DRIVE TIME DEBRIEF: A Physician Wellness Podcast with The Whole Physician

By Drs. Cazier, Dinsmore and MorrisonBusiness Medicine Health & Fitness Mental Health Careers

DRIVE TIME DEBRIEF: A Physician Wellness Podcast with The Whole Physician episodes

April 27, 2023#59: EM Over Easy Interview with Dr. Andy Little
This week we're sharing a podcast we did onsite at ACOEP23 with EM Over Easy Podcast's Dr. Andy Little. Hope you enjoy!
In this episode we discuss our personal moral injury journeys far before the COVID pandemic. Additionally we cover:
coaching teaches the same mindset tools commonly used in professional athletics and high level business but glaringly missing in medicine
perfectionism isn't helpful in the ED
peer coaching can fill a critical void for physician support
the importance of recognizing your value
the importance of being realistic about what is and what isn't in your control
so many times the thing you're beating yourself up about isn't your fault
don't downplay the good that you're doing
you're worthy inherently, and deserving of wellbeing - never listen to the shame gremlins
your coaching journey is fully dependent on the results you want for yourself and is considered skill building rather than mental health support
there is tremendous value, as team leaders, for EM docs to have coaching support to function optimally over the span of their careers
Quotable: "...the biggest piece is knowing my own value and knowing what is in my control and what is not in my control, and always having my own back. I always know that I show up and do the very best job I can do. And I will never, ever punish myself for thing that happen that are out of my control. And if I make a mistake, I'll say, okay, how can I avoid that in the future? But I am never going to rail on myself ever again." - Laura Cazier, MD
EM Over Easy Links:
Twitter
Podcast Website
References:
Katrina Ubell's Podcast
The Star Thrower
Couldn't join us for our FREE CLASS how to work in the dumpster fire of healthcare without getting burned? Check here for the replay.
If you want to work with us, visit our website: www.thewholephysician.com. We have private coaching and online courses available. Additionally, we're happy to lecture for your institution. Sign up for our Weekly Well Check by clicking the link. The Weekly Well Check is your weekly dose of encouragement and your only access to secret insider sales on our products.
For a free quote on Own-Occupation Insurance, you're welcomed to use our affiliate link: patternlife.com/drivetime
36 min
April 20, 2023 #58: Intro to Boundaries
This episode we dive into the topic of boundaries...finally! We have a fun and candid conversation about what boundaries are and what it means to have boundaries and where we use the boundaries to serve us in our lives.
A - Boundaries are like property lines. It's where your property ends and someone else's property begins. So be careful who you open the gate to and allow into your yard.
K - when you invest in not only setting clear boundaries with people, these are actually relationships that you care very deeply for and that you wanna maintain for a long time. So that's why it is picking your relationship wisely. You have limited energy, you know which relationships are the most important to you, and these are actually things that you wanna apply to relationships that you actually want to hold very dear to you and for a long period of time.
L - And so our job really is not to control our kids. It's to help them get control of themselves. And to teach them self-control. That's our job because ultimately we can't control them. The more we try to control them, the more we will drive them away from us.
Resources:
Dr Caroline Leaf and Dr Henry cloud on "Cleaning up your Mental Mess" podcast episode, “How to Know When & How to Say NO". January 15, 2020
Dr Henry Cloud: www.boundaries.me
Dr Caroline Leaf: www.drleaf.com
"Good Boundaries and Good Byes" book by Lysa TerKeurst

Couldn't join us for our FREE CLASS how to work in the dumpster fire of healthcare without getting burned? Check here for the replay.
If you want to work with us, visit our website: www.thewholephysician.com. We have private coaching and online courses available. Additionally, we're happy to lecture for your institution. Sign up for our Weekly Well Check by clicking the link. The Weekly Well Check is your weekly dose of encouragement and your only access to secret insider sales on our products.
For a free quote on Own-Occupation Insurance, you're welcomed to use our affiliate link: patternlife.com/drivetime
The CE experience for this Podcast is powered by CMEfy - click here to reflect and earn credits: https://earnc.me/JyxXTI
This experience is powered by CMEfy – an AI-powered platform that directs learners along a pathway to capture reflections at the point of inspiration, point of care. Clinicians may earn CME/CE credit via ReflectCE, the accredited activity portal. Learn more at about.cmefy.com/cme-info
35 min
April 13, 2023 #57: What Happens in a Coaching Session?
In this episode we talk about what happens during one of our private coaching sessions. We realize most of our listeners have never personally experienced being coached by a life/wellness coach and may come with some assumptions about what goes on.
First, coaching is client directed. You pick what you want to work on.
Next, we listen...without judgement. We purely help bring to the surface what thoughts your brain is offering up. And you get to decide if they are getting you to where you want to go or not.
Then, if your thoughts aren't serving you, we help you create a game plan to change that. Coaching believes that you are capable and that the answers that best serve your life are within you. We just act as a guide.
Consider that it is estimated each person has ~60,000 thoughts daily, the majority are automatic without awareness. Your thoughts create your feelings, and your feelings drive actions that give you the results in your life. If you aren't where you want to be, a fantastic exercise is to go upstream to examine your thoughts. A coach helps you create the best version of your life.
Information from Lumos about the Night Shift/Circadian Rhythm Study:
"If you are currently working night shifts and have poor sleep because of the night shifts, we have a new product testing opportunity for you. Lumos is a Silicon Valley-based startup company developing a product with technology from Stanford that aims to ease the transition from day shift to night shift work rotations.

We are inviting individuals who currently work regular night shift rotations to test out our newest prototype device. The study is free to participate. All we ask is that you tell us about your experience using our product, which will come in the form of surveys, quick cognitive tasks, sleep tracking devices, wearable light sensor devices, and using our iOS compatible app.

Are you eligible?
1. Currently working regular night shift rotations
2. Access to iOS device
3. 18-65 years of age

For more information, contact us at [email protected], or fill out our quick interest form (https://forms.gle/zgJTMQhNdL5JYwdw8). Thank you!"

*Couldn't join us for our FREE CLASS how to work in the dumpster fire of healthcare without getting burned? Check here for the replay.
If you want to work with us, visit our website: www.thewholephysician.com. We have private coaching and online courses available. Additionally, we're happy to lecture for your institution. Sign up for our Weekly Well Check by clicking the link. The Weekly Well Check is your weekly dose of encouragement and your only access to secret insider sales on our products.
For a free quote on Own-Occupation Insurance, you're welcomed to use our affiliate link: patternlife.com/drivetime
To earn CME creditThe CE experience for this Podcast is powered by CMEfy - click here to reflect and earn credits: https://earnc.me/vhSwYO
This experience is powered by CMEfy – an AI-powered platform that directs learners along a pathway to capture reflections at the point of inspiration, point of care. Clinicians may earn CME/CE credit via ReflectCE, the accredited activity portal. Learn more at about.cmefy.com/cme-info
24 min
April 06, 2023#56: Fear, Anxiety and Dread
We continue our quest to improve our emotional granularity by discussing the emotions, fear, anxiety and dread. These are all emotions we as doctors experience at any time during our day, week or even moment. We put forth the best effort to take care of the patients that are put in our hands. But we know that inevitably things don't go the way we thought and we can easily allow fear, anxiety and dread dictate how we view the entire situation. Brene Brown's book, Atlas of the Heart, dissects fear, anxiety and dread and helps give us perspective on how we can actually make this energy work for us. We can be comfortable engaging these signals and listening to what they are trying to tell us. Some of our favorite moments:
So we know emotions and feelings are actually just the vibrations in the body. So it's manifesting in the body somewhere. So we have to drop out of our brain. You know, all of us are supratentorial. As physicians, as professionals, we love to stay up here. It's safe, but we actually gotta drop down. We gotta get under the jaw, under the neck and get down in our body and how it feels.
Brene Brown says there's trait and there's state. And so a trait is like something that is part of an individual's personality. A state, on the other hand, is a temporary condition that someone is experiencing for a short period of time.
When we're anxious, we often choose one of two paths and she talks about worry and avoidance. And really neither of these is very useful. We might believe it's a helpful coping mechanism. It's not. We might believe it's uncontrollable, and so we don't even try to stop it. We might try to suppress worry instead of allowing it and allowing it to pass through, and then it gets bigger.
Avoidance is not showing up and often spinning a lot of energies zigzagging around and away from the thing that already feels like it's consuming us.
Dread is specifically when a negative event is very likely to occur. Like, regardless of what happens there's a high likelihood that something negative is going to happen. And with dread, the magnitude increases as the event draws nearer.
Fear is a short-lasting, negative feeling, high alert emotions.
Fear, though, is in response to a perceived threat. And like anxiety, it can also be a state or trait. We would ask is this useful or not? But you can consider yourself a fearful person or just have fear in the moment. Whereas this is an important difference, anxiety and dread are about the future. It's that future tripping. Fear is in the now, and it can be so rapid fire that it's almost automatic.

References:
https://brenebrown.com/book/atlas-of-the-heart/
https://brenebrown.com/hubs/atlas-hub/

*Couldn't join us for our FREE CLASS how to work in the dumpster fire of healthcare without getting burned? Check out the replay.
If you want to work with us, visit our website: www.thewholephysician.com. We have private coaching and online courses available. Additionally, we're happy to lecture for your institution. Sign up for our Weekly Well Check by clicking the link. The Weekly Well Check is your weekly dose of encouragement and your only access to secret insider sales on our products.
For a free quote on Own-Occupation Insurance, you're welcomed to use our affiliate link: patternlife.com/drivetime
22 min
March 30, 2023#55: Magic Equation to Reduce Suffering
In this episode we talk about the various uses of the equation attributed to Psychologist Kristin Neff.
Pain x Resistance = Suffering
Part of being a human on earth is enduring some painful situations and experiencing discomfort. But it's shocking how much additional suffering we create by trying to fight reality. It's also good energy wasted, energy that could be used on thing within your control. We discuss examples, but at work and outside of work, where applying this equation helped our lives immensely. And it's your choice. If you like the results you're getting, keep doing what you're doing.
"It's never the circumstance that is the problem. It's what we think about the circumstance that creates the results for our lives."
"So just accepting people the way they are is a big step in the direction of avoiding this unnecessary suffering."
Extra attention should be given when you catch yourself saying “it should be,” or “I wish that,” or “if only.”
Resisting reality can negatively affect how you're showing up in human interactions.
Having "prescriptions" for how other adults should act is disempowering. But that's different from having healthy boundaries.
Shaming yourself for things in the past can work against you.
When you're judging another's behavior - it's very easy to fall into the same behavior yourself in response.
Resources:
Kristin Neff LinkTree

*Couldn't join us for our FREE CLASS how to work in the dumpster fire of healthcare without getting burned? Check out the replay.
If you want to work with us, visit our website: www.thewholephysician.com. We have private coaching and online courses available. Additionally, we're happy to lecture for your institution. Sign up for our Weekly Well Check by clicking the link. The Weekly Well Check is your weekly dose of encouragement and your only access to secret insider sales on our products.
For a free quote on Own-Occupation Insurance, you're welcomed to use our affiliate link: patternlife.com/drivetime
23 min
March 23, 2023#54: Insight on Addiction with Elyse Segebart
This special edition is a conversation with software developer, life coach and addiction survivor, Elyse Segebart. She bravely discusses her journey being introduced to drugs and her 13 year struggle with addiction. She has emerged in a career in software development and mentors a special population of people trying to get into software development, their common theme is they come from a disadvantaged background like addiction or incarceration. Along with her certification as a life coach, she is using her trade to help these types of people get jobs in technology. She was introduced to drugs at the young age of 13 by a friend's family and that was the beginning of many years of active use, rehabilitation, recovery and back to using. Each cycle she said there was never a time that she couldn't get off drugs or be sober, but coping with life and going back to the unhealthy relationships is what repeatedly led her in the constant cycle of drug abuse.
Some of our favorite moments:
"the hardest part about addiction is that nobody wants to quit. And they always have to hit this point where they are done with it. Like they either get the resolve and wanna quit and do it, or they have to hit rock bottom enough to where they're like, I'm tired of this, I'm tired of losing to this."
"meth releases 40,000 times the amount of dopamine in your brain. And that's not a natural thing that you should ever experience. And so, as you know, like dopamine teaches us where there's something important to be had or seen or look at again. And so when you have that amount of dopamine in it, like it seems very important that you should do this again. Like super important and you will do whatever to do it."
"I think really what made the difference for me was the mental health therapy and going to it, like sticking with it. I had done so many treatments, inpatient, outpatient, and I think mental health therapy really is the only way that's going to keep you to stay off of them. And it just needed a longer form of support, you know, like that that therapy is what was needed. I think it should be a mandatory requirement for anyone who is being rehabilitated, that they have mandatory mental health therapy and not just drug treatment. Drug treatment is, you hear it once, you know it forever, you don't need to hear it again. I needed to understand like why I'm doing the things I'm doing or build the skills to rewire certain patterns. And I needed help to manage my ADHD and all the impulsive behaviors that I had."
To contact Elyse:
https://elysesegebart.com
@elysethelifecoach (Instagram)
The CE experience for this Podcast is powered by CMEfy - click here to reflect and earn credits: https://earnc.me/C06FKE This experience is powered by CMEfy – an AI-powered platform that directs learners along a pathway to capture reflections at the point of inspiration, point of care. Clinicians may earn CME/CE credit via ReflectCE, the accredited activity portal. Learn more at about.cmefy.com/cme-info
**Did you miss our FREE CLASS on how to work in the dumpster fire of healthcare without getting burned? Replay is available here.
If you want to work with us, visit our website: www.thewholephysician.com. We have private coaching and online courses available. Additionally, we're happy to lecture for your institution. Sign up for our Weekly Well Check by clicking the link. The Weekly Well Check is your weekly dose of encouragement and your only access to secret insider sales on our products.
For a free quote on Own-Occupation Insurance, you're welcome to use our affiliate link: patternlife.com/drivetime
51 min
March 16, 2023#53: Lessons from "The Star Thrower" by Loren Eiseley
In the episode we discuss the essay "The Star Thrower" from Loren's Book The Unexpected Universe. It is a beautiful piece about making a difference even when it seems futile. And for many of us, working in healthcare can seem futile at times. But Eiseley's essay describes the beauty, the strength, and the importance of being the anti-chaos in a world of chaos.
Colin Beavan, PhD has some suggestions for when things seem futile. Here are a few of our favorites:
realize there is a difference between the world not changing fast enough and you being useless
instead of focusing on how bad the problem is, focus on how amazing your allies are
realize that anger, fear, frustration will burn you out
take care of yourself
count your blessings
create boundaries
accept that it is appropriate to feel sad and frustrated
His biggest takeaway is to limit your concern to your sphere of influence.
And remember you're not seeing the full results of your work. Studies show that a single act of kindness can affect up to 125 people. That's a difference that you may never see but exists nonetheless.
What the world needs is not for you to burn out, but to pour from a cup that is overfilled. There will always be more "starfish" but there is only one you.
If you missed our on how to work in the dumpster fire of healthcare without getting burned. You can access the replay here.
Referenced articles/songs/resources:
https://www.amazon.com/Unexpected-Universe-Loren-Eiseley/dp/0156928507
https://colinbeavan.com/ten-ways-overcome-futility-life-climate-anything-else/
https://colinbeavan.com/feel-like-make-difference/
https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.0913149107
https://drdavidhamilton.com/if-you-ever-feel-like-you-dont-make-a-difference/
Jason Mraz "Look for the Good"
The Good News Network

If you want to work with us, visit our website: www.thewholephysician.com. We have private coaching and CME courses available. Additionally, we're happy to lecture for your institution. Sign up for our Weekly Well Check by clicking the link. The Weekly Well Check is your weekly dose of encouragement and your only access to secret insider sales on our products.
If you'd like something you can use today, download our free Top 10 Mindset Hacks for Doctors here.
For a free quote on Own-Occupation Insurance, you're welcome to use our affiliate link: patternlife.com/drivetime
27 min
March 09, 2023#52: Coaching in Residencies with Tonya Caylor, MD
Introducing Dr Tonya Caylor, family medicine doc, who relocated to Alaska from Florida. She describes her journey from academic medicine to independent practice and the recovery from burnout. Her passion is now to help residents and faculty with mindset training to equip them with the tools they need for longevity in their career in medicine. In our conversation, Dr Caylor gives examples of common things residents struggle with and what she has taught through private and group coaching to get them to shift into a perspective that works for them!
Our favorite moments:
"The one thing that I think was surprising to me, number one, is at the time I was unaware that that was a term or a phenomenon that happens. And it was so insidious, like I thought, in fact, I remember saying at a faculty retreat, like, I feel completely balanced in life. I remember pronouncing this. You know, the joy that I was experiencing in my role. And then it was a few years later, but I was in deep by the time I figured it out."
"I had become like an approval addict. I was so over reliant on external validation that when all of my colleagues were super busy and not having the time to, you know, gimme a pat on the back. Really got in my head."
"you wanna like work within the system and see if you can make it work for you. But there's a huge difference when a system is working for you rather than against you. And I think we're starting to see institutions recognize that now."
"And if they think about the time, blood, sweat, tears, money that went into it, like realizing that coaching could give some tangible traction for them to re-discover the joy in their chosen career, that's how I ended up starting my coaching business."
Contact Dr Caylor:
https://www.joyinfamilymedicine.com/
[email protected]

Did you miss our FREE CLASS all about frustrations with working in the healthcare system called: What's the ICD-10 Code for Injuries Sustained in a Dumpster Fire? Catch the replay here.
If you want to work with us, visit our website: www.thewholephysician.com. We have private coaching and CME courses available. Additionally, we're happy to lecture for your institution. Sign up for our Weekly Well Check by clicking the link. The Weekly Well Check is your weekly dose of encouragement and your only access to secret insider sales on our products.
If you'd like something you can use today, download our free Top 10 Mindset Hacks for Doctors here.
For a free quote on Own-Occupation Insurance, you're welcome to use our affiliate link: patternlife.com/drivetime
25 min
March 02, 2023#51: Lessons from "Just One Thing" by Rick Hanson, PhD
Today we discuss some tips from Rick Hanson, PhD's book Just One Thing: Developing a Buddha Brain One Simple Practice at a Time for how to change your brain for better or worse.
Some highlights:
We are not our brains - we are the observers.
We can decide what is and isn't serving us and intentionally change our brains through neuroplasticity.
There are physiologic changes associated with neuroplasticity.
"Neurons that fire together, wire together." - Donald Hebb, PhD
Two important practices:
Be For Yourself - treat yourself as well as you'd treat a best friend or child. Choose things that are in your best interest. Don't diminish your own accomplishments.
Taking In The Good - knowing that our brains have a negativity bias, spend time in and relish the good on purpose.
Resources:
Dr. Hanson's Book "Just One Thing"
Katrina Ubell, MD's podcast episode with Dr. Hanson

Did you miss our FREE CLASS all about frustrations with working in the healthcare system called: What's the ICD-10 Code for Injuries Sustained in a Dumpster Fire? Catch the replay here.
If you want to work with us, visit our website: www.thewholephysician.com. We have private coaching and CME courses available. Additionally, we're happy to lecture for your institution. Sign up for our Weekly Well Check by clicking the link. The Weekly Well Check is your weekly dose of encouragement and your only access to secret insider sales on our products.
If you'd like something you can use today, download our free Top 10 Mindset Hacks for Doctors here.
We also have a FREE CLASS replay all about Buffering. It's called: Overcoming Over-(whatever)ing. We can email it to you instantly. Here's the link.
For a free quote on Own-Occupation Insurance, you're welcome to use our affiliate link: patternlife.com/drivetime
27 min
February 23, 2023 #50: Numbing Out (aka Buffering) with Heather Awad, MD
Dr. Heather Awad joined us to talk about buffering. She's a family physician in Minnesota, a weight loss coach at Vibrant MD, and has her own podcast called Vibrant MD Podcast. She is an expert at helping her clients stop buffering with overeating and joins us today to give some of her secrets. She coaches professional women over 50 to achieve permanent weight loss and talks a lot about buffering. Buffering is using anything to numb out or distract from feeling negative emotions. For example, overeating, overspending, over-scrolling, over-drinking are all ways people find to distract them from feeling things that may be uncomfortable. She says, "We look at all that kind of stuff, the ways that we use food that doesn't serve us and helps us avoid our feelings. When we use food to avoid our feelings, we're avoiding the full richness of our life, by trying to step out of experiences, by using food to do that".
Where to find Dr Awad:
www.vibrant-md.com
Vibrant-MD.com/tips
Podcast: https://www.vibrant-md.com/podcasts/vibrant-md-podcast

We have a FREE CLASS replay all about Buffering. We'll email it to you instantly by clicking the link.

If you want to work with us, visit our website: www.thewholephysician.com. We have private coaching and CME courses available. Additionally, we're happy to lecture for your institution. Sign up for our Weekly Well Check by clicking the link. The Weekly Well Check is your weekly dose of encouragement and your only access to secret insider sales on our products.
If you'd like something you can use today, download our free Top 10 Mindset Hacks for Doctors here.
For a free quote on Own-Occupation Insurance, you're welcome to use our affiliate link: patternlife.com/drivetime
23 min

About DRIVE TIME DEBRIEF: A Physician Wellness Podcast with The Whole Physician

From the publisher's feed

🔥 Doctors Feeling the Burnout? We’ve Been There—and We’re Here to Help You Climb Out of the Fire. 🔥

Drive Time Debrief: A Physician Wellness Podcast

Welcome to Drive Time Debrief, the anti-burnout podcast built just for physicians and healthcare providers who are ready to reclaim their joy, purpose, and well-being.

Hosted by the physician-coaches of The Whole Physician, this podcast delivers honest conversations, evidence-based tools, and practical strategies to help you navigate burnout, set boundaries, and find fulfillment in and outside of medicine.

Whether you're heading into a shift, decompressing on your commute home, or sneaking in a sanity-saving moment during your day, you’ll get bite-sized insights that speak to the *real* challenges of medical life—with compassion, candor, and a dose of humor.

If you’re tired of white-knuckling your way through your career and ready to feel like yourself again, you’re in the right place.

Episodes include:

- Physician burnout recovery stories

- Coaching tools for stress, imposter syndrome, & difficult dynamics

- Self-compassion, mindset shifts, and boundary-setting

- Conversations on career pivots, family life, and rediscovering joy

Hit subscribe and join us for a weekly debrief—because your well-being deserves to be non-negotiable.

You wouldn’t head into battle without armor, so why are we sent into the chaotic Dumpster Fire of Medicine without the tools we need to protect ourselves?

Medicine was supposed to be your calling. Instead, it feels like it’s breaking you—turning altruistic, purpose-driven, bright minds into frustrated, disillusioned, and exhausted shadows of who we used to be.

How do we know? We’ve been there. We’ve lived the long shifts, the impossible expectations, and the emotional toll. And we’ve watched too many of our peers struggle silently.

We’re The Whole Physician—three Board-Certified Emergency Physicians (and physician burnout experts) on a mission to rewrite the story of medicine. Our podcast isn’t just another pep talk. It’s a lifeline—and a quick remedy for burnout you can take with you wherever you go.

Whether you’re driving to your next shift, heading home after a long day, or taking a rare moment to breathe, our episodes are packed with practical tools and mindset shifts that actually work:

- Find hope for the future and a renewed sense of purpose

- Rediscover joy in your work and life

- Repair and strengthen relationships (even the one with yourself)

- Quiet the mental chaos and ease emotional exhaustion

- Realize you are NOT alone.

This is your space. A space where doctors like you—who keep showing up no matter what—get the care, support, and tools you deserve. You are our people. It’s about time someone put YOU first.

🎧 Ready to reclaim your hope and joy? Listen now.

Learn more at www.thewholephysician.com.

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