DRIVE TIME DEBRIEF: A Physician Wellness Podcast with The Whole Physician

Today we discuss some tips from Rick Hanson, PhD's book Just One Thing: Developing a Buddha Brain One Simple Practice at a Time  for how to change your brain for better or worse. Some highlights: We are not our brains - we are the observers. We can decide what is and isn't serving us and intentionally change our brains through neuroplasticity. There are physiologic changes associated with neu...

Dr. Heather Awad joined us to talk about buffering. She's a family physician in Minnesota, a weight loss coach at Vibrant MD, and has her own podcast called Vibrant MD Podcast. She is an expert at helping her clients stop buffering with overeating and joins us today to give some of her secrets. She coaches  professional women over 50 to achieve permanent weight loss and talks a lot about buff...

In the episode, we discuss "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein. It is a beloved book by many, but it is problematic to say the least. And altruistic healthcare workers using this as a model of self-sacrifice may want to reconsider. Highlights: Self sacrifice is not sustainable, isn't healthy and can breed selfishness, narcissism and codependency. Those who neglect themselves at the expense of ot...

Introducing Dr. Michael Hersh, who was in the same coaching class as Amanda and Laura, and has pioneered the male coaching space.  He is a full time practicing gastroenterologist in Chicago who came to coaching to address some of his frustrations with work. Little did he know, the work he did in the professional space created many improvements in his personal and family life.  He has ama...

Today, we continue improving our emotional granularity (or ability to correctly identify emotions) using Brene Brown's book "Atlas of the Heart." And, since emotions aren't inherently "good or bad," we take a look at what the feelings can be telling us. The focus of todays episode is stress vs overwhelm .  Using Brene's example from working in a restaurant, stress is when you're "in the weeds...

The theme of this episode is adapted from Brene Brown's book, "Atlas of the Heart".  Each chapter focuses on a group of emotions that are common places we go to when we feel _____. (that represented a blank) The chapter on jealousy, envy and resentment is from chapter 2, Places We Go When We Compare. She so exquisitely dives into this group of emotions head on and without consideration for ou...

Meet gastroenterologist, Dr. Cecilia Miñano. She joins the show today to talk about the powerful mind-body connection, especially in regard to gut health. You'll learn: The Autonomic Nervous System: comprised of the parasympathetic, sympathetic and enteric systems How chronic stress (sympathetic state) affects digestion and gut health How coaching can help with chronic conditions, including: minds...

In this episode, we start with a quick refresher of what thoughts and feelings are and where they come from.  We then take it a little further and introduce memories and triggers.  These are related in the fact that triggers surface as a result of a memory that was made in the past. This collection of thoughts created feelings at the time it was integrated in our mind and brain. Then, wh...

We're honored in this episode to talk with Kristin Flanary, MA (aka Lady Glaucomflecken ). She shares her experience when her famously hilarious husband ( Will Flanary, MD aka Dr. Glaucomflecken ) unexpectedly went into cardiac arrest while sleeping. Her quick action saved his life, but she talks about how that experience changed her and her subsequent journey coming back from what she calls The Q...

Our guest on today's show is an expert in all things SLEEP!  Dr Funke Afolabi-Brown is a triple boarded physician who knows what it is like to battle to get good quality and quantity of sleep.  This high achieving professional who is also a mom shares the most common interrupters of good sleep for us as professionals and some tips to help create better sleep habits.  She has created...

Our guest, Dr. Greg Guldner discusses the successful implementation of positive and organizational psychology into medical culture. Two key theories used at his facility were: Job-Demands Resources and Self Determination Theory.   Some episode highlights: The biggest variable is job demands . This explains why mindfulness and resiliency training have largely failed for medical workplace burno...

We continue our discussion on stress .  This is the second of 2 podcasts that explain what stress does to our mind, brain and body and how we can choose ways to complete the stress cycle. In this episode, we discuss ways to creatively complete the stress cycle and real life examples from our clinical lives of how stressful situations affect us professionally and personally. From breathwork to...

Meet our friend, Dr. Shideh Shafie! She's a mother of twins, performance and malpractice coach, business owner, and ER doc. She talks with us today about stress (something she knows a thing or two about). Some highlights: Not all stress is negative.  Stress is linked to value . Stressors are not the same as stress. Stressors are the inciting event, but stress is a physiologic response . Many...

Limiting beliefs, or this idea of learned helplessness, is a thought or belief about yourself that restricts you in some way. Usually these beliefs are actually false accusations that we make about ourselves. Usually they start somewhere in that non-conscious or subconscious mind. Sometimes we're not even aware that we have them because they've been a belief we've had maybe since our childhood or...

This week we are excited to introduce you to our friend, Dr. Arpita Gupta-DePalma. A pediatrician by training, she now specializes in coaching for anger. Today she gives some tips on what to do when anger is negatively affecting your life. Highlights: Many times anger is a secondary emotion. We feel angry because it feels more powerful, more protective, than something like disappointment or sadnes...

Did you know that every thought that comes into your mind is not true?  This was a mind-blowing revelation!  Get it? Ok, well just because we capture a thought in our conscious mind doesn't mean that we need to keep it, especially if it isn't a thought that serves us.  In this episode, we talk about where thoughts come from and how they form into a belief and what we can do to chang...

Share this episode with your hospital leaders! In this episode, you get to meet one of our favorite humans, Dr. Hani Chaabo. He's a family doctor with integrative medicine training, now serving as the medical director of wellbeing at his hospital in Ridgecrest, CA He speaks with us about organizational wellbeing . Some highlights: 70-80% of burnout is actually institutional - related to high workl...

We are all very familiar writing a prescription.  But did you know that you actually have prescription for people?  You have a name (label), instructions on how they should act or behave and how much they should behave that way in a given situation.  This contributes to why we have the kinds of thoughts we have in certain situations.  This can be positive or negative.  Mos...

Relationships are strange because they're just the thoughts you have about someone . You can have a long distance relationship with someone and still feel close, and in comparison, you can have another person sitting next to you and feel lonely. It is your thoughts about the other person that is the experience of your relationship. A lot of our relationship problems stem from wanting someone to be...

On today's show, we talk about GOALS and what it is to set them and what we need to get started and KEEP GOING!  We talk about how we get in the way of just starting and how every excuse in the book sabotages us into staying stuck. Using the acronym, SMART, we give you a guideline of setting the goal and how to go about taking the small steps to accomplishing it!  Also, learning how to c...

A priority is a thing that is regarded more important than another. So are you living your life in alignment with your own priorities? In this episode we discuss the importance of really looking at what is important to you in your own life and the questions to ask yourself in order to start your "do over" today. Highlights: Treat the minutes you have each day as if they were dollars. Steven Covey...

On today's podcast, we host a special guest, Dr Joan Naidorf.  We had the pleasure of meeting her at a conference we attended in South Carolina hosted by Physician's Mom Group.  She has recently published a book and several articles.  She also writes a weekly blog that you can find on her website.  She has done many lectures on this topic and we hope you enjoy all the little nu...

In this episode we continue the discussion on the Self Determination Theory, originally presented by Deci and Ryan in 1985. It suggests intrinsic motivations lead to higher fulfillment than extrinsic motivations (see episode #28). For continued motivation, engagement, psychological growth and development, the following three components are necessary: competence - the feeling of mastery or being ef...

Today's show introduces this concept of the self-determination theory originally written about in a book by two psychologists in 1985. It  focuses on how it's so important for our psychological well being that we can do things from a place of wanting growth rather than wanting reward. Self determination theory is a theory of human motivation and personality. That suggests that people are able...

This episode we talk with Dr. Laura Fortner, an OB/Gyn, about medical malpractice, the distress associated with it, some statistics, and how physicians can get support if needed. Highlights: Statistics: Average malpractice cases last around 5 years ~75% of primary care will get sued ~99% of surgical specialties will get sued Most cases don't go to trial The ones that do go to trial are usually won...