Clinician, Heal Thyself

If you're a healthcare entrepreneur or clinical leader who keeps fixing the same problems, this episode is for you. Many clinicians learned early in life that if things were going to be okay, they'd have to make them okay. That fixer instinct built stable families and successful practices, but eventually it gets in the way of leading. Vaughn explains why heroics don't scale, how core values and SOPs move authority out of you and into the business, and three questions to ask before you rescue someone again. Drawing on Jethro's counsel to an exhausted Moses and a maxim from Pope Saint John XXIII, he offers practical help for practice owners and for clinicians working inside someone else's system. This week's challenge: pick the problem you've fixed more than twice this month and solve it at the system level.

Visit Vaughn's website to book a conversation: https://www.vaughnkohler.com/

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Struggling with healthcare burnout and wondering if it's too late to change course? In this episode of Clinician, Heal Thyself, Vaughn Kohler tells the story of a father who failed his family for twenty-five years. He then gave them two "good years" before cancer took him, and those years are all his son remembers. Drawing on Psalm 90 and the thief on the cross, Vaughn speaks to three people: the provider who dreams of leaving the system to start their own practice, the nurse or clinician who has lost their fire, and the healthcare leader watching their culture slip. Through his grandmother's "bonus years" and his dad's final months selling church organs during chemo, he makes the case that it's never too late to regain your passion, redirect your path, or finish well. This week, pray "establish the work of my hands," and take one concrete step toward the work you were meant to do.

Visit Vaughn's website: https://www.vaughnkohler.com/

Follow Vaughn on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vaughnkohler

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You spend your days healing other people, so why can't you heal yourself? Maybe you help patients lose weight while fighting the same battle in your own body. Maybe you chart through chronic pain, or carry anxiety that hums under every shift. Maybe it's depression you hide behind a steady bedside manner, a grief that never quite lifts, or a relationship you can't get free of. And underneath it all is the quiet fear that your wound makes you a fraud.

In this episode of Clinician, Heal Thyself, Vaughn Kohler takes on that fear. Through Thornton Wilder's short play The Angel That Troubled the Waters, Saint Paul's thorn in the flesh, and Henri Nouwen's The Wounded Healer, he makes a surprising case: your wound isn't a disqualification. It may be the very thing that lets you reach the patients no one else can.

You'll also get one simple practice for this week: name your wound, remember who you've helped because of it, and put your own care on the calendar. Keep seeking help, and keep serving. In love's service, only the wounded soldiers can serve.

Visit Vaughn's website: https://www.vaughnkohler.com/

Follow Vaughn on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vaughnkohler

Follow Clinician, Heal Thyself on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clinicianhealthyselfpodcast

Many caregivers learned love from someone who never slowed down: a grandmother who worked until the day she retired and then went right back to work, or a parent who never took a sick day. It's a beautiful inheritance. It can also quietly convince you that real love means running yourself into the ground.

In this episode, Vaughn shares the story of a nurse practitioner he coaches who admitted she teaches her patients to take care of themselves but can't remember the last time she did it herself. Drawing on St. Bernard of Clairvaux's image of the reservoir and the canal, and on the moment in Luke's Gospel when Jesus left a crowd waiting to be healed to go pray, Vaughn explains why rest isn't selfish or lazy. It's the other half of love, and it's what gives you something to offer the people you serve.

This week's challenge: put one hour on your calendar that belongs to you, and treat it like an appointment you would never cancel.

Visit Vaughn's website: https://www.vaughnkohler.com/

Follow Vaughn on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vaughnkohler

Follow Clinician, Heal Thyself on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clinicianhealthyselfpodcast

Many clinicians struggle with perfectionism and quietly carry responsibility for outcomes they were never meant to guarantee. In this episode, Vaughn Kohler shares a childhood story from a piano recital with his father and what it teaches about the difference between owning your work and owning every result. You'll learn how to attack the process, practice good medicine to the best of your ability, and entrust the rest to God. Vaughn also shares the two-minute success log from his coach, Dr. Ellen Reed, co-author of Relentless Solution Focus, a simple end-of-day practice that helps you trade perfectionism for progress, grow more faithful, and come home free.

When people push back on my choices, I can feel the tug to second-guess myself or cave to pressure. Maybe you know that feeling too. In this episode, I share why the who has to come before the what—why clarity about identity is the foundation for every calm, confident decision. I'll draw from everyday life, a little Star Wars storytelling, and my own work with clients to show how knowing who you are gives you strength, peace, and staying power when critics come. I'll also walk you through three practical questions that help uncover your identity, so you can face criticism, stay aligned with your values, and move forward without regret.

Find me online: www.vaughnkohler.com

Follow me on Instagram: www.instagram.com/vaughnkohler

Grab a copy of my new book on Overcoming Overwhelm: https://a.co/d/0AcWrxG

You're smart, driven, and successful...but exhausted. Between running a business, raising kids, supporting a spouse, and keeping up with everything else, the pressure never stops. You've tried calendars, systems, diets, self-help books, even vacations. Still, the anxiety lingers.

This episode unpacks a counterintuitive truth: the harder you try to control everything, the less peace you'll find. Real calm comes when you release control, admit you can't do it all, and trust the One who can. Strangely enough, that surrender doesn't make you weaker. It frees you to act boldly, lead with clarity, and live with joy.

If you're tired of white-knuckling your way through life, this paradox may be the breakthrough you've been waiting for.

Find me online: www.vaughnkohler.com

Connect with my on Instagram: www.instagram.com/vaughnkohler

What really persuades people? We think it's about being louder, sharper, or more forceful—but that only creates division, resentment, and anger. In this episode, I share a moment with my daughter Mariah when my usual approach backfired, and something unexpected broke through her resistance. What happened with her revealed a truth I believe applies everywhere: family life, business, culture, and even politics. The strongest persuasion isn't about winning arguments—it's about winning hearts. But how do you actually do that in practice? That's what we'll explore together.

Find me online: www.vaughnkohler.com

Connect with me on Instagram: www.instagram.com/vaughnkohler

A couple weeks ago, I may have experienced one of the greatest days of my life. I drove to Seneca, Kansas, planning to catch up with a former student from my seminary teaching days. What I found was a story of tragedy, faith, and unexpected power. A small town still grieving the murder of their longtime priest showed me what hidden legacy really looks like. And in the middle of it all, I went to confession with my old student, now a priest himself—and walked away with a heart strangely warmed.

Find my online: www.vaughnkohler.com

Connect with me on Instagram: www.instagram.com/vaughnkohler

Ever feel alone in a crowd? Whether you're a successful entrepreneur or single parent, I get it.

It's not fun. But changing your situation is within your power.

In this episode, I take you back to the year 2000, when I traveled through the Middle East as a seminary student. I was surrounded by breathtaking history—walking the Street Called Straight in Damascus where Paul once stayed, exploring Petra's rose-red cliffs, and sitting in Beirut's famous St. George Hotel with the scent of cardamom coffee in the air.

By all appearances, I should have been energized. Instead, I felt isolated and alone.

The turning point came in the most ordinary place: a restroom. Another American noticed my Wheaton College t-shirt and struck up a conversation. That simple exchange completely changed the tone of my day and taught me two lessons I've carried ever since: take your focus off yourself and be present, and don't wait for connection—engage.

In this episode, I'll share how one genuine encounter lifted my loneliness, why meaningful conversations matter more than a million followers, and how you can create connection anywhere—even in the most unexpected places.

Find me online at www.vaughnkohler.com

Follow me on Instagram at www.instagram.com/vaughnkohler