The Doctor's Crossing Carpe Diem Podcast

How would you like to still use your medical knowledge and keep learning new things, but not be stressed out by the challenges of patient care? If so, being a CDI specialist might be just the ticket. Today I'm speaking with Dr. Jenn Jolley, a general surgeon who put the scalpel down to work in Clinical Documentation Improvement so she could still use her medical training but have more family time....

What happens when you're excited to get a job offer with a company and they want you to start ASAP but you have to give 90 days' notice? What if you have a non-compete that restricts the kind of work you can do next and where you do it? These can be issues in both clinical and nonclinical jobs. Physician employment contract expert and founder of Contract Diagnostics, Jon Appino, shares his advice...

Do you question whether you're good enough to be a doctor? Do you compare yourself to other physicians and second guess your decision-making? If so, you might have the imposter syndrome. This issue can affect the most component physicians and lead to burnout and other problems. Dr. Diane Shannon experienced the imposter syndrome starting in med school and it fueled the burnout that caused her to l...

A common concern about leaving medicine is losing your skill set and having the door closed. This can also be an issue if you stay in practice but stop doing certain procedures or surgeries. OB/Gyn physician Dr. Helen Rhodes had a steep uphill climb returning to obstetrics after more than a decade away from the delivery room. We hear the amazing story of how she made it back, the role locum tenens...

When you're unhappy at your job it's a good idea to try and fix it up before you give it up. What might make it better? Do you want to go down in hours? Change your schedule? Do less trauma call? Before throwing in the towel or simply enduring, it's important to see what can be improved. Our guest today, ENT surgeon and podcaster, Dr. Bradley Block, joins me to talk about how to approach your empl...

I'm "only" a doctor, I don't know how to do anything else! If you've had this thought or other limiting beliefs about your physician identity, this episode is for you. My guest, Family Physician, and NLP coach, Dr. Maiysha Clairborne, helps us explore how our physician identity can benefit us in the transition process and also how it can become a trap. We address four key questions to ask about yo...

Are you stuck in a career wedgie? A career wedgie happens when you're not happy in your current job but you're putting too much pressure on yourself to find the perfect next job. This pressure to "get it right" can keep you stuck. Today I'm talking with Dr. Timothy Owolabi, a Family Practice physician who found a great nonclinical job through a series of job changes that didn't have to be the perf...

How many of us love going to networking events, schmoozing, and asking for advice? No one I know! But the good news is with the internet, networking is much easier than it used to be. Networking can truly open doors as some 60% of jobs are filled through networking and employee referrals. Join us today as my wonderful guest Dr. Laura McKain, founder of the Physician Nonclinal Career Hunters Facebo...

A common trap for physicians to fall into when considering a career change is fear-based thinking. Fear-based thinking makes us focus more on problems rather than possibilities. In this podcast, my guest Dr. Jennifer Vick and I demonstrate an exercise you can use for getting out of the fear trap. Dr. Vick shares how she was able to shift her own mindset to find a new direction. Come join in and le...

A variety of emotions come up at the career crossroads. Two of the more painful ones are guilt and shame. Dr. Brian Sayers joins me to talk about how these emotions can arise when considering leaving medicine and from medical mistakes. He shares a four-step process for addressing these emotions. We also learn how Dr. Sayer's own life experiences led to his work in helping physicians. Dr. Sayers is...

Making a big leap to a new career without testing the waters first can be a bit risky. Getting a taste of what a new job would be like before pulling up the tent stakes is ideal. Doing chart review on the side is an excellent way to explore some different career directions. Come and learn about the requirements for doing chart review, how to get started, and the benefits of doing this type of work...

How we speak and the words we choose have a big impact on the impressions we make on others and our self-confidence. Are you aware of whether or not your use filler or hedge words? We often don't even realize our speech habits unless we record ourselves. Our guest Tracy Hooper is here to help us choose words that empower us and lose the ones that don't. She is the Founder of The Confidence Project...

If I had a dollar for every time I've heard a physician say, "I'm not the entrepreneurial type," I'd be rich! Too often we have this idea that to be an entrepreneur requires having out-of-the-box ideas and being a big risk-taker. In this episode, we're debunking these misconceptions with Dr. Peter Kim, anesthesiologist, and experienced entrepreneur. Find out if you have the 5 key qualities common...

Are you burdened by medical school debt? It's common for physicians to have $200,000 - $300,000 or more in loans. This can be a heavy weight to bear. It can make you feel trapped and anxious. Joy Sorensen Navarre understands these challenges and has a heart for helping physicians become debt-free. She is the founder of Navigate Student Loans and our guest on the podcast. She shares how her company...

If you're a medical student or resident having doubts about your career, what do you do? People will tell you to stay the course and that it will get better, but will it? How do you know if these feelings are normal or if you're on the wrong path? Dr. Andrew Tisser wanted to leave in his second year of medical school but he already had significant debt and decided to stay. He shares his story of b...

We never know how the worst things that can happen to us can end up transforming who we are and what we do. Our guest, Dr. Kevin Gendreau, has experienced heartbreaking losses in his personal life, one of which happened when he was just a teenager. However, these losses ended up leading in an unexpected way to a gem of a career niche in obesity medicine. Dr. Gendreau shares his incredibly inspirin...

Should you send in your CV or a resume for a nonclinical job? In many cases, a customized resume will give you the best chance of landing that coveted interview. Find out why from our guest, Krista Grant, a highly experienced physician recruiter for both clinical and nonclinical jobs. She helps us understand why a resume is often preferable over a CV. She also gives us a wealth of concrete advice...

Career change is challenging, no doubt. The landscape is unfamiliar and we can get stuck by roadblocks that are not in front of us but in our mind. These mental blocks can keep us from taking the first key step forward. But it doesn't have to end like this. In our episode, I'm joined by Dr. Heidi Moawad, author of Careers Beyond Clinical Medicine, as we address 4 of the most common career-change r...

As physicians, we often hear that we're not very good with our money. We're so busy taking care of patients, we may not put a lot of time into understanding our relationship to money and how it's impacting our life and future goals. According to Dr. Brent Lacey, board-certified gastroenterologist and master financial coach, physicians make the same mistakes as everyone else with their money. The m...

Are you curious about becoming a coach but not sure if this could be a direction for you? It seems like a lot of physicians are becoming coaches and you may wonder if there is room for you. You also may have questions about income, training, what the day-to-day is like, and how to choose a niche. In this podcast, we're exploring these questions and more. In a bit of a role reversal, I'm being inte...

We hear a lot about the FDA in the news, but what would it be like to work there as a physician? It can seem like a big black box. Our guest, Dr. Andrew Mulberg, is a pediatric gastroenterologist who has worked not only at the FDA, but also in academia, and for pharma. He gives us a window into working at the FDA and why he feels it is a great organization for physicians who want to serve the publ...

Just because you chose a particular specialty doesn't mean you're necessarily stuck there. If you find yourself feeling dissatisfied in practice but still want to care for patients, there are options. Family physician Dr. Emily Burns knew she wasn't happy after 15 years of practice but she wasn't sure what path to take. Join us to discover how she found a new direction and deep satisfaction throug...

When it comes to contract negotiation, if you're like many physicians, you feel like a fish out of water. You're not sure what's appropriate to ask for and how to actually negotiate. Rather than risk losing the offer, you may decide to just sign the contract, potentially leaving thousands of dollars on the table. Our guest, Jon Appino, is the founder of Contract Diagnostics, a company that helps p...

If you're considering a career transition into pharma but don't think you have the desired background, this podcast is for you. There are a variety of ways you can build your resume if you plan in advance. Our guest, oncologist Dr. Kelly Curtis, works as a Senior Medical Director where he oversees clinical trials at a Contract Research Organization. Dr. Curtis shares a number of actionable steps y...

After never feeling that she fit in with how medicine was practiced, a family physician decides something needs to change. She loved her patients and hearing their stories, but there was never enough time to spend with them. Without knowing what direction her career would take, she set out to discover where she could be more in her element. Her search ultimately led to a career in coaching where s...