Academic Medicine Strategy Podcast

Celebrating wins rarely makes it onto a physician's calendar because it never looks urgent. Dr. Stacey Ishman, pediatric otolaryngologist and founder of Academic Medicine Strategy Group, shares how her book, The Physician's Guide to Owning Your Time, hit #1 on Amazon and she forgot to celebrate. She explains why physicians deflect their wins and how to make celebration intentional.

Key Points:

[00:00] What happens when a physician forgets to celebrate a big win?

Stacey's book hit #1 in three Amazon categories, and she had no answer when someone asked how she was celebrating. Her wife had already planned a party. Stacey had written a book on owning your time and never put celebration on her own calendar.

[02:00] Why do physicians deflect their wins?

Physicians are trained to treat humility as the right response and self-promotion as something to avoid. The next deadline is always waiting. Imposter syndrome adds the belief that a win is a fluke or doesn't count yet.

[03:40] Why start every coaching call with wins?

Stacey opens each coaching session with wins. Many clients first say they can't think of one, then share win after win. One client had gotten married that weekend and forgot to mention it. A win does not need to be giant to matter.

[04:20] Why does celebration never make it onto the calendar?

Time follows our decisions. What goes on the calendar gets done. Chapter 7 of the book uses the Eisenhower Matrix to show how urgent work crowds out important things. Celebration needs the same protection as writing time: decide it matters and give it a date.

[05:50] What counts as a win?

Stacey shares four from her week: the book launch, a new way she and her wife name how each of them processes problems, an unexpected movie night with her son, and giving herself grace during recovery. Some wins are big. Some only you will notice.

[08:20] What does celebrating look like in practice?

Stacey restarted short workouts, took time to be still, played Mahjong with friends, and enjoyed the launch party cake. Then try it yourself: write down one big win, one nobody else would notice, and one you almost didn't count.

[09:20] How can department leaders recognize faculty milestones?

Departments track RVUs, publications, and grant dollars but rarely mark faculty milestones. Stacey cites Schloss and colleagues in Academic Medicine (2009), who estimated the cost of losing a surgical subspecialist at $120,000 to $600,000. A note after a promotion or a mention at faculty meeting costs almost nothing.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Why do physicians struggle to celebrate their wins?

Medical training teaches physicians that humility is expected and self-promotion is suspect. Many also feel the next deadline makes pausing irresponsible, and imposter syndrome tells them the win was a fluke. Dr. Stacey Ishman recommends naming wins out loud and scheduling a specific time to celebrate them.

How can physicians use the Eisenhower Matrix to protect time for what matters?

The Eisenhower Matrix sorts tasks by urgency and importance. Physicians often get stuck in urgent work, so important activities like celebration, writing, and research keep losing out. The fix is to decide what matters and put it on the calendar with a date and time, so it gets the same priority as urgent tasks.

How can academic departments recognize faculty achievements?

Departments can send a personal note after a promotion, mention a new grant at a faculty meeting, and credit the people who make events happen. Recognition costs little, while losing a faculty member can cost a department hundreds of thousands of dollars. Leaders should decide how milestones get marked on purpose.

Summary:

Celebrating wins is a decision, and it only happens when it has a place on your calendar. This week, pick one win from the past seven days, put a celebration on your calendar with a date and time, and protect it the way you would protect clinic.

Resources Mentioned:

The Physician's Guide to Owning Your Time by Dr. Stacey Ishman: https://a.co/d/0gf6Wb2P

Work With Us:

If you're interested in working with Academic Medicine Strategy Group, visit www.amedsg.com to learn about our programs that help academic physicians build a clear, strategic path to promotion, research, and career advancement.

Rate, Review, and Follow:

Please RATE, REVIEW, and FOLLOW the Academic Medicine Strategy Podcast on your favorite platform.

If you'd like to get in touch or suggest a topic:

DM me on Instagram at @sishmancoach

Email me at [email protected]

Contact me through the website at www.amedsg.com

Dr. Stacey Ishman shares the physician time management tools behind her #1 bestseller and how to align your calendar with your values in academic medicine.

Episode Summary:

Physician time management starts with one honest question: does your calendar reflect your values? Dr. Stacey Ishman, pediatric otolaryngologist and founder of Academic Medicine Strategy Group, talks with Kirsten, AMedSG's Chief Education Officer, about her #1 bestseller, The Physician's Guide to Owning Your Time, and why early-career physicians deserve permission to take back control of their time.

Key Points:

[00:00] Why does a time management book for doctors resonate outside medicine?

The book reached #1 on Amazon in wellness and business categories. Stacey says the skills apply in any field, and medicine has a bigger gap because physicians are rarely taught to give themselves permission.

[02:40] Why don't physicians learn time management in training?

Medical schools and residency programs have no infrastructure to teach physicians to manage time around their values. Stacey wrote the book to give frustrated physicians practical tools and the permission to use them.

[03:20] Do you need to implement the whole book to see results?

No. Pick one idea, apply it, and come back when you're ready for more. Kirsten compares it to conference notes that never get used because there's no clear place to start.

[05:10] How can a busy physician write a book or a research paper?

Stacey used the Talk Your Book technique from author Jorie O'Neill. She recorded answers to prompts during her drives and had AI transcribe them. The same approach works for one section of a research paper at a time.

[08:00] How does your calendar show your real values?

Stacey once believed family was her top value, yet her calendar showed missed kids' events and no self-care. When your time feels wrong, you can reframe it, decline it, plan it better, delegate it, or delete it.

[09:50] Which invisible work is worth keeping?

Invisible work is worth doing when it reflects what you value. Stacey mentored almost every medical student she could. It never showed up on her CV, and it mattered to her.

[11:20] How can department leaders build time skills into their institutions?

Stacey never learned these skills at work and believes institutions should teach them. Trainees, faculty, and staff who have them are more likely to enjoy their jobs and stay.

Frequently Asked Questions:

How can physicians align their time with their values?

Start by reviewing your calendar and noticing what you dread, avoid, or enjoy. Some commitments need a new frame so you enjoy them more. Others can be declined, delegated, or deleted. Dr. Stacey Ishman's book, The Physician's Guide to Owning Your Time, walks physicians through this process with real examples.

What is the Talk Your Book method?

Talk Your Book is a writing technique from author Jorie O'Neill. You answer a series of prompts out loud, record your answers, and use the transcripts as a first draft. Dr. Stacey Ishman wrote her book this way during her commute, completing one prompt at a time whenever she had a few free minutes.

Can physicians earn CME for reading The Physician's Guide to Owning Your Time?

Yes. The book is part of AMedSG's CME by the Book program. Physicians read the book, reflect on how its ideas can improve their practice, and earn CME credit. It works well for department book clubs and private practices looking for a practical approach to professional development.

Summary:

Physician time management is less about squeezing in more and more about choosing where your time goes. This week, look at your last seven days and find one commitment that doesn't match your values. Then decide whether to reframe it, delegate it, or let it go.

Resources Mentioned:

The Physician's Guide to Owning Your Time by Dr. Stacey Ishman

CME by the Book: https://www.amedsg.com/cmebythebook

Work With Us:

If you're interested in working with Academic Medicine Strategy Group, visit www.amedsg.com to learn about our programs that help academic physicians build a clear, strategic path to promotion, research, and career advancement.

Rate, Review, and Follow:

Please RATE, REVIEW, and FOLLOW the Academic Medicine Strategy Podcast on your favorite platform.

If you'd like to get in touch or suggest a topic:

DM me on Instagram at @sishmancoach

Email me at [email protected]

Contact me through the website at www.amedsg.com

Your research plan is the document your career is built on. It determines what you're known for, who invites you to speak, and whether your promotion case tells a coherent story. Most early-career academic physicians don't have one.

In this episode, Dr. Stacey Ishman walks through how to build a research plan that holds — from identifying your niche and using local institutional resources, to setting clear goals, developing timelines, and creating a personal research mission statement.

Topics covered:

–  How to identify your area of focus when you genuinely like a lot of things

–  Using your institutional environment as a research asset

–  Setting clear research goals and running them by the right people

–  Developing a personal research mission statement

–  Building short and long-term research tactics

–  Identifying mentors, collaborators, and funding timelines

–  Publishing and presenting consistently to reinforce your niche

–  Building your academic network across specialties

This episode references the Academic Accelerator course. That program is now the Academic Kickstarter course through AMedSG. Visit the AMedSG website for current offerings.

This is Episode 6 of 6 in The AMedSG National Reputation Series.

— — —

This episode is part of The AMedSG National Reputation Series, a six-episode collection on building the career infrastructure that gets academic physicians recognized and promoted. New AMedSG episodes return in October. Follow the podcast so you don't miss it.

Networking is a skill. It has a structure, it can be prepared for, and it gets easier with practice. This episode is the mechanics.

In this episode, Dr. Stacey Ishman — a self-described introvert who grew up performing in her mother's opera company — breaks down what effective networking actually looks like for academic physicians at meetings, on committees, and online.

Topics covered:

–  Preparing for a meeting: researching leadership, speakers, and key attendees in advance

–  Setting clear goals for every networking interaction

–  Crafting and practicing your elevator pitch

–  How to make appointments with thought leaders before you arrive

–  Engaging on social media during and between meetings

–  Following up in a way that sticks

–  Digital contact exchange: what's replaced the business card

–  Being a good listener and making real connections

Additional resources mentioned in this episode are available at the AMedSG website.

This is Episode 5 of 6 in The AMedSG National Reputation Series.

— — —

This episode is part of The AMedSG National Reputation Series, a six-episode collection on building the career infrastructure that gets academic physicians recognized and promoted. New AMedSG episodes return in October. Follow the podcast so you don't miss it.

Committee membership is where visibility converts into institutional presence. It's also where a lot of academic physicians stall out — either because they don't know how the process works or because they get on a committee and don't do the work.

In this episode, Dr. Stacey Ishman walks through the full committee arc: how to select the right organizations, how to get appointed, and how to make your presence count once you're there.

Topics covered:

–  How to select one or two organizations worth your focus

–  Attending open committee meetings as a guest before you're a member

–  Volunteering before appointment — and why it matters more than the application

–  How appointment processes vary across organizations

–  The role of mentors and sponsors in getting you on the right committees

–  What to do once you're on: raising your hand, doing the work, driving change

–  How committee leadership connects to promotion

This episode references a committee checklist. To request a copy, DM AMedSG on Instagram or LinkedIn with the word NICHE.

This is Episode 4 of 6 in The AMedSG National Reputation Series.

— — —

This episode is part of The AMedSG National Reputation Series, a six-episode collection on building the career infrastructure that gets academic physicians recognized and promoted. New AMedSG episodes return in October. Follow the podcast so you don't miss it.

Being in the room is step one. Getting on the program is what comes next.

In this episode, Dr. Stacey Ishman breaks down the practical mechanics of securing a speaking spot at academic meetings — from abstract submission strategy to panel design to the direct ask most people avoid making.

Topics covered:

–  Building a conference calendar with abstract and panel deadlines mapped 6-12 months out

–  How to introduce yourself to program committee members and make the ask

–  The difference between submitting an abstract and submitting a panel — and why both matter

–  How to design a panel that makes it easy for senior faculty to say yes

–  Leveraging sponsors and mentors to get your name in the right rooms

–  Volunteering as a moderator as a program entry point

This episode references a checklist for getting on the program at national meetings. To request a copy, DM AMedSG on Instagram or LinkedIn.

This is Episode 3 of 6 in The AMedSG National Reputation Series.

— — —

This episode is part of The AMedSG National Reputation Series, a six-episode collection on building the career infrastructure that gets academic physicians recognized and promoted. New AMedSG episodes return in October. Follow the podcast so you don't miss it.

National meetings are one of the fastest ways to build a national reputation — but only if you approach them with a strategy. Showing up is not enough.

In this episode, Dr. Stacey Ishman walks through how to use academic conferences as a career-building tool, not just a CE credit opportunity. She shares how she navigated early career introversion to build meaningful relationships with thought leaders, program committee members, and future collaborators.

Topics covered:

–  How to identify and connect with program committee members before you're ready to ask for anything

–  Why Q&A sessions are a legitimate visibility strategy

–  The case for attending social events even when it's uncomfortable

–  Abstract and panel deadlines: building a calendar that keeps you on track

–  Moderating as an entry point to the program

–  How to approach a conference as a system, not a series of sessions

This is Episode 2 of 6 in The AMedSG National Reputation Series.

— — —

This episode is part of The AMedSG National Reputation Series, a six-episode collection on building the career infrastructure that gets academic physicians recognized and promoted. New AMedSG episodes return in October. Follow the podcast so you don't miss it.

Before you get on the program, before you network strategically, before you build your research plan — you need to know what you're known for. Or more precisely, what you want to be known for.

In this episode, Dr. Stacey Ishman walks through the process of identifying and committing to your one word: the niche, focus area, or phrase that will anchor your publications, presentations, and national reputation. She shares how diffuse collaboration early in her own career made it hard for others to understand where to place her — and the advice from a mentor that changed her approach entirely.

Topics covered:

–  Why a scattered publication record works against you even when the work is good

–  How to identify the one word or phrase that should appear in everything you do

–  Using your publication record and web presence as a diagnostic tool

–  When and how to say no to off-topic requests

–  How to creatively bridge collaborations back to your primary story

–  Working with mentors and sponsors to reinforce your focus area

This is Episode 1 of 6 in The AMedSG National Reputation Series.

— — —

This episode is part of The AMedSG National Reputation Series, a six-episode collection on building the career infrastructure that gets academic physicians recognized and promoted. New AMedSG episodes return in October. Follow the podcast so you don't miss it.

What does it take to build a professional identity that supports both career growth and a meaningful academic career? In this episode, Dr. Chris McMains discusses professional identity formation, belonging, career transitions, and why early-career physicians need more than a list of accomplishments to thrive.

If you’re interested in working with Academic Medicine Strategy Group, visit www.amedsg.com to learn more about our programs designed to help you build a clear, strategic path to promotion, research, and career advancement.

New faculty members face a flood of roles and expectations while trying to figure out where they fit, where they are going, and whether they belong.

An intrinsic sense of belonging—knowing you are valued regardless of what you produce—can influence creativity, wellbeing, and the ability to thrive.

Physicians hold multiple identities: clinician, educator, researcher, leader, mentor, and more. Integrating these professional and personal identities can create greater energy and meaning.

Leaders play an important role in creating environments where faculty feel valued and supported. Belonging requires deliberate cultural signals, not just individual effort.

As physicians move through their careers, some roles and identities need to be released while others are preserved or reshaped. Dr. McMains uses the metaphor of a “controlled burn” to describe this process.

Even positive career changes can involve loss and a period of uncertainty. Recognizing this “liminal space” can help physicians move through transitions rather than rushing past the discomfort.

Early-career physicians are often told to say yes to every opportunity. Instead, faculty and leaders should identify work that aligns with an individual's interests, strengths, and sense of purpose.

Dr. McMains’ work focuses on professional identity formation and helping physicians and leaders better understand the identity transitions that happen throughout an academic career.

To learn more about his work and resources, visit attendingtoself.com.

Professional identity formation is not a one-time event—it is an ongoing process that changes as academic physicians take on new roles, release old ones, and navigate career transitions. For early-career physicians, the goal is not simply to accumulate accomplishments, but to deliberately build a career in which your work, values, identities, and sense of belonging reinforce one another.

Please RATE, REVIEW, and FOLLOW the Academic Medicine Strategy Group Podcast on your favorite platform.

If you are interested in getting in touch with us or providing topic suggestions, please:

Time management is one of the most common challenges physicians face, especially when balancing clinical responsibilities with research, education, leadership, promotion, and life outside of work. In this episode, Dr. Stacey Ishman explains why effective time management is not about doing more—it is about creating systems, finding the right method, and intentionally protecting what matters most.

No need to take notes—visit the blog for a full summary of key insights.

If you’re interested in working with Academic Medicine Strategy Group, visit www.amedsg.com to learn more about our programs designed to help you build a clear, strategic path to promotion, research, and career advancement.

Key Points:

00:00 — Why Time Management Is a Career Challenge
Time management consistently comes up in coaching and faculty development because physicians are trying to balance competing professional priorities without sacrificing the things that matter outside of work.

02:00 — You Make Time—You Don’t Find It
Many priorities are shaped by other people’s agendas, including emails, EMR messages, and unexpected requests. Creating progress requires intentionally deciding what deserves space on your calendar.

03:00 — Time Management Changes at Every Career Stage
The strategies that work during fellowship or early faculty years may not work later. As responsibilities evolve, physicians need to reassess and redesign their systems.

04:00 — Protect Time for the Career You Want
Clinical work will grow, but research, education, administration, and other meaningful areas may require deliberate protection. Early-career physicians should make room for the work they want to build—not only the work that arrives first.

06:00 — Find a Method That Matches How You Work
A stalled manuscript, grant, promotion packet, or project may not be a time problem. It may be a method problem. Finding an approach that fits how you think and work can make progress feel more achievable.

08:00 — Use Small, Unclaimed Blocks of Time
Dr. Ishman shares how she used commuting time and short periods between commitments to speak the first draft of her book. Small, intentional blocks can create meaningful momentum without taking time away from work or family.

12:00 — Systems Beat Willpower
Scheduling a specific task during a specific window reduces the need to rely on motivation. A clear system can help physicians make progress while remaining present for family and other priorities.

13:00 — Choose One Priority and Start
Overwhelm often happens when every task feels equally important. Identify one high-priority item, focus on the next step, and build momentum from there.

Summary:

Time management is not a one-time productivity solution. It is an ongoing career skill that must be reassessed as responsibilities change. For early-career physicians, the goal is not to fit more into every day—it is to create systems that protect meaningful work, support long-term career goals, and help prevent the demands of academic medicine from taking over every available hour.

Please RATE, REVIEW, and FOLLOW the Academic Medicine Strategy Group Podcast on your favorite platform.

If you are interested in getting in touch with us or providing topic suggestions, please:

● DM me on Instagram at @sishmancoach
● Email me at [email protected]
● Contact me at the website at www.amedsg.com