As physicians we are trained to push through, to prioritize patients, and to normalize high stress. That works for a while—until it doesn’t. This hub brings together what I teach physicians in coaching: how to name burnout clearly, how to recognize moral injury when the system works against you, and how to rebuild with ordinary, […]
2025: A Journey Through Loss, Meaning, and Renewal Sometimes the healthcare system is so big and complex, and surprisingly lonely, that patients and providers just put up with the dysfunction… or leave. Putting on a brave face feels like the right thing to do. But in my experience, that’s what leads to burnout, dissatisfaction, and […]
A reflective, honest look at the realities of practicing medicine in 2025—and what may shape 2026. 2025 felt like a turning point. If the years immediately after the pandemic were dominated by recovery and re-entry, this was the year many of us finally realized: this is the new normal. Reimbursement pressures tightened. Patient complexity rose. […]
It’s December, you’re standing in the kitchen at 9 PM, still in your scrubs, trying to wrap presents while mentally reviewing tomorrow’s patient list. Your partner asks about weekend plans, your phone buzzes with call schedules, and somewhere in the back of your mind, you’re wondering when you last sat down for more than five […]
The Best Gift You Can Give Yourself This Holiday Season? Choosing what you want, not what you feel you “should” do. Physicians are masters of responsibility. We say yes because someone needs us. We show up because people rely on us. We push aside our own needs because the world around us seems to depend on […]
Stress. It’s a constant hum in the background of our lives, sometimes roaring into the foreground when life gets overwhelming. You’ve probably felt it: the racing heart, the tightness in your chest, the restless nights. But what if I told you that stress isn’t just the enemy? Our autonomic nervous system is designed to help […]
Moving From Understanding to Action Last week, we explored how gratitude isn’t just an emotion, it’s neuroscience. When we truly experience gratitude, the medial prefrontal cortex lights up, serotonin and oxytocin increase, and inflammatory markers decrease. Gratitude literally rewires the brain, shifting us from survival mode into connection and meaning. But understanding the science is […]
Beyond the Buzzword Gratitude. It’s a concept we all know, often tossed around as a cure-all for stress, unhappiness, and burnout. For many of us in medicine, it sounds hollow. A nice idea, but not a fix for a broken healthcare system. But what if we’ve misunderstood gratitude all along? What if it’s not supposed […]
Because sometimes the scariest thing isn’t what’s chasing you — it’s what you’re avoiding. It Starts Early Plug in a nightlight. Hide under the blanket. Cover your eyes during the scary part of the movie. As children, we’re taught that the answer to fear is avoidance. Run. Hide. Don’t look. Admit fear, and you risk […]
No matter how my day goes, coming home to my dogs always lifts my spirits. They greet me with such joy that it’s impossible not to feel happier. Whatever I faced at work, whether good or bad, melts away. I talk to my dogs as if they were people, asking about their day, even though […]
