The Worthy Physician

Send us Fan Mail We know that life as a physician gets busy.  We neglect ourselves, our relationships, and our own humanity at times.  With going to school non-stop, giving up our youth to study medicine, it is easy to burn out and to burn up.  It starts to be a way of 'being'.  Mental health is health.  Dustin Steffey and Jaden Norvell sat down and shared their perspective on burnout. ...

Send us Fan Mail Doctors are admired for dedicating their lives to jobs that are vital to the health of our society, which makes it easy to see them as superhumans. Even within the medical profession itself, doctors are taught in a stoic culture with militaristic training that results in lack of sleep, food, and self. This education affects the health of doctors themselves, but also the doctor-pat...

Send us Fan Mail Being a physician is not easy by any means.  We live in a fast paced world, that is just getting faster and faster.  We are constantly bombarded with messages for work or play, and other sounds from the world around us. As for physicians, we are like race car drivers...always going at our top speed!  We need to learn to pump the breaks before we crash into the wall of burnout. On...

Send us Fan Mail It's no secret that becoming a medical doctor is considered one of the most revered and respected professions in the world. Then why are physician satisfaction rates so low and burnout rates so high? This is a question our host Dr. Sapna Shah-Haque is determined to get to the bottom of and find solutions to change this “norm” across the profession.  In today’s episode, we hav...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I sat down with a fellow classmate from medical school, Dr. Anna Esparham, MD.  She is commonly known as Dr. Anna, and is a triple board certified physician in pediatrics, integrative medicine, and acupuncture.  Dr. Anna has always been adventurous in her daily practice of life, and in she dives into detail about life, career, and personal experience with burnout...

Send us Fan Mail We have boundaries, physical, mental, emotional, and so the same can carry over into medicine. It really is okay to say no. During my fourth year medical school rotation, I actually rotated in outpatient and addiction medicine. And one thing that really helped me was not only just sitting in the meeting and listening to what patients had to say, which also gave me an insight on, y...

Send us Fan Mail I sat down with Dr. Varnado, MD, commonly known as Dr. V to her patients. She's an OB/GYN turned lifestyle medicine physician. After feeling burned out, losing her spark, asking for help, she changed her own narrative. She took her skills from bedside/OR to coaching, connecting with patients to get to the root of the problem as 80% of disease is caused by lifestyle, and her o...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I sat down and talked with Dr. Warren Kane, MD, a practicing psychiatrist.  He shares his experience with burnout, and was able to use his tribe [family/wife] as an external meter as to what he was doing/feeling.  He checks in with himself on a regular basis to see how he is doing, as he does not want to go back to being burned out.   He shares his optimism and pe...

Send us Fan Mail Over the last few months, I have sat down and talked to amazing physicians, counselors, and other individuals who have been vulnerable and shared a side that may be they have not shared with many.  Burnout has been the topic, but also spirituality, grieving, how burnout can affect relationships with our loved ones, including ourselves. I wanted to reflect on what I have learned vi...

Send us Fan Mail On this Episode, I sat down with Dr. Serene Shereef, a trauma and acute care surgeon, mom, and a transformational life coach.  She shares her journey of burnout, with an interesting twist of growing up outside of the United States and having a different upbringing giving insight what medicine might look like through that of an immigrant within the healthcare system.  Dr. Shereef s...

Send us Fan Mail How do physicians grieve?   In a healthcare system and profession where we encounter a barrage of patients not all with good outcomes, information, loss of self, identity, and many other things, how do we as physicians grieve?  Medicine teaches us to  NOT show our emotions, and many physicians keep grinding away neglecting self care, and also where we are on an emotional scale. Lo...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode, I sat down  again and had a chat with Dr. Haidar Al-Hakim [The ThirdEyeDoc], who is an Ophthalmologist, psychotherapist, author, and host of the Surgical Spirit Podcast.  He previously had discussed his personal experience with burnout in a previous episode, and mentioned his interest in the spiritual side, and at that point I knew I had to bring him back for anot...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Dr. Felecia Froe, MD shared her story of burnout after being in private practices and several moves. She also shares how she became involved with real estate investing in order to create options (financially, lifestyle, and connecting with people in a way medicine does not cultivate today).  Dr. Froe founded Money with Mission, and she is doing great things in her...

Send us Fan Mail I sat down and discussed physician burnout with Dr. Diane Shannon who is a trailblazer with regard to physician burnout.  When she saw that the system did not allow [due to many pitfalls] her to deliver patient care like she had envisioned, she changed her narrative.  She is an author, speaker, and professional coach with a plethora of experience. She shares her story as well as h...

Send us Fan Mail I discussed physician burnout with Dr. Lara Hochman, MD.  She shared her story of burnout, what she did to change the narrative, and how she is thriving now.  She also discussed how she helps physicians find physician-owned practices where they can enjoy medicine again, and gives tips during that search.   Though I am a physician, this is not medical advice.  This is only a tool t...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode, I sat down and had a chat with Dr. Haidar Al-Hakim, who is an Ophthalmologist., psychotherapist, author, and host of the Surgical Spirit Podcast.  He was kind enough to discuss his experience of burnout, his writing, and other endeavors, on top of advise on how to navigate difficult situations in life. Though I am a physician, this is not medical advice.  This is...

Send us Fan Mail I sat down and interviewed Randy Silkwood, who is described as  a rebel who goes against the grain to find spirituality in anything.  We discussed spirituality, mindfulness, reconnection, and standing in one's power, which ties multiple points together that have previously been mentioned by physician guests.   Though I am a physician, this is not medical advice.  This is only...

Send us Fan Mail I had the pleasure of sitting down and interviewing Rachel Gainsbrugh, PharmD in the latest podcast episode.  She shared her experience and story of burnout as a pharmacist, which I would not have even conceived.  Listen as a colleague discusses metrics and situations, I as a consumer of the occasional pharmacy run, would not have contemplated.  She further shares how she pivoted...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I talked with Dr. Maha Mohamad, MD.  She is a rheumatology fellow at the University of Kansas-Kansas City finishing her first year.  She gives great advice she has integrated into her life, and is still learning, how to combat burnout.  One take away point/pearl I loved was to restore your battery—whatever that is.  Work with your hands.  Have a hobby outside of m...

Send us Fan Mail This episode is an abbreviated reaction to the Tulsa shooting where two physicians were needlessly killed.  How do we grieve? Though I am a physician, this is not medical advice.  This is only a tool that physicians can use to get ideas on how to deal with burnout and/or know they are not alone.  If you are in need of medical assistance talk to your physician. Learn more about fem...

Send us Fan Mail Burnout does not happen in a vacuum.  It affects all aspects of our lives, including relationships.  Tune in to this episode to learn more about how that can happen, what that may look like, and take some time to self reflect.  Dr. Jeep [as he is known to his patients] and his wife coach physician couples, and can be found at www.bestfriendsagain.com Sit back, listen, and enjoy! T...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I sat down with NHI founders, Ernesto Nieto and Gloria De Leon.  They have both had an impact in my life from the age of 17.  What is it you want out of life? What does your reality that you want look like? What is the third reality? We have to be the steward of our own ship, and how does one do that? What is the nurtured state, imposed state, and what do we want...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I sat down with NHI founders, Ernesto Nieto and Gloria De Leon.  They have both had an impact in my life from the age of 17. In part B of episode 5, Ernesto describes his background and how existing in 2 different realities and the loss of his father propelled him forward.  It has inspired him to carry out his life's work with NHI [National Hispanic Institute...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I sat down with Dr. Simon Maltais, CT surgeon and speaker/author of  Healthcare Anonymous: Put Yourself First to Avoid Anxiety, Addiction, and Burnout.  He gives his insight on medicine and discusses his book.   Though I am a physician, this is not medical advice.  This is only a tool that physicians can use to get ideas on how to deal with burnout and/or know the...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Robyn Tiger, MD is a radiologist who shares her story about burnout and how she saved her own life.  She had several symptoms that were being treated with Western medicine, but could not be solved.  Burnout can take the shape of physical symptoms. She shares her personal story and insight that is not taught in medical school or residency.  Furthermore, she is now helping physi...