Academic Medicine Strategy Podcast

Why Your Best Cognitive Hours Are Wasted on Email (And What to Do About It) Early-career academic physicians often feel busy all day but still struggle to make meaningful progress on the work that drives promotion. This episode breaks down why that happens—and how misallocating your highest-energy hours to reactive tasks like email is quietly stalling your career. You’ll learn a practical framewor...

You Don’t Have a Time Problem. You Have a Decision Problem Early-career physicians often feel like they’re running out of time, yet still falling behind on the work that actually moves their careers forward. In this episode, Dr. Stacey Ishman reframes the problem: it’s not about finding more time, it’s about making better decisions about where your time and energy go. This shift is critical for bu...

In this episode of the  Academic Medicine Strategy Group , Dr. Stacey Ishman welcomes her first guest under the podcast’s new direction as part of the Academic Medicine Strategy Group—Dr. Chrissie Ott. Together, they explore how coaching transforms physician careers, why burnout is often misunderstood, and how emerging tools like AI can reshape clinical workflows. This conversation is especia...

In this episode, Dr. Stacey Ishman introduces the transition from Medical Mentor Coaching to the Academic Medicine Strategy Group , reflecting a broader mission to support not just individual physicians, but entire departments and institutions. Joined by Chief of Education Kirsten , this conversation explores the hidden gaps in academic medicine, the cost of misalignment, and how intentional caree...

Turning Busyness Into Promotion Series (5 of 5): Protect Deep Work Like It Is Clinic In this episode, Dr. Stacey Ishman closes out her 5-part series on turning busyness into promotion by focusing on one of the most overlooked drivers of academic advancement: protected deep work. She explains why working harder isn’t the problem—and how failing to intentionally schedule and defend cognitively deman...

Episode: Turning Busyness Into Promotion Series (4 of 5): Define Your Niche Before It Defines You In this episode of the Medical Mentor Coaching Podcast , Dr. Stacey Ishman discusses one of the most important strategic decisions early-career academic physicians can make: defining a clear niche. Many faculty work incredibly hard, but when their projects, committees, and collaborations spread across...

In this episode of the Medical Mentor Coaching Podcast , Dr. Stacey Ishman challenges early-career physicians to rethink how they approach service, committees, and opportunities. She explains why being reliable and saying yes to everything can quietly delay promotion — and how to instead choose roles that align with your career narrative, build your reputation, and create measurable impact. If you...

In this episode of the Medical Mentor Coaching , Dr. Stacey Ishman walks early-career physicians through a practical strategy to align their time with their promotion goals. She explains why a full calendar does not equal meaningful progress and how intentional scheduling creates the visibility needed for career advancement. If you’ve ever felt busy but unsure why your scholarship or promotable wo...

Turning Busyness into Promotion - Build a Clear Career Story from the Start In this episode, Dr. Stacey Ishman explores why so many early-career physicians feel constantly busy yet still disconnected from meaningful progress. She explains how the real challenge isn’t time — it’s the absence of a clear priority system. Through practical examples and a simple framework, she shows how aligning daily...

The Inside View: A Coaching Conversation with Client Dr. Reema Padia In this episode of Medical Mentor Coaching , Dr. Stacey Ishman welcomes her first guest, Dr. Reema Padia, a pediatric otolaryngologist at the University of Utah and Associate Professor in her seventh year of practice. Dr. Padia shares her experience transitioning to a new institution, stepping into leadership, and navigating prom...

Why Busy CVs Don’t Always Advance Careers In this episode, Dr. Stacey Ishman unpacks one of the most common and frustrating experiences in academic medicine: working hard, staying busy, and still feeling stalled when it comes to promotion. She explains why promotion criteria alone are not enough, how interpretation—not effort—drives advancement decisions, and why many early-career physicians unkno...

In this episode of Medical Mentor Coaching , Dr. Stacey Ishman unpacks why being the most reliable faculty member can quietly stall your academic career. She introduces opportunity selection as a critical (and teachable) career skill, explaining how saying yes to the wrong work—even when it’s valued and appreciated—can slow promotion, visibility, and leadership advancement for physicians in their...

In this episode of the Medical Mentor Coaching Podcast , Dr. Stacey Ishman unpacks a critical but rarely named challenge facing early-career physicians: the leadership gap that emerges after training ends. While medicine prepares physicians to execute, it does not prepare them to choose. The result is ambiguity, misalignment, and career drift that often gets mislabeled as burnout. This conversatio...

Why Doing Great Work Is Not Enough to Get Promoted In this episode of the Medical Mentor Coaching Podcast , Dr. Stacey Ishman breaks down one of the most misunderstood truths in academic medicine: promotion is not a reward for effort. It is an evaluation of coherence, clarity, and impact. Using real examples from faculty CVs and promotion committees, Stacey explains why excellent work can still st...

You Don’t Have a Time Management Problem — You Have a Priority System Failure In this episode of the Medical Mentor Coaching podcast, Dr. Stacey Ishman challenges one of the most common assumptions early-career physicians make: that feeling behind is a time problem. Drawing from real coaching examples and lived experience in academic medicine, she explains why the real issue is a missing or misali...

Likable Badass Leadership — Leading with Warmth and Confidence In this episode of Medical Mentor Coaching , Dr. Stacey Ishman explores the concept of Likable Badass Leadership , inspired by Likable Badass by Alison Fragale. Designed for physicians in their first 10 years of practice, this conversation reframes leadership as the intentional balance of warmth and competence—connection and confidence...

In this episode, Dr. Stacey Ishman explores why constant input is undermining clarity for physicians in their first 10 years of practice—and how intentional silence can become a powerful tool for insight, creativity, and confident leadership. Drawing on neuroscience, real-life reflection, and practical strategies, she reframes silence not as absence, but as a strategic skill for thinking better, l...

Leading When You Don't Have All the Answers Listen directly on   Apple   or   Spotify In this episode of Medical Mentor Coaching for Physicians in Their First 10 Years of Practice , Dr. Stacey Ishman explores one of the most underrated leadership skills in academic medicine: leading through uncertainty . Physicians are trained to know the answers—yet real leadership often requires n...

Visibility & Connection in One Hour a Week Listen directly on   Apple   or   Spotify In this episode, Dr. Stacey Ishman breaks down how early-career physicians can build national visibility and meaningful professional relationships without overwhelm —using a simple, one-hour-a-week framework. If you’ve ever felt torn between wanting to be known for your work and just trying to s...

Finding Joy Again in Academic Medicine Through a Career Pivot Listen directly on   Apple   or   Spotify In this episode of the Medical Mentor Coaching Podcast , Dr. Stacey Ishman shares her personal journey of rediscovering joy and purpose in academic medicine through a career pivot. After stepping away from clinical practice for 18 months to lead a utilization management program, s...

From Perfectionist to Pro — The 80% Rule Revealed! Listen directly on   Apple   or   Spotify In this episode, Dr. Stacey Ishman explores one of the biggest mindset shifts for early-career physicians: moving from perfectionism to progress. She introduces the “80% Rule,” a practical framework that helps you escape the trap of over-editing, over-preparing, and overthinking — and start...

The Invisible Work That Builds National Visibility Listen directly on   Apple   or   Spotify In this episode of Medical Mentor Coaching , Dr. Stacey Ishman explores the often-overlooked “invisible work” that builds national visibility for physicians. From quiet acts of professionalism to behind-the-scenes committee work, she shares how consistent follow-through, authentic relationsh...

How Mentorship Changes Everything – Two Conversations That Shaped Careers Listen directly on   Apple   or   Spotify In this episode of the Medical Mentor Coaching Podcast , Dr. Stacey Ishman explores how mentorship can transform the trajectory of an early-career physician. Through two powerful mentorship stories—her own and that of a colleague—she illustrates how clarity of focus, a...

How to Lead When You Are Not the Boss: Academic Medicine Edition Listen directly on   Apple   or   Spotify In this episode, Dr. Stacey Ishman explores the powerful concept that leadership begins long before you receive a formal title. She shares practical strategies for early-career physicians to build influence, shape culture, and create meaningful change from any position within a...

Unlocking the Secret to Effective Feedback Listen directly on   Apple   or   Spotify In this episode, Dr. Stacey Ishman explores the art of giving effective feedback in academic medicine. She discusses common pitfalls in feedback delivery and introduces a powerful framework that focuses on the "ideal version" of a role rather than past shortcomings. Through personal examples and pra...