Create Meaning in Medicine

Why do so many women hit midlife doing "everything right" — eating well, exercising, succeeding professionally, yet still feel exhausted, irritable, gaining weight, and unlike themselves? In this episode, Dr. Aoife O'Sullivan and Dr. Leslie Sanchez-Goettler dismantle the menopause information gap and reframe menopause not as a breakdown, but as a powerful biological recalibration. From sleep disruption and anxiety to weight changes and feeling dismissed in medical settings, this conversation offers clarity, evidence-based solutions, and hope, along with a roadmap for owning your next chapter.

Key Takeaways To Listen For

• Why estrogen decline changes metabolism, sleep, mood, and fat distribution, and why old strategies stop working in midlife.

• How progesterone loss shows up as anxiety, irritability, palpitations, and disrupted sleep before classic hot flashes.

• Why many women are misdiagnosed or dismissed, and how the lack of menopause education in medical training plays a major role.

• The difference between weight loss and body composition, and why preserving muscle is critical during menopause.

• How menopause represents a neurological and hormonal restructuring — a transition into a new, more empowered phase of life.

"If we all were taught all of this in our training, and women were taught this from their parents as they were growing up, we'd all be so much better prepared to deal with this, and it would make doctors' lives and jobs so much easier too." - Dr. Aoife O'Sullivan

"We can't just keep trying to do the same old thing that used to work. We need to find a new solution that works for menopause." - Dr. Leslie Sanchez-Goettler

About Dr. Aoife O'Sullivan: Dr. Aoife O'Sullivan, MD, MSCP, is a board-certified family physician and Menopause Society–certified clinician specializing in midlife women's health. Trained in Ireland and the U.S., she brings a broad clinical background and a holistic, evidence-based approach to menopause care. She is the founder of Portland Menopause Doc, a telemedicine practice serving women in Oregon and Washington, and co-founder of the Portland Menopause Collective. A national speaker and educator, Dr. O'Sullivan also co-hosts The Dusty Muffins podcast and shares menopause education through her active Instagram platform.

About Dr. Leslie Sanchez-Goettler: Dr. Leslie Sanchez-Goettler, MD, is the founder and medical director of RadianceMD, where she provides shame-free, holistic weight loss care focused on menopause and midlife metabolic health. She is board-certified in Internal Medicine and a Diplomate of the American Board of Obesity Medicine, blending evidence-based treatment with a deeply personalized approach. She also founded the Oregon Physician Women's Group, a 1,900-member community dedicated to supporting and empowering women physicians.

Connect with Dr. Aoife O'Sullivan, MD MSCP:

Website: https://portlandmenopausedoc.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/portlandmenopausedoc/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aoife-o-sullivan-46b9251/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJuPavdygwiDSFrpcg1lfpX9OYtB5elO2

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558224849958

Connect with Dr. Leslie Sanchez-Goettler, MD:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/radiancemdtransform/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/radiancemd_org/

M/Power, formerly The Portland Menopause Collective:

Website: https://mpowercollective.com/#about-section

SHIFT Happens Retreat Information: https://mpowercollective.com/shift2026/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/m.powercollective/%20

Connect With Us

Do you want to hear more from the ladies of the Create Meaning In Medicine podcast? Discover more empowering content when you go to https://www.createmeaninginmedicine.com!

▶️ Watch our videos: https://youtube.com/@createmeaninginmedicine

🎧 Want to hear more? Find us on Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/create-meaning-in-medicine/id1752701820

Why does everything feel urgent, important, and exhausting at the same time? In this episode, Dr. Joanne Sotelo and Dr. Erin Hurley unpack the missing skill many women in medicine were never taught: discernment. From over-documenting charts to spending type-one energy on type-two decisions, they explore how learning to pause, clarify priorities, and manage both time and energy can transform patient care, leadership, and life outside of work. This conversation offers practical frameworks and mindset shifts to help you move off autopilot and into alignment.

Key Takeaways To Listen For

• Why overwhelm isn’t a time-management problem, it’s a discernment problem.
• The difference between type one (one-way door) and type two (swinging door) decisions.
• How over-documentation and perfectionism quietly drain time and energy.
• Why energy, not just time, must be treated as a limited resource.
• How to transition roles intentionally (doctor, leader, partner, parent) instead of living on autopilot.

“It's really important to use a pause and use discernment to your advantage, because if we don't, we're going to end up most of our days completely exhausted.” - Dr. Erin Hurley

Resources Mentioned In This Episode 

• Reset by Dan Heath - https://www.amazon.com/Reset-How-Change-Whats-Working/dp/1668062097 

Connect With Us

Do you want to hear more from the ladies of the Create Meaning In Medicine podcast? Discover more empowering content when you go to https://www.createmeaninginmedicine.com!

▶️ Watch our videos: https://youtube.com/@createmeaninginmedicine

🎧 Want to hear more? Find us on Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/create-meaning-in-medicine/id1752701820

If you’ve been telling yourself you’ll change when life “calms down,” this episode is your sign that the time is now. Dr. Joanne Sotelo and Dr. Erin Hurley offer a compassionate but honest wake-up call for women in medicine, reminding us that high-functioning does not equal healthy. They explore the real cost of burnout, the importance of reclaiming personal agency, and how identity shifts, especially with the rise of AI, are forcing physicians to rethink fulfillment, purpose, and self-leadership.

Key Takeaways To Listen For

• High-functioning is not the same as healthy. Doing all the things doesn’t mean you’re well.
• Radical honesty matters: where are you living on autopilot, and what is it costing you?
• Why reclaiming your agency (“I choose. I decide.”) is essential for preventing burnout and disengagement.
• The rise of AI is reshaping how physicians view relevance, purpose, and identity in medicine.
• A powerful reflection question: If nothing changes in the next five years, how would you feel about your life?

“The first step is that we need to wake up to the truth. We need to have that radical honesty with ourselves and ask good questions.” - Dr. Joanne Sotelo

Connect With Us

Do you want to hear more from the ladies of the Create Meaning In Medicine podcast? Discover more empowering content when you go to https://www.createmeaninginmedicine.com!

▶️ Watch our videos: https://youtube.com/@createmeaninginmedicine

🎧 Want to hear more? Find us on Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/create-meaning-in-medicine/id1752701820

Feeling stuck or waiting for certainty before changing course? In this episode, we unpack agency for physicians, how guilt and obligation keep us small, and why shifting your brain's filter toward options opens new paths. Hear scripts, supports, and next steps to move before burnout. Press play to choose your next move.

Key Takeaways To Listen For

Connect With UsDo you want to hear more from the ladies of the Create Meaning In Medicine podcast? Discover more empowering content when you go to https://www.createmeaninginmedicine.com!

▶️ Watch our videos: https://youtube.com/@createmeaninginmedicine

Feeling like your life is being chosen for you? You're not alone. In this episode, we explore why identity, not willpower, drives behavior, how to break out of autopilot, and ways to choose who we're becoming as medicine advances. Press play to build awareness, set values aligned with goals, and make your next step intentional.

Key Takeaways To Listen For

Connect With UsDo you want to hear more from the ladies of the Create Meaning In Medicine podcast? Discover more empowering content when you go to https://www.createmeaninginmedicine.com!

▶️ Watch our videos: https://youtube.com/@createmeaninginmedicine

Is AI sharpening care or eroding our humanity? In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Susan Shelmerdine to unpack responsible AI in medicine, the mental health risks of overreliance, and the skill of discernment. She shares how improv rebuilt confidence and why connection must stay central. Press play to use AI wisely without losing yourself.

Key Takeaways To Listen For

About Susan Shelmerdine, MBBS, PHD Dr. Susan is a consultant pediatric radiologist at Great Ormond Street Hospital and an honorary associate professor at University College London. A 2025 Roentgen Professor of the Royal College of Radiologists, she leads NIHR-funded AI research in children's imaging and pioneered the INTACT biopsy technique.

Connect with Dr. Susan

Connect With UsDo you want to hear more from the ladies of the Create Meaning In Medicine podcast? Discover more empowering content when you go to https://www.createmeaninginmedicine.com!

▶️ Watch our videos: https://youtube.com/@createmeaninginmedicine

Why are women physicians praised for teamwork yet penalized when we say no? In this episode, we unpack the hidden curriculum and redefine boundaries as clear rules that protect time, energy, and patient care. Press play to protect your yeses and set limits without apology.

Key Takeaways To Listen For

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

Connect With UsDo you want to hear more from the ladies of the Create Meaning In Medicine podcast? Discover more empowering content when you go to https://www.createmeaninginmedicine.com!

▶️ Watch our videos: https://youtube.com/@createmeaninginmedicine

Still trying to handle everything alone? This episode explains why "be strong" becomes a cage for women in medicine and how real support and coaching change energy, clarity, and confidence. Erin and Joanne define what coaching is and is not, and share steps to build boundaries and resilience. Press play to learn how support speeds growth.

Key Takeaways To Listen For

Connect With UsDo you want to hear more from the ladies of the Create Meaning In Medicine podcast? Discover more empowering content when you go to https://www.createmeaninginmedicine.com!

▶️ Watch our videos: https://youtube.com/@createmeaninginmedicine

Feeling stuck on autopilot, you didn't choose? In this episode, we reveal how tiny, repeatable habits and the right community can shift energy, protect time, and make medicine feel sustainable again. Learn why your "top five" people shape your routines more than willpower, and how simple boundary scripts and 1% course corrections help you finish notes sooner and breathe easier. Press play to see how awareness plus support turns goals into lived habits.

Key Takeaways To Listen For

Connect With UsDo you want to hear more from the ladies of the Create Meaning In Medicine podcast? Discover more empowering content when you go to https://www.createmeaninginmedicine.com!

▶️ Watch our videos: https://youtube.com/@createmeaninginmedicine

Feeling stretched thin? In this episode, we show how three minutes of play can reset your nervous system and protect against burnout. We unpack the brain science behind joy, then share quick rituals, between patient resets, and simple team games that boost creativity and connection. Press play to learn small moves that restore energy fast.

Key Takeaways To Listen For

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

Connect With UsDo you want to hear more from the ladies of the Create Meaning In Medicine podcast? Discover more empowering content when you go to https://www.createmeaninginmedicine.com!

▶️ Watch our videos: https://youtube.com/@createmeaninginmedicine