Navigating Possibility

  When Your Job Can’t Be Made Sustainable: Is It Time to Change the Way You Practice? What happens when you still love medicine - but the way you are practicing it is no longer sustainable? In this episode of Navigating Possibility , I’m talking about a difficult situation that comes up for many physicians: recognizing that a particular job, schedule, or practice model is taking a toll on you...

You Can’t Guarantee the Outcome: Managing Fear of Surgical Complications If you’ve ever sat in your car before a case, reviewed the chart one more time, or found yourself imagining everything that could possibly go wrong in the OR, this episode is for you. Fear of surgical complications is something many physicians experience - but it’s not something we talk about very much. And when that fear bec...

When Physician Burnout Comes Home: Protecting Your Marriage and Family What happens when physician burnout doesn’t stay at the hospital? In this episode of Navigating Possibility , I’m joined by Dr. Lisa Muehlenbein , a PhD psychologist, health psychologist, coach, and founder of the MedLife Matrix. Lisa works specifically with physicians and their families to help them navigate the unique challen...

  The Hardest Part of Leaving a Physician Job: Surviving the Notice Period You finally made the decision. You're leaving. Maybe you've accepted another job. Maybe you've decided to pursue a nonclinical career. Maybe you've simply realized that your current job is no longer sustainable. You give your notice - and then discover that deciding to leave and actually leaving are two very different...

Your Skills Are Bigger Than Just Medicine: Finding Career Possibilities Beyond Clinical Practice What if you could use the skills you developed as a physician in a completely different career? In this episode of Navigating Possibility , I’m joined by Dr. Swati Shah, an OBGYN physician whose career has taken her through clinical practice, public health, locum tenens, OB hospitalist medicine, the ph...

  From Burned Out to Reinvented: Building a Direct Specialty Care Practice with Dr. Traci DeSplinter What if you don't actually need to leave medicine - you just need to practice it differently? In this episode of Navigating Possibility , I’m joined by fellow OBGYN Dr. Traci DeSplinter, who is 25 years out of residency and has recently made a significant career pivot. After years in employed...

  Your Nervous System Knows: Moving From Burnout to Greater Ease with Dr. Rashmi Schramm What if the problem isn't that you're not doing enough, but that your nervous system has been running in survival mode for far too long? In this episode of Navigating Possibility , I’m joined by Dr. Rashmi Schramm, a family medicine physician, meditation and mindfulness coach, and retreat leader. Rashmi s...

 Medicine Never Had a Debrief: The Trauma We Still Carry From COVID What happens when the crisis ends—but your nervous system never gets the message? For many physicians and healthcare workers, the COVID-19 pandemic wasn't simply a difficult chapter in their careers. It was a prolonged period of fear, uncertainty, isolation, moral distress, and repeated exposure to death and suffering. And th...

  When Everyone Needs You: Navigating the Sandwich Generation as a Physician If you've found yourself wondering why everything suddenly feels harder, this episode is for you. Many women physicians are practicing medicine during one of the most demanding seasons of adulthood. While continuing to care for patients, they're also raising children or launching young adults, supporting aging parent...

The Hidden Tax of Being a Woman Physician Why do women physicians continue to earn less than men, even after accounting for specialty, hours worked, and years in practice? The answer isn't as simple as many people think. In this episode of Navigating Possibility , Dr. Christina Adams explores the hidden, often uncompensated labor that women physicians perform every day - and how these invisible ex...

What happens when the career you've spent your entire life building no longer fits the life you want to live? In this episode of Navigating Possibility , I sit down with reproductive endocrinologist and physician coach Dr. Erica Bove to discuss what it really looks like to redefine success without walking away from medicine entirely. Erica shares her deeply personal journey through infertility med...

Let's talk about why physicians should own their own professional identities What happens to your professional identity when you leave your job? For many physicians, years of experience, patient relationships, and professional credibility are tied almost entirely to their employer's website and online presence. But what if your career—and your reputation—could follow you wherever you go? In this e...

  Burnout isn't just making you tired—it may actually be changing the way your brain functions. In this episode of Navigating Possibility , Dr. Christina Adams explores the fascinating neuroscience behind physician burnout and why so many physicians say, "I don't feel like myself anymore." Drawing from the article "Physician Distress and Burnout: The Neurobiological Perspective"  by Amy...

  Most physicians believe contract negotiation is about salary—but that's only one small part of the equation. In this episode of Navigating Possibility , Dr. Christina Adams shares the lessons she wishes she had known before signing her first physician employment contract. Drawing from her own career journey through academic medicine, private practice, and private equity acquisition, she exp...

What happens when the job you're doing no longer resembles the job you accepted? In Part 2 of this series about contract negotiation, we're discussing a phenomenon many physicians experience but rarely name: contract drift. It often starts innocently enough. One extra patient. One additional call shift. A temporary staffing shortage. A request to "help out just this once." But over time, those tem...

Have you ever looked back at a physician employment contract and thought, "I should have negotiated"? If so, you're not alone. In this episode of Navigating Possibility, we're exploring why so many physicians—especially women physicians—struggle to advocate for themselves during contract negotiations. The issue often isn't a lack of knowledge. It's years of training in a culture that rewards compl...

  The Version of You That Existed Before Burnout Have you ever looked in the mirror and wondered what happened to the person you used to be? The version of you who entered medicine full of curiosity, compassion, purpose, and hope? In this reflective episode of Navigating Possibility , we explore one of the most painful and often overlooked consequences of physician burnout: losing connection...

  Why Physicians Feel Trapped Have you ever looked at the life you've built and wondered why you still feel stuck? Many physicians find themselves trapped between what they've worked so hard to achieve and what they truly want next. The career, income, status, and security that once felt like success can sometimes begin to feel more like a cage. In this episode of Navigating Possibility , we'...

   The Anger Phase of Burnout   Anger is one of the most misunderstood phases of physician burnout. Not because physicians are “bad people.” Not because they’ve stopped caring. But because chronic stress, emotional overload, and nervous system exhaustion eventually change how we experience the world. In this episode, we’re talking honestly about the anger phase of burnout: the irrit...

  What Am I Carrying That’s Not Mine to Carry? The Emotional Weight OBGYNs Were Never Meant to Hold As physicians—especially in obstetrics and gynecology—we carry a tremendous amount of responsibility. But sometimes… we carry more than is actually ours. In this episode of Navigating Possibility , we’re talking about the emotional burden many OBGYNs silently hold when patients decline recommen...

  Courage Over Certainty: The Mindset Work of Starting a Business  What does it actually take to start a business as a physician? Not just the logistics— but the identity shift required to step outside of clinical medicine and build something of your own. In this episode of Navigating Possibility , we’re diving into the real, often unspoken side of entrepreneurship for physicians. Becaus...

 If you’ve ever told yourself, “I should journal more”… and then immediately avoided it—you’re not alone. In this episode of Navigating Possibility , we’re unpacking the real reason high-achieving women physicians resist journaling and meditation —and it’s not about time, discipline, or productivity. It’s your nervous system. Drawing on concepts from Polyvagal Theory and insights from The Bod...

Burnout in medicine isn’t just about long hours, difficult patients, or broken systems. It’s also about what happens after those moments. In this episode of Navigating Possibility , we explore the powerful Buddhist concept of the second arrow —and how it quietly contributes to physician burnout, emotional exhaustion, and chronic self-doubt. The first arrow is unavoidable. It’s the reality of pract...

 What does it mean to have courage as a physician right now? In this episode of Navigating Possibility , I’m sharing reflections from my 10th year attending the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Congressional Leadership Conference (CLC) in Washington, DC — a meeting where nearly 800 OB-GYNs from across the country come together to advocate for patients, physicians, and the f...

 What do you do when patients cross the line? When frustration turns into disrespect… When your staff is treated poorly… When you’re expected to tolerate behavior that feels completely unacceptable? In this episode of Navigating Possibility , we’re talking about one of the most emotionally charged—and rarely discussed—parts of practicing medicine: Unrealistic patient expectations and abusive...