in helping physicians end their weight loss struggles. Siobhan’s podcast, Thriving As a Physician, was one of my first exposures to coaching in the physician space (as in physicians coaching physicians), and in this episode you’ll hear her wisdom and experience in working with so many who have struggled with weight and eating along their journeys into medicine, their experiences of burnout.

This is a DO NOT MISS episode. Whether or not you identify with problems with your eating behaviors or weight, there are so many parallels with other ways that we cope with stress, that we internalize messages that we are broken, that we aren’t good enough, etc.

To hear more of our conversation, I also encourage you to listen to Episode 293 of the “Thriving As a Physician” podcast, “How Restriction Drives Overeating: Interview with Dr. Megan Melo MD”

Siobhan Key, MD is a Weight Loss Coach for Physicians and an expert in emotional and binge eating. She is also a practicing Obesity and Family Physician, mother of three amazing kids and an avid runner. Through her coaching and weekly podcast,Thriving As A Physician, she helps physicians go from feeling overwhelmed and out of control with their eating to finding relief from stress and binge eating without relying on willpower. Siobhan can be found at www.weightsolutionsforphysicians.ca. Check out the weekly Weight Solutions for Physicians podcast on all podcast platforms.

Other Links:

Podcast:https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/weight-solutions-for-physicians/id1449336543

Instagram: www.instagram.com/drsiobhankey

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drsiobhankey

Support the Show.

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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We’ve all heard of death by a thousand paper cuts; today I’m talking about “papercut” statements from patients.

“You weren’t available so I couldn’t get seen”

“Why can’t she just order me malaria pills!”

“That means I will have been in pain for 16 months”

There’s lots of things that patients say/write to us that sting. And, many of us internalize these in such a way that we carry them as deep pains and scars. Let’s give that up.

Join me as I walk through some recent experiences, and I how I am choosing to change my experience. It’s not about blithely accepting all the hurt, but it’s the start we need to be able to understand what’s going on inside us, inside them, and then decide what boundaries we want to set, what behaviors we will reinforce (for them and for ourselves).

Papercuts and paintballs my friends!

Support the Show.

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Ah, here's an interesting one for you...

Another thing you never knew you needed help with? Getting help!

We are so used to doing EVERYTHING for everyone. As physicians, we have a lot of work in helping keep people healthy; women physicians are typically asked to do EVEN MORE by our patients and workplaces. That's a separate topic.

What's relevant today is that we are often not good at accepting and allowing help. Why should we be good at something that we don't have much practice with? I don't know how to do what I haven't experienced, right?. So today, we are exploring different elements of what it looks like to ask for help, cultivate good help, and become the leader who has the support she needs. The focus is work, but the ripple extends to helpers at home, including kids. Don't you WANT help with chores?!?

Support the Show.

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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What is it like to make the decision to leave your physician job without a plan?

Today I'm thrilled to be joined by my friend and fellow Family Medicine Physician, Dr Sara Ionescu. She shares her story of being "on the train" from a young age to go to medical school, doing "all the things," and finding herself unhappy. She walks us through her decision-process of leaving her job in Primary Care to be home with her kids, and how she is thinking about her future career choices.

Dr. Sara Ionescu is a board certified family medicine physician, wife, mom of 4, and exercise enthusiast. She graduated from Drexel College of Medicine, completed family medicine training in York, PA, and currently lives in WV. She is passionate about wellness, preventative care, and exercise and loves to inspire others to move. She strives to stay physically active daily as she sees massive physical and mental health benefits with this and wants to help, inspire and encourage others to do the same!

To learn more about Dr Sara Ionescu, find her in the following places:
Website: drsaraionescu.com
Instagram: @drsaraionescu
Facebook: facebook.com/drsaraionescu
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/drsaraionescu

Support the Show.

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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As I record this in early July, new Residents and Fellows are starting clinical rotations. And over the next several months, recent graduates, new Attendings, are starting their new roles as "the grown up" in the room.

What do I wish I understood when I was in their place?

Today I'm sharing 10 things that I wish had understood 14 years ago, as I prepared to be an Attending. In brief, they are:

1. You will always look more calm and more organized to other people than you feel inside.
2. Your program wanted you to succeed; your job wants you to bring in money.
3. You will have to relearn or learn how to say no.
4. There will always be more to do than time to do it. Be picky, be selective.
5. Boundaries allow you bandwidth
6. No one will watch out for you but you.
7. You will never be done learning; the better you take care of yourself, the more bandwidth you will have for curiosity and growth
8. The amount of admin tasks will metastasize, especially if you are willing to do them.
9. You have more choices than you know.
10. Your job is not to have all the answers

What would YOU add to this list? Whether you've been out of training for a year, or 20, let me know what you wish you had known. Email me at megan@healthierforgood.com (yes, I read this myself) or DM me on IG at @MeganMeloMD

As promised, here is a link to a 2022 article in Medical Economics that showed PCP require 26.7 hours per day to provide comprehensive care to their patients: https://www.medicaleconomics.com/view/primary-care-physicians-need-26-7-hours-a-day-for-comprehensive-care-for-patients

Support the Show.

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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What is YOUR long term vision for yourself? And are you living a life that is aiming in that direction?

Today’s episode is inspired by the book, The Infinite Game, by Simon Sinek, and I challenge you to ask yourself what is your big picture? After getting through medical school, residency (“finite games” with a beginning, middle and end), we find ourselves launched into the world, and we may lack clear direction for what we want for our lives. Sure, maybe a family, a job, etc, but let’s get more granular.

When we are clear on who we are, what we want, how we want to use our gifts and talents, it’s easier to make decisions that move us in the direction we want to travel. Contrast this with “going through the motions,” day-in and day-out, feeling like you are stuck in Groundhog’s Day (remember that gem from the early 90s?).

Bring your journal and your pen for this one, listen a few times, and find out what YOUR infinite game looks like.

Support the Show.

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Do you struggle when you feel bored? Does it drive you crazy, because you want to rest, but your brain tells you to DO stuff? Creates chores out of nowhere?

Boredom/restlessness is what I am calling an "In-Between" emotion. It sits between the usual feeling of busy-ness/hustle/overwhelm and calm. When our bodies and minds are used to being busy and overwhelmed all the time, we think that if we don't have any tasks, if we get everything "done," then we will feel calm. But it's not true, is it? Usually we feel a restlessness, because we are used to DOING, and when there is no stuff of DO, we don't know how to respond.

This week I tackle boredom, along with 2 other "In-Between" emotions, resentment and anger. Listen in, and see if you agree.

Alright, full disclosure, didn't plug in my mic (though audio recorded on my other device) AND had to edit out a bunch of awkward pauses. It seems fine....

Support the Show.

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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The pandemic changed the lives of all physicians; generally not for the better.

For my friend, Dr Sarah Stombaugh, a fellow Family and Obesity Medicine Physician, the pandemic catalyzed a dramatic pivot in her career that she never imagined. Join us to hear more about her journey from employed physician who had to advocate to protect her pregnancy to the owner of her own Obesity Medicine Direct Care Practice.

We talk about how our own desires for healing burnout lead us to coaching, and how that journey empowered us to create healthier, more boundaried lives as practicing physicians. We share how the practice of medicine leads to bad health habits, and how to start to make changes.

Dr. Sarah Stombaugh is a family medicine physician and diplomate of the American
Board of Obesity Medicine. Graduating from Creighton University Medical School and
completing her family medicine residency at University of Chicago, Dr. Stombaugh
practiced outpatient primary care in Evanston, Illinois before moving to Charlottesville,
Virginia with her family.

Upon moving to Charlottesville, Dr. Stombaugh opened a private practice weight loss
clinic, in which she sees patients in-person at her downtown Charlottesville office and
by telemedicine throughout the states of Virginia and Illinois.

In addition to her clinical work, Dr. Stombaugh is the host of the "Conquer Your Weight"
podcast. Through this platform, she shares valuable insights, expert opinions, and
practical advice on weight management, contributing to the well-being of a broader
audience.

Dr. Stombaugh believes in empowering both individuals and the medical community in
order to promote an evidence-based approach to the treatment of obesity.

To learn more about Dr Stombaugh, find her in the following places:
www.SarahStombaughMD.com
Instagram.com/Sarah Stombaugh, MD

Support the Show.

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Ok friends, here's the list:

10 Shifts That Make My Life Easier:

1. Take 2 minutes now to make it easier later
2. Simplify by deciding once
3. Decide on your own internal policies
4. Don’t overload other people (don’t give others constipation)
5. Allow travel (transition) time
6. Known when good enough is good enough
7. Speak up if you care/have an opinion
8. Trust yourself
9. Write it down
10. You are the asset (protect the asset)

Bonus: “I’m not their mom”

That is all.

Support the Show.

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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I really had a hard time naming this episode...a more appropriate title might have been "Those Patients Who Annoy You Just By Showing Up on Your Schedule or By Their Chief Complaint"

And yet, that wouldn't have captured it quite either.

Today we are talking about the experience of have anticipatory emotions (annoyance, anger, dread, worry) over particular patients, particular chief complaints or just more generic anticipatory anxiety/dread about your upcoming shift. We've all been there.

Join me as I use some coaching tools on myself in order to get unstuck. Let's do this together!

Support the Show.

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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I'm weirdly excited to share this episode with you because today I am joined by Dr Christy Gibson, a fellow Family Medicine Physician, Speaker and Change Agent who is on the forefront of advocating for better trauma education for clinicians, and working as a trauma clinician herself.

Join us as we dive into how we as physicians experience trauma throughout our work in healthcare, and how we can start to develop tools that not only help our patients, but more critically help ourselves. You don't want to miss this episode!

Dr. Christine Gibson is a family physician, trauma therapist, and author of The Modern Trauma Toolkit. You can find her on TiKTok with the handle TikTokTraumaDoc with >130k followers. Dr. Gibson has a passion for Health Equity and systems change, having created a residency and run programs for and with equity-deserving communities. She runs an international non-profit called the Global Familymed Foundation and a company where she trains professionals on how to manage workplace trauma - Safer Spaces Training (and The Belong Foundation).

Book: The Modern Trauma Toolkit

Company: Safer Spaces Training

Website: ModernTrauma.com | ChristineGibson.net | SaferSpacesTraining.com

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tiktoktraumadoc?lang=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gibtrotterMD

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-gibson-md/

Support the Show.

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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What gets you activated (not in a good way?)

Today, we're diving into reconnecting with our human emotions and mammalian nervous systems to recognized when we feel triggered, activated, dysregulated. Please note this is not a dive into deep trauma responses; we are focusing on times when we have a bigger response to something (words someone has said, a text we received, etc) than we would like. Our default is usually to shove down the feelings, thinking it will go away, but of course we know it doesn't.

Join me (from my car!) as I share some recent experiences I have, and some ways that you can learn to help yourself in similar situations.

Support the Show.

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Alright, let's settle this right now. We could jump right to feeling like terrible people for feeling overwhelmed and resentful by the work that we do providing care to other humans. We're going to skip that.

It's really NOT about the patients.

All humans need medical care at some point, and we have chosen to provide said care.

And yet, few of us realize the COST of doing this until we are in the thick of it. And for most of us, it isn't that we don't like or value the work that we do.

But, every time we see a patient we:
1.) Need to be "on," thoughtful and focused, even if we were up all night
2.) Have to write an essay describing the encounter
3.) Are greeted by at least one other human who has some feelings and some expectations and usually some distress about being there needing care
4.) Might get bombarded with messages, chats, knocks on the door and "urgent paperwork" so Tommy can go to camp

In this episode, I show you the reasons why you feel the way that you do if you both love taking care of patients AND dread going to work as a physician. And, let's talk about how to make this better.

Support the Show.

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Continuing on my theme for May of "ugh," stuff that we don't like, slowing us down.

It's normal to feel doubt; it's a normal human emotion, designed to keep us safe. But crippling self-doubt? Failing to believe that we are capable to make a next-best-step decision? It paralyzes us, keeps us overworking, adds to our cognitive and emotional burdens and JUST FEELS TERRIBLE.

Today we talk about all the places this shows up for people, and how we start to choose a different path. We can ABSOLUTELY change these thought patterns.

Reach me at megan@healthierforgood.com, or schedule your free intro call today at https://calendly.com/healthierforgood/coaching-discovery-call

Support the Show.

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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When it comes to procrastination, we've all been there! It's such a common human behavior, yet it often comes with so much guilt and self-judgement. Why is this?

In this week's episode of the Ending Physician Overwhelm Podcast, we're going to be exploring the 5 places where procrastination most frequently shows up so that we can better understand how it manifests and what to make of the feelings that arise as a result. We'll also explore various ways to overcome procrastination, and as luck will have it, these strategies also tie into how we can put aside our perfectionistic habits.

My hope is that this episode will help you to approach procrastination with self-compassion, curiosity, and a proactive mindset, so that you can find peace in the tasks that you have at hand. Simply by listening today you've taken a great first step to bringing attention to the habit that we all have in one way or another, and this goes a long way. I hope you enjoy!

Support the Show.

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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One of the things that many of my clients and I have in common is that feedback feels really scary, really dangerous, and generally just really difficult to navigate. I know... it might seem weird to some of you, but it's just how I and many others are wired.

As a high achiever who had aspirations of becoming a doctor, became a doctor, then started a business, this aversion to feedback has made these processes extra difficult. Because at every step of the way in order to grow and learn, we rely on the feedback from others who came before us. I'm sure you can see the conundrum here!

So in this episode of the Ending Physician Overwhelm Podcast, I'm going to share three tips that can allow us to navigate feedback in a way that can help to rewire our natural response to feedback. These are things that I wish I had known years ago as I was starting off on my journey, so I really hope they resonate with those of you who, like me, have struggled with feedback over the years.

I hope you enjoy and please be sure to leave a rating of the podcast if you like the episode. It means a lot and helps the podcast to reach others like yourself.

Support the Show.

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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As physicians, we like to believe that we are fact driven and that we operate based on evidence, science, data, and knowledge. And this is true.... to a certain extent thanks to our training.

But as humans, our brains are wired for story. We are meant to connect pieces of factual information with emotional overlay, and use it to interpret events that are going on now or in the future.

Put it all together and what do we get? A reality that is mixed with objective truth as well as some undeniable fiction that we create for ourselves based on our emotions. So in this episode of the Ending Physician Overwhelm we're going to be asking ourselves, "what are the stories in my head?"

We'll take a look at where this often arises for physician, how to help to differentiate fact from fiction, and we'll discuss strategies for taking control of our own narrative. Because after all, while the stories we tell ourselves often serve a purpose of keeping us in a perceived state of safety and comfort, they also can very easily keep us stuck in a place that makes life more difficult for us.

I hope you enjoy this episode, and if you do, please be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review. It really helps me to spread the message to new listeners like yourself!

Support the Show.

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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In this week's episode of the Ending Physician Overwhelm Podcast, I had the pleasure of chatting with the always wonderful Dr. Funke Afolabi-Brown. We talked about her journey with burnout, from her rigorous medical training in Nigeria, to becoming a triple board-certified Sleep Medicine Physician in the US, and ultimately founding and running her own practice, Restful Sleep MD.

Through her lived experience with burnout, she saw first-hand what an impact sleep can have on an individual's well-being. She now helps parents and their children prioritize sleep, achieve optimal health, thrive, and live to their fullest potential.

As you'll hear, prioritizing sleep was a big component of how Dr. Funke got through burnout, but another major component was aligning her work with her values, which required a transition from academic medicine to starting her own practice. We'll discuss the challenges and planning that went into making this move, as well as the joys that have come as a result. I had such a great time recording with Dr. Funke and I'm sure that you're going to enjoy this conversation as much as I did!

If after listening you're interested in learning more about Dr. Funke Afolabi-Brown's work, be sure to check out any of her links below. Enjoy!

• Website: https://www.restfulsleepmd.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/restfulsleepmd/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drfunkebrown/
• Facebook: restfulsleepmd

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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At some point in our lives we've probably all felt like we've settled into a groove where everything is comfortable enough and there's nothing standing in the way of life going on like this for a while.

But what if you know deep down that you want to change something about your life? It can be EXTREMELY hard to make that decision to make a change when you know that you might be straying away from comfort and stepping into the" unknown". But you also know that if you don't make a change, you might have regrets or feel unfulfilled.

This is called miserable discomfort, and it's what we're going to be talking about this week on the Ending Physician Overwhelm Podcast. As you listen, I encourage you all to dream big and consider what is possible beyond your current circumstances. I'll share stories of incredible physicians breaking free from the traditional mold of medicine to embrace their passion and find professional freedom. We'll reflect on areas of our lives that might be holding us back, and discuss ways in which we can side-step them to take the first step forward to a life that aligns more with what we dream of.

So enjoy, and to see what other badass Women Physicians are building, follow these folks on IG:

• Dr Rachel Rubin, Sexual Medicine and Menopause Specialist @drrachelrubin
• Dr Funke Afolabe-Brown, Sleep Medicine Physician and Coach for families @restfulsleepmd
• Dr Sadaf Lodhi, Sexual Health and Menopause @drsadafobgyn
• Dr Andrea Wadley, Breastfeeding Medicine @breastfeedingmedicinedoc

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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As physicians, we're trained to prioritize evidence above everything else, and oftentimes this comes at the cost of suppressing our intuition. But what if we allowed evidence and intuition to co-exist?

In this episode of the Ending Physician Overwhelm Podcast, I sat down with Dr. Erica Bove, OBGYN and REI, to discuss how rediscovering, and learning to listen to her intuition allowed her to escape burnout and find a sustainable path forward in medicine. Her story is a great one for anybody out there who feels stuck in the traditional channels of medicine to listen to. She felt the same way and endured years of feeling burnt-out until she took a leap of faith and pivoted to doing what she truly loves, which is helping women facing infertility issues in a more holistic way.

Through this venture she founded Love and Science Fertility, which combines evidence, empowerment, and compassion to help women physicians and professionals to thrive through infertility. Now, Dr. Bove has found autonomy, time freedom, and fulfillment, and because of her openness to her own intuition, she has found a way to pair her love for clinical work with her passion for life coaching.

Dr. Erica Bove is a wonderful human and I know that her story will resonate with many of you, so I hope you enjoy. If you're interested in learning more about her work, be sure to check out any of the links below.

• Website: https://www.loveandsciencefertility.com/
• Linked In: www.linkedin.com/in/erica-bove-0701a0173
• IG: https://www.instagram.com/loveandsciencefertility/
• FB: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61553692167183

Dr. Bove's Bio:
Erica Bove, MD, is a double board certified OB-GYN and Reproductive Endocrinologist (REI) physician, as well as a certified life coach through The Life Coach School. She is also the founder of Love and Science: Thriving Through Infertility. She has a keen interest in marrying an evidence-based approach with intuitive knowing in the context of a trusting relationship. She is beyond excited to bring coaching skills and paradigms to help women professionals thrive while undergoing fertility treatments. She is an expert in the field of sex and intimacy, as well as embodiment and mindful self compassion. She believes that the best outcomes are obtained when the whole person is seen and understood. Her mission is to heal and support the healers and to create a legacy she is proud of.

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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How do you deal with those days when you feel like you're unable to do or learn something?

In this episode of the Ending Physician Overwhelm Podcast, we'll talk about the phenomenon of feeling "uncoachable." It's a sentiment that's often expressed by individuals who are hesitant to engage in coaching, therapy, or any form of self-improvement due to various mental and emotional barriers. I see it all the time in my clients, and I've experienced it myself as well!

We'll dive into the reasons behind these feelings, including self-criticism, discrepancy between facts and perceived stories, and the "benefits" of remaining unchanged. Because as we come to understand our own unique barriers, we can start to ask ourselves important reflective questions to slowly break them down. Questions such as, "What experience do I want to have?" and "Who is really benefiting from my uncoachability?"

My hope is that this episode will provide some common ground for all of us who sometimes feel "uncoachable" to reflect and find new perspective for our lives. So enjoy, and thank you for being here!

If you want to listen to Dr Siobhan Key in her wonderful podcast, Thriving as a Physician, here's her recent episode: Dr Siobhan Key’s podcast, Thriving as a Physician, episode from March 4, “The Question that changes everything” https://weightsolutionsforphysicians.ca/one-question-changes-everything/

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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I am so thrilled to share this week's episode with you all, featuring my business mentor and all-round incredible human, Dr. Una! She's a pediatrician, best-selling author, speaker, and the founder of EntreMD - a business coaching program that helps doctors build profitable businesses so they can live life and practice medicine on their terms!

Dr. Una and I find a lot of common ground in the fact that we both love doctors and love to serve them in our unique ways. In it's essence, EntreMD is really Dr. Una's love letter to physicians all over. It's her way of empowering them to find financial and professional freedom, along with joy and satisfaction, within a medical system that is more and more favoring corporate profitability over physician and patient well-being.

And speaking from having been a part of the EntreMD universe for several years, what she has built is nothing short of incredible. In fact, it's such a supportive and knowledgable program that as members we always joke that it's the "only business school you never want to graduate from!"

So without further ado, in this episode of the Ending Physician Overwhelm podcast you'll hear the ins and outs of her journey from being an employed physician to starting her private practice and eventually founding EntreMD. We'll highlight the importance of overcoming fear, embracing discomfort, learning to set boundaries, and developing business skills to achieve financial freedom and control over one's life and practice.

This episode is full of gems, so I really hope you enjoy and take something away that helps you to fill your cup. And if you'd like to learn more about Dr. Una and EntreMD, see any of the links below:

• Website: https://entremd.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/entremd/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/entremds/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DrUnachukwu
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/druna

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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In this episode of the Ending Physician Overwhelm podcast, I want to talk about the experience of being an introvert in medicine. I'll start off by saying that I personally identify as an introvert. Not in the sense that I don't like to be around other people, but rather in the sense that I draw a lot of my energy from having time to myself. I'm sure many of you can relate and prefer this definition as well!

Medicine, particularly within the modern-day system, is a field that asks a lot of doctors in terms of output as well as from a social perspective. We go from patient to patient, doing our best to show the best sides of ourselves, and in-between we're interacting with other staff. For introverts, this means that our social batteries are often drained by the end of the day, if not earlier.

Now I'm not saying that introverts are at a disadvantage compared to extroverts. Far from it, actually! We're incredibly good at connecting 1-on-1 with patients, listening to them, and helping them through our problems. But being an introvert in medicine certainly comes with it's own set of challenges, so in today's episode we'll talk about these challenges as well as strategies to overcome them and maintain a sustainable practice.

For all of you introverts, I'll leave you with this: let go of the self-judgement that often comes with feeling like your social battery is drained. Instead, lean into your introverted nature and seek necessary adjustments to make it easier for yourself. I'll help you through this in this episode, so be sure to listen to the end. Enjoy, and thank you for being here!

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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If you've ever experienced burnout before, you can probably relate to an analogy that you'll hear in this episode, comparing burnout to being stuck in a chokehold with no clear escape. However, as you'll also hear, there is a way out, and the other side is often better than even the best times pre-burnout!

This episode features a fascinating interview with special guest, Dr. Dike Drummond, a family medicine physician trained at Mayo, who became a professional coach specializing in physician burnout after experiencing it first-hand. Dr. Drummond shares his journey from practicing full-service family medicine to battling burnout, taking a sabbatical, and eventually leaving his clinical practice.

What came next is something truly incredible, including the founding of TheHappyMD, writing several books on burnout, and establishing a coaching practice that has helped thousands of physicians and executives lead better lives at work. You'll hear us stress the importance of self-reflection, creating a work-life balance, and the potential for physicians to redefine their careers while staying true to their commitment to healthcare.

I hope you enjoy this episode, and if you're interested in learning more about Dr. Dike Drummond's work, be sure to visit him at:

• TheHappyMD: https://www.thehappymd.com/
• BurnoutProofMD: https://burnoutproofmd.com/
• Physicians On Purpose Podcast: https://physiciansonpurpose.libsyn.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dikedrummond/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thehappymd/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/thehappymd

He was also kind enough to provide us with a discount code for his Ideal Physician Job Search Formula Online Training, so if you're ready to find, interview, negotiate and onboard yourself into a much better position you can get 50% today!

• https://www.thehappymdacademy.com/offers/U2QbhUpM/checkout?coupon_code=MELO

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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As physicians in the field of medicine, our work situations vary greatly. Some of us work for a big system, some of us in smaller clinics, and some of us are running the clinics ourselves. But regardless of what your situation is, I want to urge you to be your own boss, and that's what we're going to be diving into in this episode of the Ending Physician Overwhelm podcast.

Being your own boss stems from this idea of of autonomy, and having agency over ourselves and our actions. It's a mindset of leading yourself, making calculated decisions that serve your well-being, and finding freedom in the skills that you possess.

I know first-hand how easy it is to get lost in the granular picture of work, and in doing so, lose sight of the larger picture. This often results in physicians feeling like all the shots are being called by others on our behalf, but let this episode be a reminder that it doesn't have to be that way. We can all broaden our scope and take control of our work situations.

Of course, this takes effort, and understanding your resources and potential restrictions, and being aware of your career path and life goals. But with time and intentional effort, we can all get to the point where we're serving as our own best advocates, and there's nothing more powerful than that!

So enjoy! And please consider sharing this episode or leaving a review. It really helps us to grow and reach more people.

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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"Embrace what comes easily to you, because more often than not, that's your zone of genius, and that's what you can capitalize on!"

In this episode I had the great pleasure of being joined by Dr. Johanna Moore, a dermatopathologist turned entrepreneur and coach. Here, we discuss her journey of overcoming burnout, embracing entrepreneurship as a step to overcoming burnout, and advocating for financial empowerment among healthcare professionals.

You'll hear about how Dr. Moore ditched her compulsory high-achieving mindset and narrowed her medical practice to focus on her "zone of genius", which reignited her passion for medicine, improved her productivity, and led to newfound financial freedom. This led her to create 'She Is Money', a coaching company aimed at helping high-achieving healthcare professional women realize their earning potential without overworking.

Her work has been truly life-changing for so many women on their journeys to better work-life balance, so I'm thrilled that she was able to share her wisdom with us. If you're interested in learning more about Dr. Moore's work, please check out any of the links below:

• Website: https://sheismoney.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sheismoney.llc/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sheismoney

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Do you think you're a good physician? This is a tough question for many physicians to answer, because the truth is that in our US medical system, there are so many metrics, opinions, and perspectives that feed into our own self-worth.

But let me reassure you that the odds are in your favor that you are indeed a good physician. And internalizing your gift of competence and compassion is a key step in unlocking a life beyond burnout and work-related anxiety!

In this episode of the Ending Physician Overwhelm Podcast we will reflect on, and work to re-frame, the typical narrative of self-worth in the field of medicine, which is one that is often molded by both internal and external perfectionism pressures. Because it's well overdue that we acknowledge that we can't cure all diseases or compensate for the flaws of the healthcare system.

So let's start to see ourselves for the kind, caring, well-trained, and knowledgable physicians that we are, and give ourselves permission to live wonderful work and non-work lives.

Enjoy! And please consider sharing this episode or leaving a review. It really helps us to grow and reach more people.

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Being a physician is tough on its own. Now add motherhood on top of that and you've got a recipe for stress and burnout in one way or another.

And if you boil it all down, it stems from prescribed expectations of others for the various roles we play. As physicians, it's drilled into us throughout training to be altruistic and prioritize the care of our patients above caring for ourself. Then, as mothers, society tells us to give 100% of ourselves to our children.

If my math is correct, that leaves somewhere between very little and nothing at all left for caring for ourselves. No wonder burnout is such an issue amongst women physicians!

But this situation isn't going unnoticed, and my guest on this episode of the Ending Physician Overwhelm Podcast is doing amazing things to turn the tide for physician mothers. Dr. La Toya Luces-Sampson is a wife, mother, board-certified Obstetrician and
Gynecologist, entrepreneur, speaker, and best-selling author. She's on a mission to empower women to take charge of their reproductive health and advocate for themselves. She is also the founder and CEO of Amina OBGYN Consultants, a virtual gynecology practice focusing on supporting women through the postpartum period.

In this episode, Dr. La Toya shares her personal experience as a working mother in the postpartum period, dealing with burnout, anxiety, and her journey of personal self-care. We'll talk about the importance of claiming agency, making time for personal wellness, and finding fulfillment for women professionals.

Her work as an advocate for women's mental and physical health is so inspiring and important, so I hope you'll take a moment to listen and share with others. As I say in the episode, I wish there had been more people like Dr. La Toya in medicine when I was in training because it's something that everybody should hear, but I'm honored to be able to help her get the word out to the next generation of physician mothers!

Thank you for being here, and if you're interested in learning more about Dr. La Toya Luces-Sampson's work, please check out any of the links below:

• Website: https://drtoyaobgyn.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drtoyaobgyn/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090007113038
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drtoyaobgyn?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DrToyaOBGYN

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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When you encounter disappointment, whether that's at work or at home, how is it that you currently cope with that feeling?

Do you judge yourself for having the emotion in the first place? And if so, do you like the way this pattern is working out for you or do you want something different?

In this episode of the Ending Physician Overwhelm podcast, I invite you to take this little moment to reflect on this for yourself, and decide what is it that you truly want. That's exactly what I had to do recently after experiencing disappointment and resorting to buffering/coping mechanisms. I had to acknowledge that I'm only human, and it's normal to defer to comfort instead of feeling my feelings, but it's also not how I want to go through my life.

So ask yourself who you want to be at the end of the year, 5 years from now, or even when you're 90 and looking back at the amazing life that you've lived. Then, decide what you need to do now to start making the choices that will lead to you being those versions of yourself.

As always, thank you so much for being here with me. And if you enjoy this episode, please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcast. I’ve included a link here, and you’ll be able to find the “write a review” button towards the bottom of the page. Your feedback is hugely appreciated and with it we’ll be able to reach a larger audience and continue to level up the quality of the podcast. Thank you!

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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What would you say if I told you that you're just a couple of "No's" away from getting the "Yes" that you want? With this in mind, most of us would likely persist when it comes to asking for what we want/need, right?

It's all a part of the art of negotiation, and my guest today, Dr. Weili Gray, is an expert in finding the path to the "Yes!" She joins us in this episode to talk about how advocating for herself, learning to negotiate, and sticking to her asks, helped her overcome physician burnout on several occasions throughout her career.

Dr. Gray is board-certified in anesthesia, sleep medicine, lifestyle medicine, and integrative medicine, and she is the founder/host of the Dare to Dream Physician Travel Podcast. She is also a certified life planner, and her driving goal is to help physicians live the life that they dream of as a way of honoring the beautiful gift of life that they've been given.

At a certain point in her own career, she realized that she had become "numb" to the life that was happening around her, and was simply drifting through the years. A few life changing events made her think to herself that this isn't how she wanted to live, so she really intentionally decided to get in touch with what she wanted from her life. For her, this meant travel, spending time with family, and striking a balance with work that allowed her to appreciate how special the physician-patient relationship is.

This episode is the story of her initial struggles in medicine, followed by how she learned to negotiate for the life that she now lives with enthusiasm and gratitude. I hope you enjoy, and if you're interested in learning more about Dr. Weili Gray's work, be sure to check her out on:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dreamphysician/
• Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/878895016552178/
• Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6RPDrcyzz8T0naZvMSMFYv?si=a55d11f2efaf4604

And in honor of our recent 100th episode, please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcast. I’ve included a link here, and you’ll be able to find the “write a review” button towards the bottom of the page. Your feedback is hugely appreciated and with it we’ll be able to reach a larger audience and continue to level up the quality of the podcast.

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Well folks, we made it to episode 100! Thank you so much for joining me on this incredible journey of healing, self-discovery, and breaking free from the confines of perfectionism.

Podcasting was something that I dreamt of doing for the longest time, but it took a while for me to start. I battled self-doubt, uncertainty about what the path would look like, and so many other blockers, but now that I'm 100 episodes in I couldn't be happier!

So in the spirit of reflection upon this milestone, I've chosen to talk about the one thing that needs to happen before we can accomplish anything that we dream of: just starting. Taking that first step can be nerve wracking, especially for us physicians who often feel the need to have all of our ducks in a row and have all the knowledge required prior to starting. But without that first step, there would be no other steps, or in my case, no 100th episode.

It's important to remember that we are intelligent, adaptable, creative, and curious people, and we are more than capable of dealing with any curveball that comes our way in a new endeavor. So do that thing that you've always wanted to do. Build that relationship. Start that new business. Your opinion matters and the world deserves to hear your voice.

I hope you enjoy this episode, and in honor of the 100th episode, please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcast. I’ve included a link here, and you’ll be able to find the “write a review” button towards the bottom of the page. Your feedback is hugely appreciated and with it we’ll be able to reach a larger audience and continue to level up the quality of the podcast.

Thank you for making this podcast possible. I appreciate each and every one of you!

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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What would you do if you were constantly getting bombarded by calls from the hospital, asking you to come in to work, even when you were thousands of miles away on vacation with your family?

And how would you react if when you went to discuss this clear lack of boundaries and proper systems, your colleagues told you that "your generation just doesn't like to work"?

These were some of the moments that led to the tipping point in terms of burnout for today's guest, Dr. Sapna Shah-Haque. In addition to being a source of truth and an overall lovely human being, she is a board-certified internal medicine physician, an MBA recipient, a speaker, and the founder of The Worthy Physician Podcast. After experiencing burnout herself, and watching other physician colleagues burn out, it became a passion of hers to look critically at our flawed medical system and help others to know that they aren't alone.

In this episode, Dr. Shah-Haque shares her story of facing burnout, seeing the destructive toll that it took on so many of her closest friends and colleagues, and making a decision to prioritize the things that she valued in her life. I really appreciated her vulnerability to share some of the more difficult moments that she has lived throughout her career in medicine, and then reflect on them with great honesty and grace.

I hope you enjoy this episode, and that it spurs us all to do as Dr. Shah-Haque recommends that we do: take a moment to figure out what is important to you, and prioritize those things. It's not selfish, and you're worthy of all the joy that life has to offer!

If you'd like to learn more about the amazing work that Dr. Sapna is doing, please check out any of the links below:

• Website: https://www.sapnashahhaque.com/
• Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-worthy-physician-podcast/id1569259628

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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As women physicians, we are doctors, but that's just one of many facets of who we are. We are mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, and so much more! And all of these parts put together make us innately valuable, not just the doctor part.

So in this week's episode, I really want us to lean into our value and start to internalize it so that when we encounter something in any part of our lives that makes us feel less valued, we can brush it off by saying "I've got my own back!"

There's a lot of power in being able to feel our own value, because as you'll hear about in this episode, value is an emotion, and emotions drive actions. So when you feel valued, you will inevitably be able to make better decisions for yourself that enable you to continue to feel valued. This could be drawing better boundaries at work, saying no to things you don't want to do, anything really... but once you embrace your value it will create this beautiful cycle of actions leading to more sense of value leading to more more similar actions and so on!

I hope you enjoy this episode, and as a birthday present to me, please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcast. I’ve included a link here, and you’ll be able to find the “write a review” button towards the bottom of the page. Your feedback is hugely appreciated and with it we’ll be able to reach a larger audience and continue to level up the quality of the podcast. Thank you!

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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If you've listened to the podcast before, you've almost certainly heard me say that you can't pour from an empty cup. But I don't think that this can be said enough, because when you take a look at burnout in women physicians, it's almost always the case that we're trying to give give give without having anything left to share.

Today's special guest, Dr. Malathi Acharya, is someone who loves to learn, has earned numerous titles and certifications, and has seen almost all sides of medicine throughout a full career in internal medicine. However, despite all that she had objectively accomplished, she still felt that there was something lacking from her career. And this feeling of "lack" left her in a really confusing and burnt out place where she was asking herself, "Is this really all I've been able to accomplish?"

Her cup was definitely empty, but she knew she had more to give. So she took it upon herself to heal herself and to find the joy in medicine again, and she did so by looking beyond the constraints of our disease-oriented western medicine system to a more integrative approach to medicine that encompasses the mind, body, and soul.

In this episode, we'll hear from Dr. Acharya about how she approached healing herself after burnout, her journey into integrative medicine, the challenges she has faced since stepping out of the traditional medical system, and so much more!

I hope you enjoy this episode, and if you're interested in working with Dr. Acharya or want to know more about her, check out her bio and links below:

Dr. Malathi Acharya is an integrative medicine physician and founder of Ayur Integrative Medicine. She is passionate about all elements of integrative medicine, including nutrition, lifestyle, supplements, botanicals, mind-body treatments, and treatments from alternate medical systems. She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Integrative Medicine, and board certified in Internal Medicine as well as Hospice and Palliative Medicine. She is also certified in clinical hypnosis and trained in medical acupuncture as well as Heart Math biofeedback technique. Dr. Malathi was born in Chennai, India, and graduated from Madras Medical College. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine at San Joaquin General Hospital in Stockton, California. She worked as an Internal Medicine physician for over 20 years, initially as a hospital based physician and later as a primary care Physician. She then went on to complete a fellowship in integrative medicine at the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona. Dr. Malathi is an advocate of whole-person care, which means addressing physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. She believes that finding our meaning and purpose in anything we do is essential for taking care of our whole selves.

• Website: www.ayur.today
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.malathi2023/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/malathi.acharya.7
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-malathi/

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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The end of the year is a dangerous time for perfectionists. We tend to look back at the year and think to ourselves, "that's all I accomplished?" and only see the flaws, rather than all of the progress.

Then, as we look forward to the new year, we see it as as this bright, new thing, that's magically going to be better than the past. But that can also be problematic, because it comes with the implication that we're not good enough as we are.

All in all, it's a really tricky time to navigate, so for this episode, I wanted to lay the groundwork for the 10 thoughts that I'm choosing to let go of as we end 2023. These thoughts tend to hold us back and reinforce toxic perfectionism, so I hope you'll join me in saying goodbye to these thoughts as we head into 2024!

Instead, let's adopt the mindset that we're all still growing. That we're all still evolving. And that cultivating the life we want to live through intention, clarity, and purpose, goes a lot farther for us than leading with shame and self-judgement. You're already worthy, in this year, the next, and all that follow!

I hope you enjoy this episode, and please consider sharing this episode or leaving a review. It really helps us to grow and reach more people!

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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This week on Ending Physician Overwhelm, I'm joined by a physician who, like myself was feeling completely burnt out, but wanted to feel better. So she turned to coaching for support, and ended up becoming a coach for other women physicians struggling with burn out!

Our guest today is Dr. Nicole Perrotte, a board-certified Internal Medicine Physician turned founder of Mind-U Coaching, her business that focuses on helping physicians go from burnout to bliss.

In this episode, we talk about her experience with burnout, what led to it, the tools she used to overcome it, her journey into coaching, and the wisdom that she has to share with us all after not just finding, but building the life that she has always wanted for herself. Dr. Perrotte's story is really a testament to the power of the tools that can be acquired through coaching, and how they can drastically improve the quality of life of women physicians struggling with burnout.

I hope you enjoy this episode, and if you're interested in learning more about Dr. Perrotte's work after listening, please check out any of the links below:

• Website: https://www.mind-u.io/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mind_u_doc/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nperrotte

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Our brains love comfort, and habits, and things that make life feel easy. And for good reason too, because it would be pretty tiring if we had to manually choose to do all the regular, recurring tasks in our lives.

But our brains also aren't the greatest at choosing habits that serve us best for what we want out of our lives. It's almost like habit forming is a habit, and the only goal is finding comfort.

Naturally, this makes changing habits, or choosing to build specific habits that we know will serve us well, quite uncomfortable. But don't worry, and don't give up! I'm here to tell you that it's okay to feel the discomfort, and embracing it is a major part of our growth as individuals.

In this episode, walk with me in learning to embrace discomfort as we build the lives we want and overcome physician burnout. We will explore choosing discomfort over fear, as well as choosing it over allowing ourselves to do things that compromise our values.
As high-achieving, people pleasing professionals, a lot of our discomfort comes from saying "no", but here you'll see that saying "no" is a complete sentence, and the discomfort that often follows suit is totally manageable.

So enjoy! And please consider sharing this episode or leaving a review. It really helps us to grow and reach more people.

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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There's a conundrum that, as physicians, many of us face after finishing all our training. We've accomplished so much in so little time, and from the outside, our lives seem perfect and sparkly. Then, all of a sudden and for the first time ever, we're looking a 30 year career straight in the face, and at that point, questions start to come up about our purpose, identity, priorities, ambitions, etc...!

These questions can be scary, and often times they get pushed aside or buried under our work load. But when this episode's guest, Dr. Kevin Mailo, started to question his identity outside of medicine, he knew it was something that he wanted to get right. He made a real concerted effort to be honest with himself and what he wanted from his life/career, and it set him on a path towards empowerment.

Now, in addition to practicing as an ER physician in Alberta, Canada, Dr. Mailo works to transform the lives of other physicians with his organization, Physician Empowerment. He is passionate about helping others to find real wellness, optimize their medical practices, and find freedom through financial security. He also hosts the Physician Empowerment Podcast where he and his guests share bits of wisdom that empower other physicians to take control of every aspect of their lives.

You can find additional information about Dr. Mailo's work at:

• Website: https://www.physempowerment.ca/
• Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6tsfhwTOV2Rq0yMMgYKJxX?si=95372dc0308343a9
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/physicianempowerment/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/physicianempowerment
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/physempowerment/

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Consider this as an idea... When you say "yes" to something, you're saying "no" to something else.

I know it seems obvious, but I really want to drive home the fact that we only have a finite amount of time in our days and in our lives; time that should be spent doing the things we love with the people we care most about. And when we say "yes" to something that we might not really want to do, it often comes at the cost of our relationships or even our health.

For physicians and other high achieving medical professionals, I know that it can be hard to say "no" to people that are asking for our help. Because after all, we are caregivers and we got into these professions to help others. But I'm sure you can remember a time when you said "yes" to something that really didn't need your attention, perhaps at the end of a long shift, and it meant that you got home later than you were planning to.

Did you really want to help, or did you just not want to disappoint whoever asked for your help? And were you happy that helping caused you to sacrifice in another area of your life?

In this episode, we're going to dive into this idea of saying "no" when we say "yes", and all the different impacts it has on our lives. We'll talk about it as it related to our relationships, our health, and to us as the people that we are. For many of us, this will be the first step in becoming comfortable with the uncomfortable feeling of disappointing others, but I want to say off the bat, it's okay and you have every right to say "no"!

Walk with me on this journey to honoring yourself and the people and things that you love!

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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This is an episode about optimization, opportunity, overwhelm, and discovering the why for which we do the things that we do.

It was such a pleasure to be joined for this episode by Dr. Bradley Block, a private practice otolaryngologist based in Long Island, NY, and the creator of the Physician's Guide to Doctoring Podcast.

Shortly after starting his tenure at ENT and Allergy Associates, he realized that rapport was the key to gaining trust, seeing patients efficiently, enjoying his practice, and building his reputation. He tried to find a podcast that would help his improve at doctor-patient communication, but he came up blank, so he created Physician's Guide to Doctoring. His podcast focuses on topics that we, as physicians "should have been learning instead of memorizing the Kreb's Cycle," at it serves as a practical guide for physicians and other health professionals alike.

In this episode, we talk about how his introduction to the concept of "social engineering" helped him to optimize his medical practice and planted the seeds for his podcast. We also get into the moments of "whelm" and "overwhelm" that he has experienced throughout his career as a result of the seemingly endless sea of opportunities that cross the paths of physician entrepreneurs. And we round the episode out by talking about how he has learned (or is still learning) to manage the overwhelm while staying true to what is important to him.

For more information about Dr. Block's work, be sure to check out any of the links below:

• ENT and Allergy Associates
• Physicians Guide to Doctoring Website
• Instagram
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• YouTube

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Life in medicine is hectic and it comes with it's up's and down's, but I want you to know that you are worthy of feeling all your emotions. Unequivocally!

Grief is one that many physicians and other medical professionals experience when they reflect on what they thought their careers would be. We often start our careers with big hopes and dreams about the impact that our work will make, the quality of the care we'll provide, and the good that can be accomplished during a career in medicine, but sometimes things don't work out as we hope.

And amongst the chaos of trying to care for patients to the best of our ability in a broken system, with limited resources, and so many other emotional pulls, we forget acknowledge and tend to our grief so it becomes buried.

My goal with this episode is to help you sift through all the other emotional pieces of being a physician and hone in on any grief that might be hiding beneath the surface. Just like it's okay to grieve the loss of a loved one, it's okay to be sad and to grieve things that you wanted but didn't happen in your career. And in doing so, you'll be able to better advocate for yourself in all areas of your life.

Grief is sneaky. It may stem from your career, but it can embed itself in all aspects of your life. So I hope you'll walk with me on this journey of accepting and acknowledging what could've been.

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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I'm not sure there are many people who could handle running a solo surgical practice while being a solo mom, but for today's guest, it's no big thing, and it's just the tip of the iceberg of what makes her so incredible!

I'm so grateful to have been able to speak with Dr. Ritha Belizaire about her story of being one of the few people out there to open up a private, solo colorectal surgery practice, as well as her intentional choice to be a single mother. We hear about her experiences and struggles from the beginning of her career to current day, including her battles with burnout and how she has learned to overcome it.

You'll hear all about it in the episode, but Dr. Ritha Belizaire is a dual board certified general and colorectal surgeon in Houston, Texas. She opened her solo surgical practice, Houston Community Surgical, in July 2023, and is passionate about accessible, inclusive surgical care with a special interest in pelvic floor disorders and proctology.

She is a "single mother by choice" to two girls, ages 5 and 2. She has counseled many unpartnered female professionals, including physicians, who were seeking a similar path toward parenthood but who did not know how to navigate the emotions, fears, logistics and professional anxieties around seeking and achieving single parenthood. Dr. Belizaire enjoys empowering single women who desire motherhood to consider their options for preserving fertility and expanding their families when that time is right.

If you're interested in learning more about Dr. Belizaire's work, be sure to check her out at her website or social media pages:

• My practice link: www.houstoncommunitysurgical.com
• IG: @rithabelizairemd
• TT: @rithabelizairemd

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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As parents, professionals, and even as individuals doing our best to take care of our own needs, I know that it can be exhausting to feel like there's always something more to do. Like the to-do list is always growing. We do so much, and yet still feel scattered- as if we haven't done anything at all.

When this is the case, it can be helpful to take a moment to stop and think carefully about what is really important to you, in all aspects of your life, be it work, home, personal- and name your priorities. In this episode, I talk about the importance of doing this as a way of re-centering ourselves, and call upon the Pareto Principle to help highlight why it really works.

The Pareto Principle tells us that when we look at most things in our lives, only a vital few, about 20%, of the things that we do really move the needle for us when it comes to our productivity, happiness, and whatever we're aiming to achieve. So by taking the time to reflect on what really matters to you and apply this principle to reflect your priorities, it can help to make that ever-growing to-do list to feel much more manageable.

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Many of us have fantasized about traveling more, perhaps disappearing to a quiet beach indefinitely.

But what if you could actually live and WORK while traveling? As a Physician. On your terms.

Today I am joined by Dr Kristine Goins, Integrative Pediatric and Adult Psychiatrist and Coach for Physicians searching for a career with location freedom. Dr Goins shares her story of transitioning from practicing as an Academic Psychiatrist, caught up in the hustle and overwork so typical of us, to buying a one-way ticket to Colombia, to practice medicine in the US on her terms.

If you've ever dreamed about finding location freedom, then tune as Dr Goins, AKA Nomad MD peels back the curtain.

Dr. Kristine Goins is a board-certified integrative adult & pediatric psychiatrist and world traveler. Prior to pursuing a lifestyle of freedom and adventure by becoming a digital nomad, Dr. Goins completed her adult psychiatry residency at Emory University and her child & adolescent psychiatry fellowship at Yale, as well as an integrative medicine fellowship at The Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine. Dr. Kristine Goins is a trusted physician coach, dedicated to helping medical professionals like you unlock their true potential and create meaningful transformations in their careers and lives.

To learn more about Dr Goins and her coaching, find here in these places:
Website: https://thenomadmd.com/
IG: @thenomadmds
FB: @thenomadmd

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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I wish that you could know how amazing you are.

AND, today's episode, I am sharing what I want for you. It you are exhausted and overwhelmed and struggling with challenging relationships and work stuff and you just want to feel better NOW, I get it. But there are a few key things that you need to understand to start the journey of feeling better.

1.) The absence of pain is not wellness/happiness

2.) Change is uncomfortable

3.) There are reasons (apart from the discomfort of changing a habit) why you keep falling back into old habits, and it likely involves a story in your mind.

Walk with me and let's talk about what's really going on.

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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So often, my clients come to me with some version of this question, "How am I supposed to _____ when I have all this other stuff to do?!?"

The answer is, you don't.

We have been lead to believe that we "should" be able to do it all, have it all, and be it all. I see parenting articles reference this fallacy all the time, particularly for Millennial Moms (Geriatric Millennial right here), who grew up thinking they should have a career, and be very involved in their kid's lives, without being able to multiply their time, and without the confidence to ask for help.

We all have the same 24 hours per day. And we all have to set our limits, and decide what our priorities are. It's true in the exam room, it's true in the hospital room, it's true at home.

In the episode, I reference this article, Primary care physicians need 26.7 hours a day for comprehensive care for patients, by Richard Payerchin from the August 8, 2022 edition of Medical Economics. Sometimes it is incredibly helpful for us to see that we literally do not have time to do everything we've been told to do. It gives one permission to let go, and decide what is actually important.

Check out the full article here.

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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You can't pour from an empty tank.

It's not a personal failing. It's physics (or math or something).

When your empathy tank, or your physical/emotional batteries are on empty, you have to recharge. And although you can get help and support from others, there is a component that relies on you being willing to engage with rest, comfort and connection to recharge. It's vital.

Tune in to learn more, and share this episode with a friend.

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Surrounded by people, and yet lonely? Sounds weird, doesn't it?

This is the lived experience of so many of us in medicine. We're around people all day, in conversation, fielding frequent questions verbally and in the inbox. And yet, we're alone.

We talk today about the lack of connection that occurs for most of us, during the day with the other people we see, as well as with ourselves. There is some low-hanging fruit for helping ourselves to feel less lonely, and it can start today. It's not complicated. But it does take awareness, and intention. And, I would argue, it's worth your attention, if you want to feel better.

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Imagine being a busy Surgical Resident and experiencing an ocular emergency, resulting in urgent surgery and leaving you with little vision for months.

And then imagine your program pushing you out, ostracizing you during your recovery.

What would YOU have done?

I'm joined today by Dr Brittany Busse, and she shares this portion of her story with us, as well as how she rebuilt herself on the other side. Although most of us may not have experienced such a dramatic turn, most of the physicians I speak with can relate to feeling abandoned as humans at some point during their career. Being denied a request to decrease hours, despite having pushed hard for years. Having to fight for time off, even though it's part of your contract. What I hope you'll take away from the conversation is how allowing our emotions to be present, and constantly reframing our thoughts allowed Dr Busse to found her business where she offers a safe space, a culture of learning and wellness and support that is so needed for physicians.

To learn more about Dr Busse's work, find her in these places:
www.vitelhealth.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittany-busse-md-6067a8132/

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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I'm so excited to share this episode!

When I heard fellow Family Physician and Coach, Dr Joan Chan, as a guest on a podcast, I knew I had to reach out to her, and I'm so grateful to share this conversation with you.

We decided to take turns interviewing each other, because we both like to talk about our human emotions, as well as the impact of trauma on our nervous systems. Both Joan and myself use the language of trauma to describe our experiences at different points in our careers and trainings, and I don't think that we talk enough about this when we talk about physician burnout. The brain-body connections that get disrupted by trauma are real, AND, we can all learn to heal these as part of our journeys.

Come geek out with us as we talk shop on this joint episode of Ending Physician Overwhelm and The Other Human in the Room!

To find and follow Dr Joan Chan, find her in these places:
Website: joanchanmd.com
IG: joanchanmd
Podcast: The Other Human in the Room

Ready to learn more about Healing Perfectionism in Women Physicians? See all the details here. CME is available and space is limited, save your seat now.

Support the showTo learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Do you feel called to do something, but you've been ignoring it?

Today I'm joined by my friend, Dr Tolu Olabintan, aka "Dr O" as her patients call her. Dr Olabintan is a fellow Family Medicine Physician and she shares her story of realizing that her overworking wasn't normal, and how her curiosity led her to not only discover how to let go of this tendency, but also to listen to her inner voice, calling her to create her own clinic. It's an inspiring story!

Dr. Tolulope Olabintan, MD, AAHIVS, FAAFP, DipABLM is a Board-Certified Family Physician, Board certified with American Board of Lifestyle Medicine, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians. She also completed a Women’s Health Fellowship and is a certified HIV specialist by the American Academy of HIV Medicine. She is fondly called by her patients as "Dr. O."

Dr. O is the Owner, Founder and CEO of Livingspring Family Medical Center, a primary care center located in Mansfield, Texas. She has over 13 years of medical experience. She helps patients live long and well as she believes the quantity of life is just as important as the quality of life. She places emphasis on lifestyle changes that help patients thrive throughout life.

Furthermore, Dr. O is a life-enthusiast, a Christian, wife, and mom who enjoys good cuisine and can’t get enough of the colors teal and orange.

To learn more about Dr O, find her in the following places, and be sure to follow her on Instagram and YouTube in particular!

Dr. O has Instagram, Facebook page, TikTok, and LinkedIn accounts. Here is the social media reference where to find Dr. Tolulope Olabintan - https://linktr.ee/drolabintan

Also, Dr. O has a YouTube channel where you may watch her collab videos with other doctors and professionals. Please like and share our videos, and subscribe to: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm9LHUGQEBdLV3x_1A_ef7w

Lastly, if you are looking for an awesome, thorough, and caring primary care doctor in the Mansfield Texas area, as Dr Olabintan would say “I am she!”

Livingspring Family Medical Center is located at 3807 E Broad Street, Suite 101, Mansfield, TX 76063
You may call (817) 717-9597 or go to our website:
https://www.livingspringmedicals.com/schedule

Ready to learn more about Healing Perfectionism in Women Physicians? See all the details here. CME is available and space is limited, save your seat now.

Support the showTo learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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"The urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent." Dwight D Eisenhower, General and former President reportedly lived by this principle, and today we're diving into how "urgent" is used against us, pushing out the "important."

Yes, there are a few diatribes in here about sports physicals paperwork getting labeled "urgent." It's on my list of "ridiculous things that drive me nuts." You've got your own lists, don't judge me!

I hope this episode helps us to be clear on the need to make more things in our lives important, and to start to unlabel them as urgent, even if we have to pause ourselves first.

Ready to learn more about Healing Perfectionism in Women Physicians? See all the details here. CME is available and space is limited, save your seat now.

Support the showTo learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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From Military Surgery training to Private Practice Owner and Author, my guest today has lived many facets of medicine.

My guest is Dr Amy Vertrees, who is a General Surgeon and Coach for Physicians, and today she shares her amazing journey. Dr Vertrees is on a mission to help us all see what we didn't learn in residency, and encourages us to build skills and practices that help us develop into more of who we want to be, both in medicine and beyond.

Join us as she drops gem tips, including how to "stop the treadmill," and what "CEO Time" can do for you.

Amy Vertrees, MD is a board-certified general surgeon, Army veteran, certified coach,
author and founder of the BOSS Business of Surgery Series. She served 17 years in
the Army, reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel, and deploying 3 times to Afghanistan
and Iraq as a general surgeon. After leaving the military, she was an employed surgeon
then created Columbia Surgical Partners, a private practice general surgery group. She
discovered there were lessons that she was never taught in residency that were
necessary for a successful surgical career. She created the BOSS Business of Surgery
Series to fill in that gap and has used everything that she has learned to become a
successful private practice general surgeon. The BOSS series includes a highly rated
podcast, group coaching and 1:1 coaching and the book “Become the BOSS MD:
Success Beyond Residency.”

Website: https://www.bosssurgery.com/
Facebook: “Become the BOSS MD Coaching”
https://www.facebook.com/groups/249619353796932
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/become_the_bossmd/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-vertrees-md-20192a8b/

Ready to learn more about Healing Perfectionism in Women Physicians? See all the details here. CME is available and space is limited, save your seat now.

Support the showTo learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Easier is generally gooder. Really.

I know that this is not the way many of us are used to thinking. We do hard things. We solve complicated diagnostic puzzles, we try to overcome biology and fight disease, and interact with other humans and all of their thoughts, feelings, symptoms, etc.

But don't confuse hard with virtuous, or easy with lazy.

Today we are talking all about how to start making things easier for yourself. Not everything will become easy, but many things can be run through this algorithm to decrease your stress and stop draining energy from your physical and mental batteries.

In the show I reference two resources, "The Lazy Genius Podcast," and the book "The Lazy Genius Way" by Kendra Adachi (may have butchered her name, I'm not sure). These were recommended to me by a client (Thanks!), and I am loving them, so be sure to check them out too!

Support the showTo learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Mental Health is NOT the absence of disease.

Today I am thrilled to be joined by Dr Jeannie Lawrence, an amazing Psychiatrist, Psychotherapist and Coach. Dr Lawrence specializes in women physicians tired of their lives looking good on the outside, but drowning inside, and we dive into all the things related to mental health and wellbeing.

Dr Lawrence is a practicing board-certified Psychiatrist as well as a Psychotherapist and Coach for Women Physicians. If she wasn't working in medicine, she'd likely be an Interior Decorator.

To learn more about Dr Lawrence and her practice, find her in these places:

Website: www.jeannielawrencemd.com 

Instagram: @dr.jeannielawrencemd 

LinkedIn: Jeannie Lawrence, MD

Support the showTo learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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If something's important to you, truly, you will make the time for it.

True story, many episodes, when I'm not planning ahead, get recorded the day before they go live. Things are better when they don't happen that way, and I'm glad that this episode was all planned out, but it was recorded the night before as my kids bickered in their usual after-dinner-bickering way. Sigh.

We don't find time. We create time. But in order to really see this clearly, we also have to investigate what we are currently "spending" time on that isn't helping us, and decide to make a change.

You won't want to miss today's episode!

Support the showTo learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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You can be great at medicine, and figure out how to find better balance for yourself AND still be called elsewhere.

Today I am speaking with Dr Jill Wener, an Internal Medicine Physician who transitioned from a Hospitalist role to becoming a Meditation and Emotional Freedom Technique Instructor. For her, choosing something outside of medicine wasn't an escape; it was a different calling. Listen as she shares her journey, and came to study the same tools that made a big impact on her life, so that she could bring this version of healing to others.

Jill Wener, MD is from Atlanta GA. She attended med school at Emory, internal medicine residency at University of Washington in Seattle, and then practiced hospital medicine at Rush Medical Center in Chicago for 10 years. Several years after a meditation practice vastly improved her burnout, she spent 3 months in India training to become a meditation teacher and transitioned out of clinical medicine to teach meditation full-time. During a profoundly difficult time in her personal life, Jill discovered EFT/Tapping and became a tapping practitioner a few years later. She balances her time professionally between leading meditation retreats for women in healthcare, working with her EFT/Tapping clients, and working as an anti-racism educator and DEI consultant. She currently lives in Atlanta with her husband and stepkids.

To find out more about Jill Wener and her work find her in these places:
https://www.jillwener.com/tappingclub

CME-accredited online meditation course- https://www.theresttechnique.com/courses/meditation-for-doctors-a-guide-to-the-rest-technique

Website: www.jillwener.com

Instagram: @jillwenerMD

LinkedIn: @jillwenerMD

Twitter: @jillwenerMD

Support the showTo learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Do you fantasize about storming out of the clinic or hospital some days, shouting expletives and never coming back? Fantasize is a strong word. Some people do daydream about this, others try to hold themselves back from doing this everyday once they've hit their BS threshold for the day. 

Many people come to coaching ready to quit their jobs. I get it, I did too. One of the most powerful outcomes of coaching on this topic is taking the time to get really clear on who you are, what you need and want, where your values are so that you make what's called a "clean decision."

Support the showTo learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Maintenance sounds so boring, doesn't it? We often love a project, getting started with making a change, excited to see how it feels when we achieve our goal. But do you know what's more challenging than meeting a goal? Maintaining the progress. Joining me today is my friend, Dr Tanielle Brew Smith, a fellow Family and Obesity Medicine Physician as well as a Coach for high-achieving women. We talk about learning how to maintain progress, as it relates to our work and experiences with obesity, as well as in the self-care practices so important in preventing a return to burnout.

Dr. Tanielle Brew Smith is a Family and Obesity Medicine Physician and Hypnosomatic Coach. Dr. Brew Smith completed her medical education at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, GA. Afterwards, she completed her residency training at Ascension St. Vincent’s Family Medicine Residency Program. She expanded her knowledge into coaching and learning somatic techniques as tools to decrease her symptoms of burnout and to help in maintaining her 100-pound weight loss. Through self-reflection, meditation, hypnosis, breathwork, yoga and other modalities, she was able to understand her strengths and weaknesses, visualize her future, and create a life of joy, curiosity, and hope. She is now the founder and CEO of Brew Wellness Collective, which helps high achieving professionals cultivate daily stress reducing practices to increase joy, fulfillment, and pleasure

To learn more about Dr Tanielle Brew and her coaching work, find in the following places:

Website: Www.brewwellnesscollective.com

Instagram: BrewWellnessCollective

Facebook: BrewWellnessCollective

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taniellebrew

Support the showTo learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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"They don't value me."
"I don't matter to them."
"No one cares how I feel."

Sound familiar? It's so common for us to feel that no one cares about our feelings, and that we don't matter. Why is this? And what do we need to do about it?

In today's episode, I dive into how we got here, and what we need to do to start feeling valued. Hint it may not be what you think....

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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It's not uncommon for many of us to find passion in a particular niche, but how many of us pursue it? Today I'm speaking with Dr Sadaf Lodhi, OB-GYN, Sexual Health Coach and host of The Muslim Sex Podcast. After experiencing burnout and deciding that she needed a change, Dr Lodhi became a coach, focusing her expertise on helping women have a better understanding of their bodies and intimacy. We talk about factors that have led to so many of us being ignorant of much of Sexual Health and Menopause Health, and how she decided to pursue her interests and build a new pathway for herself.

For all my listener-clients with a passion for Breastfeeding Medicine, this episode is for you!

Dr Sadaf Lodhi is a board-certified OB-GYN, as well as a Sexual Health Coach and host of The Muslim Sex Podcast. Dr Sadaf has over 22 years of experience in Clinical Medicine, as well as Coaching Certification with Rutgers University and a Sexual Counseling and Education Certificate from the University of Michigan. She practices in New York and is opening her new practice, providing Sexual and Menopause telehealth for patients in New York and Michigan. In addition to this, she also works as a Boards Examiner for the DO oral exams and writes test questions for the written components.

To learn more about Dr Lodhi and her work, find her in these places:

Website: Drsadaf.com (Online confidential intimacy/sex coaching for women to help with sexual confidence so that they can find more pleasure in their relationships)

Instagram: @drsadafobgyn/

TikTok: @drsadafobgyn

Facebook: handle: @drsadaf

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sadaf-lodhi-2018

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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The One In Which We Talk About How We Turn Delayed Gratification Against Ourselves.

Big sigh. Want to know how to start feeling good? Today we are talking about how being too practiced at delayed gratification (you know who you are) leads us to habitually deny ourselves rest and pleasure, often without even realizing it. Again, there are LOTS of issues with systems that contribute to this, not just the medical system or the medical training system, but also race, gender, religions and many other influences that teach us to defer pleasure now for reward later. Nothing wrong with delaying gratification some of the time. But when we do this over and over again, we stop allowing ourselves to have pleasure or rest in some very tangible ways.

Yes, we are going to talk about the challenges and importance of feeling your feelings, that is being aware of and accepting of your emotions, rather than just sitting and stewing in them, or pretending we don't feel anything. That's only a small focus of today's episode, but if you want a deeper dive, please check out these other podcast episodes:

Emotions Drive Habits: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1957629/12425580-emotions-drive-habits

Sitting with Yourself: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1957629/12891586-sitting-with-yourself

Cultivating Rest and Relaxation: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1957629/11994718-cultivating-rest-and-relaxation

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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No one wants cancer to be the thing that shakes them out of an unhappy existence. And yet, sometimes terrible circumstances give us the wake-up call that we need. Today I'm talking with Dr Isabelle Amigues, a Rheumatologist based in Denver, Colorado who found herself diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer at the age of 40. She shares her experience of the before times, feeling stuck and unhappy, despite "having it all," and how she came to see this as a transformative event that allowed her to focus on herself, her needs, and her wants. Now in remission, she recently opened the doors of her Direct Speciality Practice, providing holistic Rheumatologic diagnosis and treatment for her patients.

During our talk, she references "The Miracle Morning" by Hal Elrod; find it here.

To learn more about Dr Amigues and her work, find her in the following places:

Practice Website: UnabridgedMD.com

Instagram handle: UnabridgedMD

Facebook handle: UnabridgedMD

LinkedIn handle: Isabelle Amigues

Twitter handle: UnabridgedMD

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Do you find yourself trying to "fix" your feelings with tasks? Maybe you feel inadequate from your day and try to soothe yourself with cleaning something. Or you think "I'll feel better once I clear this inbox." But then you do the task and nothing changes? 

Nothing's gone wrong. That just isn't how our feelings work.

Today I am talking about why we often believe these things will help, and why they don't actually work. Tune in to learn more!

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Circling back to the theme of "what do I want?"

Today I am thrilled to be joined by Dr Toyosi Onwuemene, a Board-Certified Hematologist, Clinician Researcher and Assistant Professor at Duke University. Dr Onwumene shares her story of navigating a path to clinical research after being told that she didn't have the necessary background. She shares her story of learning to quit people-pleasing, and how she is now coaching other Physicians who want to start a Research Position, but lack the mentorship and support they need to get started. Even if you are not in Academic Medicine, there are a lot of pearls here that we can all learn from.

Dr Toyosi Onwuemene is a board-certified Hematologist, a Clinician Researcher and an Assistant Professor at Duke University. She completed medical school and residency at Duke University prior to her Hematology Fellowship at Northwestern, and also has a Master’s in Clinical Investigation. She specializes in rare thrombotic disorders, with the goal of enabling early diagnosis and treatment to prevent complications. In addition to these roles, Dr Onwuemene is a Professional Coach for Academic Clinicians looking to build a Research Program, but lacking the Mentorship and Support to succeed.

To learn more about Dr Onwuemene, you’ll find here here:

IG: @coagcoach

FB: https://m.facebook.com/toyosi.onwuemene.3/

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonwuemene

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Can you sit still for 5 minutes?

It's funny, this is a question we might ask our child (likely in an exasperated voice), but is it something that you can do? This is a common trouble spot I hear from new clients; I can't sit still, I'm always rushing, I have so much to do. And yes, there always is a lot to do for most of us. But is that the issue, or are we afraid to sit still? For many of us, sitting still with our thoughts (and the feelings that arise) feels scary, or really terrible, often because of the flurry of negative thoughts that might bubble up if we got quiet.

This is normal AND you can learn to change your experience. Want to know how? You'll have to listen in to the episode.

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Resisting the urge to make Spice Girls references here

It's easy in the churn of our busy lives to be going through the motions, trying to keep our heads above water, running around busy and exhausted.

And, often feeling supremely dissatisfied with what's happening, and then judging ourselves for feeling this way.

In today's episode though, I tackle a harder question. Can you identify what it is that you want? If I looked you in the eye and asked this question, could you answer me?

This is an episode that may take a few listens, and definitely is good to sit down with and pull out pen and paper.

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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This week's episode is Part 2 of last weeks. I am sharing more life lessons learned from the conference I went to the prior week. Yes, the conference was for Physician Entrepreneurs, but the lessons are universal to all of us, and here are some more gems, just for you!

If you are listening in real time, our next round of Healing Perfectionism in Women Physicians starts this Sunday, May 14th, so please get your seat today. To sign up,  click here.

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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I am abuzz with ideas and energy after returning home from a business conference, words I never thought would come out of my mouth. But, such as it is, today's episode is about life lessons that I've learned, and that I am sharing with you today. These are not business-specific lessons, they are really life lessons, and I hope that you enjoy!

In the episode, I reference Dr Una and her podcast, The EntreMD Podcast, which is a wonderful resource for any Physicians out there who want to start their own businesses, even if it's a secret dream at this time. Check out her podcast here.

I also referenced 2 specific episodes, one on this podcast, and one on my friend, Dr Sarah Smith's podcast, The Sustainable Clinical Medicine Podcast, and you'll find those links below.

How to Become Toxic: A Masterclass: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1957629/10669546 You Don’t Control Other People’s Expectations: https://www.chartingcoach.ca/podcasts/sustainable-clinical-medicine-with-the-charting-coach/episodes/2147900731

Oh, and of course, if you want to check out Healing Perfectionism in Women Physicians, which starts May 14th, head here.

Healing Perfectionism in Women Physicians is now open for enrollment! To learn more, click here.

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Today I have the pleasure of speaking with Master-Certified Life Coach Dr Kristi Angevine. Kristi works with self-identified "High Achievers," including many Physicians who are wanting to better understand their patterns and habits, in order to build lives that they love. On this episode, Kristi shares her story of burnout, and her journey to discovering a different purpose, and the courage required to step outside the lines. You won't want to miss this episode!

To learn more about Dr Kristi Angevine and her work, find her in these places:
Website: Www.habitsonpurpose.com 
Podcast: Habits On Purpose
Instagram : @kristi.angevine 
Facebook: Kristi Angevine

Healing Perfectionism in Women Physicians is now open for enrollment! To learn more, click here.

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Ooh, today's episode hits a sore spot. I am talking, in depth, about what happens when we make a request, when we build up the courage to admit that we are struggling and need help, and our request is met with an unemotional "no." If you know, you know. Maybe you asked to drop your FTE, or to change your template or for them to replace the MA who left 6 months ago. We're going to take a deep dive into why this situation feels so hard, and how you can shake it off and move forward.

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Ooh, tender spots here. But this is such a common theme that pops up for my clients and my friends, and 100% yes in myself that we have to talk about it. Not valuing yourself hurts you. And if you are struggling with perfectionism, procrastinating, people-pleasing, and it's causing difficulty closing notes, getting through your inbox, running behind, always being late, despite "working on it" this may be part of the problem. If you don't feel that you are enough, that you are "worth it," whatever "it" is (other people's time, the copay from patients, the time it takes to feed and take good care of yourself, etc), then no amount of habit change attempts will work. We have to get at this root cause.

The good news is, that even if this is you, once you recognize it and accept that this is happening, we can work on it. We can learn to think new thoughts, and cultivate new beliefs.

This is definitely an episode to share with a friend, so don't keep it to yourself!

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Today we are talking about self-confidence, and how it is suffered along the rocky-road of the high achiever. We may experience confidence in particular skills that we have, because we have perfected those skills and obtained mastery. Self-confidence, which could also be called self-trust, is different; self-confidence doesn't require that you have done something before; it requires that you trust your ability to navigate a new challenge.

Listen now to learn more.

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Phew, we made it to the last episode in the March 2023 series on habits, and today we're digging in on committing to the process. For me, goals that are centered on improving my health and wellbeing can be the hardest to follow through on, and I know that I am not alone. In today's episode we'll talk about how we use the goal to decide on a behavior or action step, and then we let go of the goal. This can create tremendous successes, and we may even find ourselves surpassing the goal; but along the way, we become someone with truly solid and impactful habits.

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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You can do hard things.

But, you don't always have to do things the hard way....

In today's episode, I share a tool from BJ Fogg's "Tiny Habits" book (which is an excellent read), and I invite you to give yourself permission to choose easy. It's literally baked in to the tool, and it can be a gamechanger.

If you would prefer to watch this as a video, I recorded a video version of this process as well so that I can show you how to do this. Click here for the video version on my YouTube channel.

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Do you ever make a decision to change a habit, and struggle to follow through on it every single time?

Um, me neither...

Today I am sharing some insight from BJ Fogg's book, Tiny Habits: The Small Changes that Change Everything,and we are talking about the fundamental principle that our emotions create and reinforce our habits.  If you want different habits, either to build a new one or to dismantle an unhelpful one, understanding this principle is key to success, so you'll want to tune in.

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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I think patients would be surprised by how many Physicians label themselves as procrastinators, too lazy to get stuff done; but this is a common concern that I hear, that we can't stop procrastinating.

On today's episode, we talk about why we procrastinate. It's not that Netflix is so entertaining, it's about preventing discomfort and emotions that we don't want to feel. Once we understand that, we can start to do the work of ending procrastination, one chart, or one push-up at a time.

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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What to do when your well is running dry.

So thrilled to be talking with this week's guest, my friend, Dr Delia Chiaramonte of The Integrative Palliative Institute and the host of The Integrative Palliative Podcast. Dr Chiaramonte is a board-certified Palliative Care Physician, who combines Integrative Medicine with Palliative Care, and is eager to share her knowledge with other Physicians and Healthcare Professionals seeking to do the same. Today we talked about compassion fatigue, and how it intersects with burnout, and she she shares her 3 key steps that you can start using now if you notice your battery is on empty.

To learn more about Dr Chiaramonte and her work, including offerings for Physicians seeking to learn Integrative Medicine, find her in the following places:

Website: https://integrativepalliative.com/training
Podcast: The Integrative Palliative Podcast, available on your favorite podcast player
Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deliachiaramonte/

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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What goes through your mind when you bring your kids or your parents to their medical appointments? Do you worry that you'll be "that family member" who is trying to run the visit? Or do you worry that they won't get the right care? Do you feel guilty because you "should" have known better and prevented the injury or illness from happening in the first place? For many of us, the mind drama that occurs around this element of our lives as Physicians can seem like a "me" problem. I'm the only one who feels this way. My dear friend and coach Dr Karen Leitner joins us today to talk about this tension, and how to deal with it. She recently published an article on KevinMD, When a loved one is a patient: Navigating the emotional burden for physicians, and she joins me today to talk about it.

Karen Leitner is a primary care physician and an experienced life coach. She helps women physicians feel better and happier in their lives by empowering them to overcome work-life overwhelm, imposter syndrome, parenting challenges, and all the other joykills so common to women physicians (and so rarely talked about…until now).

You can find her on FB, IG or her website www.karenleitnermd.com

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Most of us have habit change all wrong. We think we change the habits, and then claim the identity, that we can easily "stay on track," despite having no proof that we can create (or break) the habit. And if we fail, we add more evidence that we're stuck, that change is too hard.

In this episode, I will talk about what happens when we instead choose to change our self-concept, change our identity, and with that start to change our thoughts so that they align more with that desired future self.

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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One of the key ways that we learn as humans is to borrow and adopt the thoughts of others. We do this as children, and we do it as we learn. What we often don't consciously do is to go back and reexamine how these thoughts affects us later in life. Today we are digging into this idea, and learning how to get rid of thoughts that are no longer serving us, as a way of reducing suffering.

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Physicians love a path. An Algorithm. A Decision Tree. We are used to thinking in patterns, in sorting through data to see what fits and what doesn't fit. The path into medicine was also fairly prescribed. So when we are struggling with a decision, one where there isn't a clear path, we can easily get stuck. We might dig into research mode. Or consult with a mentor. But so much of the time, we avoid looking inside, avoid listening to the person most affected by the decision; ourselves. In this episode, I will share an idea about how to move forward when you don't have all of the information that you want, and are searching for the "right" answer.

Fair warning, this episode is a bit rough around the edges, and my kids were definitely running up and down the stairs. But part of me letting go of perfectionism, is being willing to publish it anyway. So here's to good enough work, in real life!

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Today I am so excited to welcome back Dr Lara Hochman of Happy Day Health, who is now a published author! She and 46 other brave physicians have written a book, Made for More, available today, to share their stories of stepping out of their comfort zones ("I'm just a doctor, that's all I know how to do!") to become clinic owners, coaches, speakers and so much more. Dr Hochman is a fellow Family Physician, and we talked on the show in June 2022 about her passion, which is helping physicians find jobs in well-run, physician-owned practices, and coaching physicians through the process of creating resumes, interviewing, negotiating, etc. She is a wonderful human, and speaks so candidly about her journey, so don't miss this episode!

To get your copy of the book, click here.

To learn more about Dr Hochman and her work, FIRST go to her YouTube Channel, and then find her in all the places:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCorwNuzOmzeH25dDy6i6N5w

Website: www.happydayhealth.co

Instagram: happydaymd

Linked In: Lara Hochman, MD

Twitter: @HappyDayMD1

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Just say no. If you are a child of the 1980s and 90s, you may think I am talking about something else, but here we are talking about saying no to things that we want to say no too. How often do you wish you could say no, or regret not saying no, but find yourself stuck with extra work?

I'm going to share 3 different tools that you can start using today to learn the skill of saying no. Yes, it's a skill, and it's definitely something that YOU can learn. Try out one, try out all 3, collect them all for your resilience toolkit!

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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How often have you gone on vacation, and somehow felt LESS rested than before you left?

Learning how to rest is a skill, and sometimes that most of us need to practice. Today I share how to re-learn rest, and create a real shift in your experience of your "off" time.

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Physicians are dealing with difficult problems. Overloaded hospitals, overloaded clinics, severe staffing shortages, delayed care, and frustrated patients. And since we live in this world, and we are fixers, it's easy to feel like these burdens are ours to bear, and ours alone. But you didn't create this mess. And although you may not choose to leave it, you can choose to change the way you think and feel about your role in it. Today we are talking about how to get real about your particular situation in medicine, and I show you how to start to change the way you think.

In the episode, I reference an important article published this year in Medical Economics by Richard Payerchin, entitled "Primary Care Physicians need 26.7 hours a day for comprehensive for patients." To read the article, click here.

Oh, and thinking about joining me for "Healing Perfectionism in Women Physicians?" Click here to learn more, or head to my website and click "upcoming groups."

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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New Year, New You, right? Hold up. Before we move on into 2023, and celebrate the shiny new year, let's reflect back on what we got done this year. It's so easy to look forward, anticipating that we will be better, smarter, faster and stronger; the typical magical thinking that comes along with newness. But what about slowing down to celebrate our wins now? Let's notice the gains that happened this year, or even just today, and build a new habit of practicing joy and gratitude.

This episode is short and sweet, but a great way to end the year!

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Do you find yourself dragging your feet on decisions? Convincing yourself that you need more time, you need more information, but really just being paralyzed? Today I talk about what to do if you find yourself here, and how to get unstuck from analysis-paralysis.

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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"Says WHO?"

Today's special guest, Dr Sherita Gaskins-Tillett shares her story of finding herself in a life after residency that was unrecognizable. Within a span of 2 years, she got married, had a baby, lost her grandmother and moved. Twice. All while working as a full-spectrum OB/GYN. When she realized that she didn't recognize herself within this life, she took action to rediscover herself, and create a life that she loves. She'll share how she and so many other women are living under a set of rules that don't really exist anywhere but our own minds, and how you can use her favorite question, "Says who?" to snap out of it.

Dr. Sherita Gaskins-Tillett is a board-certified Ob/Gyn and the founder of Level Up Lady Doc where she helps women physicians rediscover their bliss and reclaim control of their lives. Dr. Gaskins-Tillett is also the host of a weekly internet show, Level Up Live, where she showcases women physicians who are making phenomenal contributions both inside and outside of the exam room. She graduated from Georgetown University School of Medicine and completed her Ob/Gyn residency at George Washington University. Dr. Gaskins-Tillett left clinical medicine in 2019 and now works as a medical director for an international insurance company. She currently resides in Severn, MD with her husband and 10 year old daughter.

To learn more about Dr Gaskins-Tillett and her mission-based company, Level Up Lady Doc, find her in these places.

www.aweekendforme.com

Instagram: @levelupladydoc

Facebook: @Level Up Lady Doc (including a private FB group)

LinkedIn: Sherita Gaskins-Tillett MD FACOG

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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I hate negative feedback. Always have.

But I fully recognize that I was never given tools to process feedback, understand my emotional responses, and turn it into something useful. So here I am, a full-blown adult, who has only recently learned how to do this gracefully. And today, I am sharing with you some tools that will help you learn to the same.

During the episode, I reference 2 prior episodes. Find them here:
Episode 13: How to Become Toxic: A Masterclass
Episode 2: Why Thoughts Matter

If you want to attend my upcoming webinar "Dealing with Negative Feedback," where you'll have the opportunity to do this work along with me and ask questions, register here.

Finally, if you are struggling severely with feedback and rigidity and fear and you need more help, here are a list of resources for Physicians and Allied Health Professionals:
Physician Support Line
Physician Coach Support
Physician Coaching Alliance

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Many Physicians find that they feel out of place in medicine. They might try several different jobs within their field, trying to fit in, but never develop a sense of belonging. For today's guest, Dr Rebecca Berens, this created a rocky road in her early career, until she decided that she was done trying to fit in. Instead, she decided to create her own Direct Primary Care Practice, and focus on the patients she is best skilled to serve.

Dr Berens graduated from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, and completed Family Medicine residency at Georgetown University/Providence Hospital in DC. She is now building a thriving DPC private practice in Houston, Vida Family Medicine. Outside of medicine she enjoys spending time with her kids, and sewing her own clothes for fun!

To learn more about Dr Berens and her practice, find her in the following places:

Website: www.rebeccaberensmd.com

Instagram: @rebeccaberensmd

Tik Tok: @rebeccaberensmd

The doors are now open for Healing Perfectionism in Physicians Winter 2023, starting January 8th. This group is exclusively for Women Physicians, and there are a limited number of seats available. To learn more, click here. I'd love to have you join us!

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Ok, I am taking a detour here from standard stuff, and talking about the holidays. For me, people-pleasing started before medical school, and the holidays were definitely a part of it, and remain an area of my life where I am forging a new way of doing things for myself, and here I share 3 simple steps to help you do the same.

If you consider yourself a disorganized mess, who is always behind and scrambling around holiday time, this episode is for you!

If you don't celebrate any November-December holidays or you've got it all nailed down, well...good for you, and we'll catch you next time!

The doors are now open for Healing Perfectionism in Physicians Winter 2023, starting January 8th. This group is exclusively for Women Physicians, and there are a limited number of seats available. To learn more, click  here. I'd love to have you join us!

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Residency is a time of intense growth and learning, coupled with great sacrifice and pressure to perform. It is in this pressure cooker that many perfectionist and people-pleasing habits are, well, perfected. Today I am speaking with Dr Tonya Caylor, a Family Medicine Physician and Certified Life Coach who coaches Residents and Faculty Physicians with an eye to preventing burnout. Listen in as she shares her own story, and why she is called to do this work.

Dr Tonya Caylor is a Family Medicine Physician and Certified Life Coach in Alaska. She is originally from Florida, and has spent over 20 years in both clinical and academic practice. She is currently focused on coaching work, but continues to see patients at her local community health center.

To learn more about Dr Caylor and her work, find her in the following places.

Website: www.joyinfamilymedicine.com

Instagram: @joyinfamilymedicine

Facebook: @JoyFMCoach

LinkedIn: Tonya Caylor MD FAAFP

The doors are now open for Healing Perfectionism in Physicians Winter 2023, starting January 8th. This group is exclusively for Women Physicians, and there are a limited number of seats available. To learn more, click here. I'd love to have you join us!

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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"Give 110%" 

"Give it everything you got!"

These mantras are ubiquitous. And maybe there are moments where we want to do this. But for perfectionist high-achievers, especially highly empathic Women Physicians, this message is harmful. In "Everything is Negotiable," Professor Meg Myers Morgan lays out a powerful argument why women need to let go of this message, and in this episode I break down one of her 5 tactics, "never give it your all." 

If you are an exhausted working woman, trying to pour 110% into all of the buckets in your world, this is a must-listen episode.

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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We might think that burnout is a one-and-done phenomenon. But sadly, it just isn't so. Burnout and overwhelm can strike us multiple times, though we may learn to respond to it quite differently, and understand it better. Such is the case of my friend and special guest, Dr. Kirin Palmer. She'll share how burnout cropped up in different settings, and how she has been able to learn from it and choose to create an exciting new path for herself.

Dr Palmer graduated from Drexel University College of Medicine and specialize in Pediatrics. She loves to dance hula, and spend time with her son. She will be opening her solo Pediatric Practice in Portland Oregon soon.

To learn more about Dr Kirin Palmer and her practice, find her in these spots.

Website https://www.purejoypediatrics.com/

Instagram: Kirin Palmer MD

Facebook: Kirin Palmer MD

LinkedIn: Kirin Palmer MD

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

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Do you find yourself frustrated by how other people live their lives? Like showing up late for their appointment for example? In today's episode, I'll share how we often find ourselves at odds with others over the "hows" of what we do and don't do, and how we can let go of the frustrations and feelings that often accompany these scenarios. It's a short episode, but it packs a punch, so don't miss it!

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Residency is tough enough. But what happens when your position is threatened, and you don't know why? Dr Tea Nguyen is my guest today, and she shares her story of a difficult time during her training, and how she was able to persevere, and eventually open her own Direct Specialty Care Podiatry Practice.

Dr Tea Nguyen completed her Podiatry Residency Training in Michigan, as well as a Wound Care Fellowship in Dallas, and now she is the owner of direct care podiatry in Santa Cruz, Ca Pacific Point Podiatry, also coaching for direct care doctors interested in a less stressful medical practice.

Find Dr Tea on Instagram: @teadpm

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Are you an Empath? Do you connect easily with the feelings of others? Do you find your mood transformed, for better or for worse by those around you?

Empaths make great Physicians, but we tend to struggle under the weight of not only our own emotions, but also carrying, and sometimes even feeling responsible for the feelings of others. In this episode we'll drill in a bit more to this idea, and I will share 3 key ways for you to lighten your own load, without becoming a cynical curmudgeon.

And also, if you like what you hear, please share this episode with a fellow Empath!

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What happens when you love the work, but not the practice? This comes up frequently for Physicians who want to spend more time with their patient, but struggle with the requirements of the insurance companies and the churn of traditional outpatient practices. Today my guest is Dr Katrice Brooks, and she shares how she decided to walk away from her employed position to build a Direct Primary Care practice that allowed her to do the work she wanted to do, in the way that she wanted to do it.

Dr Katrice Brooks is a Double board-certified Physician in Family and Lifestyle Medicine, with over 10 years of experience in Primary Care after completing her medical training at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, followed by residency at West Surburban Family Medicine Residency in Oak Park. She values spending time with her patients, and connecting with them in order to provide whole-person care. She is passionate about health equality and patient autonomy, as well as improving lives by reducing medication burden. In 2021 she founded Quench Clinic Fitness and Spa, a wellness center to accomplish this serving Milwaukee, Wisconsin and the Chicagoland area. The DPC offers a virtual gym to patients, and Dr. Brooks offers medical aesthetics with a passion for making darker skin glow.

To connect with Dr Brooks, find here in these places:

Website: Www.quench.clinic

Instagram: @KatriceBrooksMD

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/katrice.brooks.md/

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/katricebrooksmd

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Do you struggle to sit still?

How many notebooks do you have filled with half-done to-do lists?

Why is it so hard to relax when you finally have the time?

In today's episode, we're tackling toxic productivity. That compulsion we so often feel to do more, check boxes and keep busy, even though we also complain that we are overwhelmed and too busy. I'll unpack how we got here, and some ways that you can get started letting go of the toxic part of the equation.

Are you loving the show? I'd love it if you would leave a review. Reviews help the show find it's way into the hands of others who may benefit. Hop onto itunes and drop a line!

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My guest today is Dr Cindy Croy, a  fellow Family Medicine Physician, who has the perspective of working as a PCP in an employed position, as a small Private Practice owner, as well as forays into Direct Primary Care models. She talks today about her experience of not only shaping her career to fit her life, but also choosing to transition out of medicine when it was no longer a good fit. She now works as a Clinical Expert Consultant for a healthcare-tech company, and started her own YouTube Channel where she shares recipes and teaches people how to cook.

To connect with Dr Cindy and learn more about her cooking program, you'll find her in the following places:
Website: www.Drcindysrecipes.com 
YouTube: Dr Cindy's Recipes
Instagram: Drcindysrecipes 
Facebook: Dr. Cindy’s Recipes 
Twitter: Drcindysrecipes

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My kids should be in school.
The park should be open.
I should be working.

Should, should, should. As someone who is trying to build her anti-shoulding muscles, this week has been a challenge! In today's episode, I talk about shoulding on yourself and other people and how this blocks us from being present and having the bandwidth to navigate challenges. Oh, and also, I nerd out on some favorite movies from my childhood, so there's that too (should I even mention that? Eek, there we go again!).

Should you listen? Yes!

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So many of us have fantasized about quitting medicine, or leaving our current position, convinced that we will feel better. My guest today, Dr Mary Leung is an employed Hematology/Oncology Physician who believed this too for many years, but didn't want to leave the life she had outside of medicine, and so felt stuck. Until she found coaching that is. Through coaching, she was able to see how her thoughts were influencing her experience, and by using the tools she learned, she was able to become not only more efficient at her work, saving her precious time, but she was more effective, more present in her life, inside and outside of the exam room. She now shares these tools with other Physicians, and we talk today about how coaching can help us get unstuck.

Dr Leung practices in Long Island, NY as a employed Physician, and is board-certified in Hematology and Medical Oncology. She studied at the University of Buffalo, and is originally from Hong Kong. She has her own Physician Coaching Business outside of her medical work, and loves spending time on the beach, and pursuing her love of desserts!

To learn more about Dr Leung, including her work coaching Physicians, head to her website at www.shiningwithgratitudemd.com

You can also follow her on social media:
Facebook: Mary Leung

LinkedIn: Mary Leung, MD

Are you a Physician struggling with perfectionism? Do you believe if you just worked harder you would figure it out, but you are too exhausted to try? If so, I invite you to check out my upcoming program, Healing Perfectionism in Physicians. This program is designed to help you let go of perfectionism, people-pleasing and frustration, and find more joy, authenticity and self-compassion. Click here to learn more.

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Today we are talking about a term that started on TikTok, called "Quiet Quitting." And yes, I had to look up what it meant, and who started it, and no, I'm not on TikTok, but I digress. I want to approach the conversation though from the perspective of "is it quiet quitting, or is it setting boundaries and valuing yourself?" Because these two things are different. And I think many of us may have had the experience of saying "to hell with it!" and throwing our hands up in despair during periods of burnout, and perhaps cutting down on our work in some way. But in my experience, we don't succeed with actually doing less, and often end up feeling guilty and lazy, rather than relaxed and balanced. So let's dive in and discuss, shall we?

Should out my friend Lynne for enthusiastically selecting this topic from a few I posed to her! If there is something you want to hear more about, drop me a line at healthierforgood@gmail.com. I'd love to hear what matters to you, what you struggle with, and what you are thinking about because I can guarantee you are not alone!

Are you a Physician struggling with perfectionism? Do you believe if you just worked harder you would figure it out, but you are too exhausted to try? If so, I invite you to check out my upcoming program, Healing Perfectionism in Physicians. This program is designed to help you let go of perfectionism, people-pleasing and frustration, and find more joy, authenticity and self-compassion. Click here to learn more.

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My guest today is Dr Jia Ng, who is a board-certified nephrologist and a clinical researcher at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/ Northwell. She is also the founder of PublishedMD, where she helps clinicians publish research papers by up-leveling their research and academic writing skills through digital products, so that they can build authority and achieve their academic goals.

She shares her story of extreme physiologic exhaustion during fellowship, and how her experience not only changed the way she took care of herself, but also her self-concept, moving from imposter syndrome to feeling that she was a part of a community.

To learn more about Dr Jia's work, you'll find her in the following places.

Check out my youtube channel. I give bitesize tips on how to write papers, and how to have a smooth academic life. https://www.youtube.com/c/PublishedMD

Website: www.publishedmd.com

Instagram: @publishedmd

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jia.ng.31

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jiahweing/

Twitter: @jiahweing

Are you a Physician struggling with perfectionism? Do you believe if you just worked harder you would figure it out, but you are too exhausted to try? If so, I invite you to check out my upcoming program, Healing Perfectionism in Physicians. This program is designed to help you let go of perfectionism, people-pleasing and frustration, and find more joy, authenticity and self-compassion. Click here to learn more.

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Today's episode is all about 1 little sentence: "I just can't." There are times when this rolls off of the tongue easily, but much of the time, this sentence is pinging around in our brains, and it is contributing to how you feel. We'll dive into the impact it may be having for you, and how you can change your relationship with it.

Are you feeling the same frustrations daily? You know that you want to organize your time, eat more healthily or stop complaining, but how? This is exactly why people come to me for coaching. I help Physicians and Professionals identify what they want to do (or stop doing) in order to feel better, and control their time and energy.

Get your free mini-session with me now at www.healthierforgood.com/work-with-me

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Dr. Myrdalis Díaz-Ramírez is a dual Board-Certified Anesthesiologist and Interventional Pain Management Physician, Medical Expert, Professor, Author, Speaker, Podcaster, Entrepreneur, and Mastermind Facilitator. In her maxAllure Mastermind, she helps physicians who feel overwhelmed regain and retain control of their lives through entrepreneurship. She is a born and self-made entrepreneur. She has owned different clinics which she successfully sold in the past. Has also owned other businesses, including an entertainment company. Her passion is to help other physicians who, as she experienced in the past, might feel lost in medicine and burnout.

Find more about Dr Diaz-Ramirez and her maxAllure Mastermind at her website, https://maxallure.com/ You can also check out her podcast, "Design Your Physician Life," available on your favorite podcast app.

Are you feeling the same frustrations daily? You know that you want to organize your time, eat more healthily or stop complaining, but how? This is exactly why people come to me for coaching. I help Physicians and Professionals identify what they want to do (or stop doing) in order to feel better, and control their time and energy.

Get your free mini-session with me now at www.healthierforgood.com/work-with-me

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I don't care how smart you are, sometimes your thoughts are not correct, not helpful, and/or not kind. Sometimes our brains are jerks. In this episode, we talk about why this happens, and a simple practice that helps you to start being more aware of your thoughts, so that you can decide whether or not you, the driver of your body and higher level thinking, will choose to believe each thought that happens to pass by.

If you are interested in getting on the wait list for my upcoming program, "Healing Perfectionism in Physicians," please click this link, and I will be in touch soon. In this dynamic program, we work in a small community of like-minded Physicians on better understanding our thought patterns and behaviors, and learning to make choices that are more in alignment with our authentic selves. Think less perfectionism, scarcity, and self-judgment, and more calm, creativity and self-compassion. The program starts up again in September, and I would be honored if you would join us!

Are you feeling the same frustrations daily? You know that you want to organize your time, eat more healthily or stop complaining, but how? This is exactly why people come to me for coaching. I help Physicians and Professionals identify what they want to do (or stop doing) in order to feel better, and control their time and energy.

Get your free mini-session with me now at www.healthierforgood.com/work-with-me

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Many Physicians are familiar with the idea of the "golden handcuffs," even if they haven't heard the term. It's the belief that we are trapped in THIS job, or THIS career and we can't move/leave/change/innovate because we have loans to repay, mortgages, etc. In this episode, I'm joined by Dr Jimmy Turner, aka the Physician Philosopher, and we dig into these beliefs about money and our careers, and how they contribute to burnout.

Dr Jimmy Turner is a Board-Certified Anesthesiologist specializing in regional anesthesia and acute pain management at Wake Forest, where he also trained for his medical school, residency and fellowships. He is also a published author, podcaster and certified coach for burned-out doctors who want to master their money mindsets in order to live life on their own terms. In his free time he enjoys time with his wife and 3 children, playing pickleball, and driving fast cars.

Check out his work here:

Jimmy's new book will be available July 2022: Determined: How Burned-Out Doctors Can Thrive in a Broken Medical System

Website (if applicable): https://thephysicianphilosopher.com

Instagram: @TPP_MD

Facebook: @TPP_MD

Twitter: @TPP_MD

Are you feeling the same frustrations daily? You know that you want to organize your time, eat more healthily or stop complaining, but how? This is exactly why people come to me for coaching. I help Physicians and Professionals identify what they want to do (or stop doing) in order to feel better, and control their time and energy.

Get your free mini-session with me now at www.healthierforgood.com/work-with-me

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Today we are talking about play and playfulness, and the role of fun in our lives. The nature of our work, the high level of responsibility we carry, and the time we spend working can all contribute to NOT prioritizing fun. We may rationalize that we don't have time for fun, we have to work. And yet, Dr Stuart Brown, Psychiatrist and the founder of the National Institute of Play, says "The opposite of fun is not work. The opposite of fun is depression."

So how do you put more fun into your life? Listen and find out. Oh, and also, see how play and rest are inextricably linked according to another Dr Brown, Brené Brown, PhD LMSW, my favorite Researcher-Storyteller as she outlines in her book, The Gifts of Imperfection."For more, check out:
The National Institute for Play

The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown, PhD LMSW

Are you feeling the same frustrations daily? You know that you want to organize your time, eat more healthily or stop complaining, but how? This is exactly why people come to me for coaching. I help Physicians and Professionals identify what they want to do (or stop doing) in order to feel better, and control their time and energy.

Get your free mini-session with me now at www.healthierforgood.com/work-with-me

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In this episode, I am so honored to speak with my guest, Dr La Toya Luces-Sampson about her experiences with burnout. We talked about the pressure many of us feel to erase our authentic selves from our professional identities, and the work to both reconnect with our identities as well as to understand our inherit value.

Dr. La Toya Luces-Sampson, also known as Dr. Toya, is a wife, mother, board-certified OBGYN and entrepreneur. She is the founder and CEO of Buy Default, a curated directory of Black-owned businesses and Black professionals who cater to the Black community. She is also the CEO of Amina OBGYN Consultants, a locum tenens company offering hospital based OBGYN services in the state of California. She is passionate about service to her community and patients and uses entrepreneurship to serve them both in her own way, and on her own terms. She loves travel, Marvel movies and binging primetime TV

Find Dr La Toya Luces-Sampson at:

Www.Buydefault.com

Instagram: @Buy_default and @drtoyamd

LinkedIn: La Toya Luces-Sampson

Are you feeling the same frustrations daily? You know that you want to organize your time, eat more healthily or stop complaining, but how? This is exactly why people come to me for coaching. I help Physicians and Professionals identify what they want to do (or stop doing) in order to feel better, and control their time and energy.

Get your free mini-session with me now at www.healthierforgood.com/work-with-me

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Today we are talking about acceptance vs resistance. Recent news events, as well as conversations with my clients about what is happening in medicine has me thinking how easy it is to live in resistance to things going on. It's easy, but feels horrible. If you find yourself frequently gritting your teeth, going off on "shoulds" and "shouldn'ts" in your life, you're going to want to tune in to this one.

Are you feeling the same frustrations daily? You know that you want to organize your time, eat more healthily or stop complaining, but how? This is exactly why people come to me for coaching. I help Physicians and Professionals identify what they want to do (or stop doing) in order to feel better, and control their time and energy.

Get your free mini-session with me now at www.healthierforgood.com/work-with-me

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In this episode, I spoke with Dr Leslie Golden, and we talk about the reality many physicians experience of changing jobs and bringing burnout with you, and how to prevent this from happening to you.

Dr Leslie Golden is a Family and Obesity Medicine Physician in Watertown Wisconsin. She received her MD at Ross University, and also holds a Masters in Public Health from Florida International University. She is currently building a coaching and education platform for people wanting to work on achieving and maintaining their goal weight for their long-term health. She enjoys biking, and is known in her town for being a resource for wildlife in need.

Find Dr Golden here:

Instagram: @weightingoldwellness

Facebook: Weight In Gold

LinkedIn: Leslie M Golden MD, MPH

Are you feeling the same frustrations daily? You know that you want to organize your time, eat more healthily or stop complaining, but how? This is exactly why people come to me for coaching. I help Physicians and Professionals identify what they want to do (or stop doing) in order to feel better, and control their time and energy.

Get your free mini-session with me now at www.healthierforgood.com/work-with-me

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What would your experience of criticism be like if you were kinder to yourself?  Today we are talking about Self-Compassion, as defined by Dr Kristin Neff, PhD, who is a researcher and professor at the University of Texas at Austin. Dr Neff has devoted her career to the study of self-compassion, and has a number of wonderful talks about books available, as well as a self-compassion scale which is available at her website https://self-compassion.org/self-compassion-test/. 

Are you feeling the same frustrations daily? You know that you want to organize your time, eat more healthily or stop complaining, but how? This is exactly why people come to me for coaching. I help Physicians and Professionals identify what they want to do (or stop doing) in order to feel better, and control their time and energy.

Get your free mini-session with me now at www.healthierforgood.com/work-with-me

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My guest today is the amazing Dr Lara Hochman, aka The Medical Matchmaker. Dr Hochman is a Family Medicine Physician and Physician Advocate. After experiencing burnout and a hospital buy-out of her outpatient clinic, complete with a tight non-compete, she left medicine for a period, before returning to work in a private practice setting and finding joy in medicine again. She now is the proud owner and CEO of Happy Day Health, a boutique physician matchmaking agency where she matches doctors with well-run, physician-owned private practices where they can avoid burnout and enjoy practicing medicine again. And believe me, you will want to follow her on Instagram!

Here's how you can find Dr Hochman:

www.happydayhealth.co

Instagram: happydaymd

Linked In: Lara Hochman, MD

Twitter: @HappyDayMD1

Are you feeling the same frustrations daily? You know that you want to organize your time, eat more healthily or stop complaining, but how? This is exactly why people come to me for coaching. I help Physicians and Professionals identify what they want to do (or stop doing) in order to feel better, and control their time and energy.

Get your free mini-session with me now at www.healthierforgood.com/work-with-me

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What happens for you the night before work after a break (weekend, day off, vacation, etc)? Do you check your schedule or the hospital census? Do you find yourself craving sugar or staying up to late binging on a show? For me, I had an intense urge to treat myself to a Target run, often with a mocha. I was aware of the urge, and I gave into it nearly every time, but for a long time I never really dug into why it was happening or what I could do about it.

And then someone shared the phrase "Sunday Afternoon Scaries," and then I understood.

Listen in to learn more about how this shows up for different people, and what you can choose to do about it.

And if you want help with your Sunday Afternoon Scaries, schedule your free mini-session with me today at www.healthierforgood.com/work-with-me. We can work on getting you back to enjoying your rest time, and even on making your work week an event you don't have to dread.

Are you feeling the same frustrations daily? You know that you want to organize your time, eat more healthily or stop complaining, but how? This is exactly why people come to me for coaching. I help Physicians and Professionals identify what they want to do (or stop doing) in order to feel better, and control their time and energy.

Get your free mini-session with me now at www.healthierforgood.com/work-with-me

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My guest today is Dr. Alexia Gillen. Dr. Gillen is a board-certified Family Physician in South Dakota, currently working as the Ambulatory Medical Information Officer at Monument Health. She is also the CEO of Rise Coaching, where she coaches Female Physicians on getting today’s work done today to create more time for self and family. She loves spending time outdoors with her family, and believes in the power of coffee.

Website: Www.risewithcoaching.com 

Instagram: @alexiagillen 

Facebook: Rise with coaching for Physicians 

LinkedIn: Alexia Gillen DO

Are you feeling the same frustrations daily? You know that you want to organize your time, eat more healthily or stop complaining, but how? This is exactly why people come to me for coaching. I help Physicians and Professionals identify what they want to do (or stop doing) in order to feel better, and control their time and energy.

Get your free mini-session with me now at www.healthierforgood.com/work-with-me

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Deep breath. We're talking today about what happens when you have been labeled "toxic" at work. And we start right off with my true confessions. I personally think it's easy to pick up the label (I might be biased here!), but it's also important to note that there is a solution that doesn't involve burning all your bridges.

In the show, I reference Brené Brown's amazing book, Rising Strong, where she discusses the relationship between boundaries, integrity, and generosity. It's a book I read when I was deep in burnout, and to be honest, I had to put it down every few pages, but it changed my life, albeit slowly, as I started to incorporate the ideas.

I also want to link to Dr Sarah Smith's upcoming Masterclass, "Stop Charting at Night," happening Saturday, May 28th. If you miss this one, follow her on Instagram @charting coach so that you can catch the next one: https://www.chartingcoach.ca/masterclasses

And finally, set up a call with me if you have been labeled "toxic," and you want it to stop. We'll work together to have you feeling better, so that you can show up as yourself, who is not actually toxic. To set up the free call, click here: https://www.healthierforgood.com/work-with-me

Are you feeling the same frustrations daily? You know that you want to organize your time, eat more healthily or stop complaining, but how? This is exactly why people come to me for coaching. I help Physicians and Professionals identify what they want to do (or stop doing) in order to feel better, and control their time and energy.

Get your free mini-session with me now at www.healthierforgood.com/work-with-me

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My guest today is Dr. Rashmi Schramm. Dr Schramm is a Family Medicine Physician as well as a a Nationally Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach, Integrative Wellness Coach and Meditation Instructor. She trained at University of Virginia School of Medicine before completing residency at St Vincent’s FM Residency. She lives in Florida with her family, and is the CEO of Optimal Wellness, where she coaches and teaches meditation and integrative wellness.

To learn more about Dr Schramm and her work:
Website: https://optimalwellnessmd.org

Instagram: @dr.rashmischramm

Facebook: @dr.rashmischramm

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rashmi-schramm-md/

Are you feeling the same frustrations daily? You know that you want to organize your time, eat more healthily or stop complaining, but how? This is exactly why people come to me for coaching. I help Physicians and Professionals identify what they want to do (or stop doing) in order to feel better, and control their time and energy.

Get your free mini-session with me now at www.healthierforgood.com/work-with-me

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In today’s episode I am speaking with Dr Chelsea Turgeon, author of the #1 Bestselling book, “Residency Drop Out,” and a Career and Burnout Coach for healthcare workers seeking fulfillment and happiness in their careers. Through pivoting to writing and coaching, Chelsea has been able to become a digital nomad, and speaks to us today from Equador.

To find out more about Chelsea and her upcoming program, 5 Days to Career Clarity, head to https://coachchelsmd.com/clarity/. You’ll also find her on Instagram @coachchelsmd, on Facebook as Chelsea Turgeon MD, and on LinkedIn simply as Chelsea Turgeon.

Are you feeling the same frustrations daily? You know that you want to organize your time, eat more healthily or stop complaining, but how? This is exactly why people come to me for coaching. I help Physicians and Professionals identify what they want to do (or stop doing) in order to feel better, and control their time and energy.

Get your free mini-session with me now at www.healthierforgood.com/work-with-me

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We're going deep in this episode. When was the last time you felt like you belonged? For many of us in medicine, this can feel like a challenge, and there are clear reasons why we feel this way. We talk through ideas of belonging and fitting in, as described by Brené Brown in her wonderful book, The Gifts of Imperfection.

To learn more about my upcoming program, where we dig into The Gifts of Imperfection, head to my website at www.healthierforgood.com/upcoming-events. The doors for this round will close May 10th, 2022, and spots are limited.

Are you feeling the same frustrations daily? You know that you want to organize your time, eat more healthily or stop complaining, but how? This is exactly why people come to me for coaching. I help Physicians and Professionals identify what they want to do (or stop doing) in order to feel better, and control their time and energy.

Get your free mini-session with me now at www.healthierforgood.com/work-with-me

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Join me today as I speak with my friend, Dr Tamara Beckford of UR Caring Docs and the Docs Who Care Podcast. She is a board-certified Emergency Medicine Physician, as well as a wife and mother, and she shares her story of being on the front lines of the COVID-19 Pandemic and facing her own mortality, and how she began her self-care journey. Today she has a thriving community for professional women, the UR Caring Society, where she coaches and empowers women to take an active role in their health and wellness, starting with prioritizing yourself for just 2 hours per month.

To learn more, check her out on social media:
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/drtamarabeckford
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/URcaringdocs
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/urcaringdocs
Docs Who Care Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ur-caring-docs/id1553710706

Are you feeling the same frustrations daily? You know that you want to organize your time, eat more healthily or stop complaining, but how? This is exactly why people come to me for coaching. I help Physicians and Professionals identify what they want to do (or stop doing) in order to feel better, and control their time and energy.

Get your free mini-session with me now at www.healthierforgood.com/work-with-me

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I am thrilled to be joined in this episode by Dr Sarah Smith, aka the Charting Coach. She is a Family Physician in rural Alberta Canada and CEO and Physician Coach in her program, Charting Champions. After years of struggling with charting backlog and an overflowing inbox, she shares her journey of developing systems to get through the clinical day with ease, and how she now brings this to Physicians and other Healthcare Providers.

To learn more about her, head to www.chartingcoach.com, or follow her on Instagram with the handle @ChartingCoach

Are you feeling the same frustrations daily? You know that you want to organize your time, eat more healthily or stop complaining, but how? This is exactly why people come to me for coaching. I help Physicians and Professionals identify what they want to do (or stop doing) in order to feel better, and control their time and energy.

Get your free mini-session with me now at www.healthierforgood.com/work-with-me

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Trigger Warning: In this episode we talk about suicidal ideation and eating disorders. If these subjects are difficult for you to hear, please join us for a different episode.

Today I am speaking with my special guest and friend, Dr Jillian Rigert, MD, DMD. Dr Rigert has completed training in Dentistry and Medicine, and is currently working as both a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Radiation Oncology at MD Anderson in Houston, as well as a Professional Coach. She lives with her dog, Reece. She has written many articles on KevinMD, and been featured on the KevinMD podcast as well, and is the creator of the FB Group, "Permission to Pivot"

To learn more about Dr. Rigert's Coaching Work:
https://www.jillianrigertcoaching.com/

To read her articles on KevinMD:
https://www.kevinmd.com/post-author/jillian-rigert

Find her on Facebook and Linked in by searching her name.

Are you feeling the same frustrations daily? You know that you want to organize your time, eat more healthily or stop complaining, but how? This is exactly why people come to me for coaching. I help Physicians and Professionals identify what they want to do (or stop doing) in order to feel better, and control their time and energy.

Get your free mini-session with me now at www.healthierforgood.com/work-with-me

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March 30 marks National Doctor's Day (as well as National Something on a Stick Day!), and March 25-31 is National Physician's Week. These are generally occasions that are "celebrated" with swag (mugs, paperweights and scarves, oh my!), and/or pizza or doughnuts, perhaps a card or an email. And how many of us turn these gestures into weapons, resenting them as signs of our (low) value? The only ones who really lose here, are us.

In this episode, I share a way to start to change this for ourselves, to start to choose to feel differently about these kinds of gestures, as well as little gifts from patients.

And hey, if you want a party, plan yourself and your Physician friends a party! Why not?

Are you feeling the same frustrations daily? You know that you want to organize your time, eat more healthily or stop complaining, but how? This is exactly why people come to me for coaching. I help Physicians and Professionals identify what they want to do (or stop doing) in order to feel better, and control their time and energy.

Get your free mini-session with me now at www.healthierforgood.com/work-with-me

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In this episode, we talk about how it isn't time that is the enemy (we all have the same 24 hours after all), but it's the number of things that we need/"should"/want to do with our time that is the problem. And when we carry this list with us, stuck in our heads, we endlessly "should" on ourselves, making it very difficult to relax during the actual time off (weekend, day off, vacation, etc).

To learn more about me and my coaching practice, please head to www.healthierforgood.com

Are you feeling the same frustrations daily? You know that you want to organize your time, eat more healthily or stop complaining, but how? This is exactly why people come to me for coaching. I help Physicians and Professionals identify what they want to do (or stop doing) in order to feel better, and control their time and energy.

Get your free mini-session with me now at www.healthierforgood.com/work-with-me

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A recent article by Dr. Chelsea Turgeon in KevinMD highlighted learned helplessness as a major harmful side effect of our training. We were trained to tune out the needs of our bodies and minds during medical school and residency, and we get so good at tuning ourselves out that we keep doing it; often until we can't anymore.

Check out the article here.

Find Dr. Chelsea Turgeon, aka Coach Chels MD here.

And as always, connect with me at my website www.healthierforgood.com

Are you feeling the same frustrations daily? You know that you want to organize your time, eat more healthily or stop complaining, but how? This is exactly why people come to me for coaching. I help Physicians and Professionals identify what they want to do (or stop doing) in order to feel better, and control their time and energy.

Get your free mini-session with me now at www.healthierforgood.com/work-with-me

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In this first episode, we dive into why so many Physicians start to feel that something is wrong with them. That because they feel emotionally exhausted, overwhelmed, and can't relax, it's a sign that they are flawed in some significant way. We'll break down that line of thinking right now, and look at how we can start to make changes to feel better.

Are you feeling the same frustrations daily? You know that you want to organize your time, eat more healthily or stop complaining, but how? This is exactly why people come to me for coaching. I help Physicians and Professionals identify what they want to do (or stop doing) in order to feel better, and control their time and energy.

Get your free mini-session with me now at www.healthierforgood.com/work-with-me

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It may seem obvious, but the Pandemic delivered some unseen "extras" in terms of challenges for Physicians. The politicization of masking for example. The pressure to convince fiercely skeptical people to get vaccinated. The increased risks to our own health and safety and that of our loved ones.  If you've been struggling, it makes total sense. But we can only move on if we can recognize where we are getting stuck.

Are you feeling the same frustrations daily? You know that you want to organize your time, eat more healthily or stop complaining, but how? This is exactly why people come to me for coaching. I help Physicians and Professionals identify what they want to do (or stop doing) in order to feel better, and control their time and energy.

Get your free mini-session with me now at www.healthierforgood.com/work-with-me

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We like to automatically blame our circumstances for our negative feelings. We imagine that we wouldn't have to feel angry, frustrated or overwhelmed if only our jobs were different, or the culture of medicine changed. We discount that our thoughts about the circumstances create the emotions, and when we do that, we give away our power to feel differently.

Are you feeling the same frustrations daily? You know that you want to organize your time, eat more healthily or stop complaining, but how? This is exactly why people come to me for coaching. I help Physicians and Professionals identify what they want to do (or stop doing) in order to feel better, and control their time and energy.

Get your free mini-session with me now at www.healthierforgood.com/work-with-me