Healthcare Clinician Burnout/Hope Cook/PA-C/Life Coach/Physician Assistant/Physician Associate

Sometimes, the bravest thing you can do isn’t to push harder—it’s to stop, listen, and let yourself marinate in the unknown. In this episode, I’m talking about setting an intention you can actually live by, using your body as a built-in compass, and asking the deeper question: Who am I really serving? We’ll explore why Gandhi’s “lose yourself in service” isn’t just a nice quote for a coffee mug, a...

Today’s conversation is the kind that lingers long after you’ve hit pause. I had the absolute joy of interviewing Laura Bush , a fellow dermatology PA with over 34 years of experience in medicine (yes, you read that right—three decades-plus!). Laura started her career in emergency medicine (Grady ER!!) before eventually making her way to derm, and her story is a masterclass in career pivots, perso...

In this episode, I’m diving into the book Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown—aka the book my podcast guest, Rick Yarosh (last week's episode) recommended and the book I wish I’d read before I burned out the first time. If you feel like your life and career are one giant scribble of overcommitment, guilt, and busyness, this one’s for you. We’ll talk about how to get c...

In this episode, I’m talking with Rick Yarosh, PA-C—entrepreneur, business owner, and fellow clinician who’s thinking light-years ahead when it comes to healthcare, AI, and burnout. Rick shares his take on why clinicians need to start thinking of themselves as a “company of one,” especially if we want to stay relevant and empowered in a rapidly changing healthcare landscape. We dig into the differ...

In this inspiring conversation, Tara Prisco, PA-C and co-host of Medical Media Mixer , shares how two decades in medicine led her to a creative renaissance. We discuss burnout during the pandemic (Tara lost 1/3 of her patients in a nursing home), and how your body signals when it’s time to pivot. Tara urges clinicians to find something fun and non-medical just for themselves, to stop waiting for p...

In this episode, I unpack what it really means to “flip your life upside down” and take the road less traveled—and how, sometimes, it takes something drastic to get you the heck out of Stuckville. Inspired by a client’s passing comment, this is the answer she gave when someone asked her why she was choosing an unconventional path: "Well, I could stay and spend 80k renovating my bathroom, but...

Feeling stuck in your career? Burned out, disillusioned, or just... done? What if the secret to getting unstuck isn’t in another checklist—but in the games you used to play as a kid? In this episode, I explore how classic childhood games like Red Light, Green Light , Hide and Seek , and Mother May I offer surprisingly powerful metaphors for navigating clinician burnout. These aren’t just cute anal...

Have you been googling “burnout” at 2 a.m., or debating going back to school for a doctorate because, hey, maybe that'll at least give you more career options? In today’s conversation, I speak with Renee Hamler, a seasoned family medicine PA-C and doctoral student who knows burnout inside and out. Renee opens up about her personal journey—what it felt like to hit a wall in a career she loves,...

In this episode, I’m breaking down what it means to lose your groove as a clinician and how to find your way back to yourself. Inspired by the old school movie, How Stella Got Her Groove Back—I'll show you how to step out of burnout and back into joy, freedom, and alignment. We'll explore six powerful steps to help you reconnect with what lights you up, question the old scripts you're following, a...

Procrastination isn’t just laziness—it’s usually a clue. In this episode, we dig into what your foot-dragging is trying to tell you and how to outsmart it with real, doable strategies. I’ll walk you through the hidden reasons we put things off—boredom, perfectionism, fear, or just not caring that much—and how to tell the difference. We’ll also look at how to use procrastination as a tool (yes, rea...

In this episode, I sit down with Megan Hood, PA-C, founder of Hiking Hound Adventures, to explore how nature, family, and resilience can transform both burnout and business. Megan’s story is one of creating exactly what she most needed: after moving to a new area, switching to a more administrative pediatrics role, and missing hands-on time with kids, she launched Hiking Hound Adventures — an outd...

There’s a moment in every burnout journey when your body, your mind, or your inner voice finally says no more. Maybe you’ve ignored the signs, pushed through the exhaustion, or told yourself “just a little longer.” But now the whisper has turned into a slap, and you can’t un-feel it. In this episode, I walk you through what to do when you’ve hit your breaking point. Before you make a big decision—...

In this episode, I sit down with Shay Domangue, PA-C, whose career path took a bold and inspiring turn — from hospitalist PA/ internal medicine to building her own social media business in elder care to transitioning to marketing development in the pharmaceutical device industry. She's now the Gulf Coast Field Market Development Specialist in the Renal Denervation business unit for Medtronic a...

If you’re a clinician who feels burned out, stuck, or like you're living the same career frustration on repeat—this episode will hit home. I explore why so many healthcare professionals end up in the same emotional cycles, no matter the job or setting. I'll teach you The Reframe Game , a powerful mindset tool to help you shift out of defeat and into possibility, even when change feels hard. You'll...

Hey y'all, this week, I’m so excited to introduce you to someone who’s doing truly innovative work at the intersection of clinical care and coaching. Laura Kirk is the Assistant Director of Advanced Practice Providers at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, and she also serves as Vice President of External Education for the Academy of Communication in Healthcare (ACH). She’s a Phys...

My book, Healing Clinician Burnout, How to Heal Your Life and Career , is now available on ⁠Amazon ⁠ paperback and ebook/Kindle. In this behind-the-scenes episode, I’m pulling back the curtain on what it really took to write my book, Healing Clinician Burnout: How to Revive Your Life and Career . Spoiler: it wasn’t just coffee shops and channeling my inner Elizabeth Gilbert. This was a messy, soul...

Pre-order⁠ my book, Healing Clinician Burnout, How to Revive Your Life and Career, Available 4/18/25If you’ve been living in survival mode—numbing out, overworking, and ignoring your own needs—your relationship with money might be a reflection of all that. In this episode, Hope dives into the hidden connection between burnout, self-worth, and money mindset—especially for healthcare professionals w...

Pre-order my book, Healing Clinician Burnout, How to Revive Your Life and Career, Available 4/18/25 Today's episode: Burnout isn’t just exhaustion—it’s a crisis of unmet needs. In this episode, Melissa Mol-Pelton, PA-C shares her powerful journey of hitting rock bottom, quitting her job, and rediscovering herself. We dive into the signs of burnout, why working harder won’t fix it, and the smal...

Ever found yourself in the same frustrating work situation, toxic relationship, or overwhelming career rut and thought, How did I get here… AGAIN? You’re not alone. Repeating patterns—especially in jobs and relationships—isn’t just bad luck. It’s the result of deeply ingrained thought loops that keep driving the same actions, leading to the same outcomes. In this episode, we’re cracking the code o...

My book, Healing Clinician Burnout: How to Revive Your Life and Career, will be out in a few weeks! In it, I'll share the most common problem clinicians face and how my CPR framework will help! COACHING WITH HOPE My Masterclass Series for Clinicians just started, but add your name to the waiting list. Click ⁠⁠ here ⁠⁠ for more info or shoot me an email if you'd like to be included in the n...

What if the way you’re living now isn’t the way you have to live? Dr. Sarah Wittry hit a breaking point in her medical career, juggling motherhood, burnout, and the crushing weight of doing it all. In this episode, she shares the mindset shifts that helped her reclaim her energy, let go of guilt, and start living with more intention. Plus, the powerful lessons she’s learned from patients at the en...

In this conversation, we discuss Emily's journey from being a PA to becoming a writer. We explore the challenges faced during the pandemic, the recognition of burnout, and the healing power of writing. Emily shares her experiences in the medical field, the process of writing her book 'Behind Clinic Doors', and the personal growth she has experienced through this journey. The discussion...

What if you could change your path by changing the thoughts in your head? Sounds crazy, huh? It's not. It's just like building muscles in the gym and I'll explain how to get ripped (energetically). How to determine what kind of energy you're carrying around and how to change it so you can start living your best life and stop feeling stuck, stressed out, and/or miserable. COACHING WITH HOPE Group c...

Breelyn Vanleeuwen is a creator of one of the BEST sunscreens ever, and she's a PA, mom of 4, and phenomenally resilient human. She's a Utah Native and still lives there. She hoped to go into dermatology but ended up in urologic surgery, which turned out to be a pretty great gig. She was the only female Urology provider for 60 miles and she quickly became the go-to provider for female urology. Thr...

While binge-watching this fascinating reality show, I realized it's a perfect metaphor for how we handle life situations, including burnout and work stress. Here's what we'll cover: 1) Why your "why" will determine if you fail or succeed, 2) How your priorities matter in terms of your survival, 3) How your view of your situation is a game changer, and 4) Short-term wins vs. long-term success. If y...