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

September 29, 2022#29: Self Determination Theory Part 2
In this episode we continue the discussion on the Self Determination Theory, originally presented by Deci and Ryan in 1985. It suggests intrinsic motivations lead to higher fulfillment than extrinsic motivations (see episode #28). For continued motivation, engagement, psychological growth and development, the following three components are necessary:
competence - the feeling of mastery or being effective in one's environment
relatedness - connected to others with a sense of belonging
autonomy - the sense of feeling in control of the direction of one's life
For many working in medicine, the sense that one or more of these essential components is weak or missing leads to disengagement, lack of fulfillment, burnout, and possibly even leaving medicine altogether. We discuss how using thought work can nourish what we may not have even realized we were missing.
Resources:
https://www.simplypsychology.org/self-determination-theory.html
Deci and Ryan,1985 article, "Self-Determination and Intrinsic Motivation in Human Behavior."
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
24 min
September 22, 2022 #28: Self Determination Theory Part 1
Today's show introduces this concept of the self-determination theory originally written about in a book by two psychologists in 1985. It focuses on how it's so important for our psychological well being that we can do things from a place of wanting growth rather than wanting reward. Self determination theory is a theory of human motivation and personality. That suggests that people are able to become self-determined when their needs for competence, relatedness and autonomy are fulfilled. Check out part 2 for more discussion on this theory and how it relates to physicians and working in healthcare.

Referenced website:
https://www.simplypsychology.org/self-determination-theory.html
Deci and Ryan,1985 book, "Self-Determination and Intrinsic Motivation in Human Behavior."
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
15 min
September 15, 2022#27: When You Get Sued with Laura Fortner, MD
This episode we talk with Dr. Laura Fortner, an OB/Gyn, about medical malpractice, the distress associated with it, some statistics, and how physicians can get support if needed.
Highlights:
Statistics:
Average malpractice cases last around 5 years
~75% of primary care will get sued
~99% of surgical specialties will get sued
Most cases don't go to trial
The ones that do go to trial are usually won by the physician
Biggest myths surrounding MedMal:
you cannot talk about it
it's normal to be sued (see statistics above)
Definitions:
Litigation stress is intrusive thoughts, buffering behaviors, taking things out on spouses, etc, but still going about your day. Around 95% of physicians get this.
Medical Malpractice Stress Syndrome is in the DSM! It a depressive state characterized by depression, anxiety, and apathy.
Common reactions to being sued:
wanting to quit medicine
feeling alone and isolated
second guessing your decisions
equating this with some judgement about yourself as a doctor or a human
avoiding feelings about the situation
Helpful charting tips:
Include your differential and plan
Inlcude "not limited to" for risk/benefit discussions
The number one reason people sue is they think something has been hidden or they were not told everything about what happened and why.
So be honest, empathetic and open about complications
Patient's want to heard - so LISTEN way more than you talk when there is a complication
If you get sued, DO NOT to a chart review or even look up related topics on Up To Date from the work computer. Everything is electronically time stamped on these systems. If you must do a Google search, do it from your home computer.
If you get sued today:
Don't look at the chart until your lawyer talks to you and has a copy
Don't read the language in what you're served - your lawyer will help you
Write down the caring advice you'd give a best friend in this situation and carry it around with you. Give yourself this same advice.
Repeat as often as you need: "It's okay to be sued. It's normal to be sued."
Go to TheMedMalCoach.com for more information. There is a free mini-course and group coaching classes available. It isn't reportable, can be very anonymous, and most importantly, can give you the support you likely need in this stressful time.

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
44 min
September 08, 2022#26: Asking Better Questions
This episode highlights the idea that when we go through life desiring a different result, we need to start by asking better questions. We discuss what questions we have always been asking and which ones have delivered our present situation. Then we go through what we can do to change the questions we are asking in order to move forward to a better future! Credit to Dr. Caroline Leaf and her podcast guest, Lori Gottlieb, for describing the phases that our brain goes through in getting us from thought to action! Enjoy!!
Favorite Moments:
Kendra: Sometimes when we're going through life on autopilot, we take into consideration some programming we have from our childhood, either from the way we were raised, maybe programming from our parents, maybe our church, maybe our school, our neighborhood, whatever it is. But we do not continue to question it as we move into our adulthood. We consider the circumstances that we have as facts and the thoughts we have are not able to be changed, but that is actually not true.
Laura: That primitive brain job is to keep us alive. If something feels hard, it doesn't wanna think about it. It doesn't want to come up with a new way through or around a problem. It wants to avoid responsibility and it wants us to blame others for the problems we are having. So, if we come up with those emotionally charged, “why me?”- kind of questions. Ask instead something like, I wonder… or I'm learning… or what would it look like if… and if the answer to something is, I don't know. Maybe ask, what if I did know, or what would I tell my child If they asked me this question? Taking a guess oftentimes is the thing that allows our brain to open up to new thoughts and see potential solutions that we might not have seen before.
Amanda: Maintaining the change once you've made it. During this stage, you should expect that sometimes there will be hard days and sometimes there will be easy days. Some days you will fail and you will fall. It's in these moments that what you need the most is self-compassion, not to rip yourself apart. And we tend to be so good at ripping ourselves apart and like, see, I knew I would never do it. No, self-compassion is what you need. You cannot hate yourself into loving yourself.
Citations:
https://drleaf.com/blogs/news/identifying-breaking-free-from-the-jails-we-create-for-ourselves-the-one-question-most-people-struggle-with-in-life-with-lori-gottlieb?_pos=1&_sid=3c916b637&_ss=r
https://youtu.be/W05FYkqv7hM

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
20 min
September 01, 2022#25: Financial Wellness with Latifat Akintade, MD
On this episode we chat with Dr. Latifat Akintade, a gastroenterologist and the dynamo behind MoneyFitMD podcast and financial wellness program. She talks about her own financial journey and what physicians can do to move toward financial freedom. In a more global sense, physicians being financially secure can be a first step in changing the culture of medicine for the better.
Some common mistakes physicians make in managing their finances:
avoiding it and delegating, thinking someone else can be trusted more than our own brains
trying one way and believing the fact it hadn't worked once means it isn't going to work
only focusing on saving and not focusing on investments
She talks about the concept of being the CEO of our own lives and remembering that we are our biggest assets. In that way, you'd never overwork and not take care of your star player (you). Also if you think of yourself as the CEO of your life, it wouldn't make sense to ignore your finances and not plan for the future.
Dr. Latifat goes into the 3 components of ideal wealth:
impact
legacy
creating our own definition of a rich life
Dr. Latifat estimates accumulating money is about 20% numbers, but the rest is mindset. She talks about simple steps to get started, even if you know nothing right now about money.
Lastly, we talk about her FREE mini-course at www.moneyfitmd.com/feedom. It covers:
creating a spending plan, even if you hate numbers and spreadsheets
understanding debt
how to make more money
changing mentality regarding wealth
After hearing her, you'll want to check out her podcast here to listen more. You can also visit her website 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
38 min
August 25, 2022#24: The Power of Community (the Roseto Effect)
On today's episode, we discuss the importance of social connections and how they can actually positively impact our health, mentally and physically. We share candid stories from our childhoods and recall several recent memories of this in real life. We introduce the fascinating case of Roseto, PA as described in books by Dr Lissa Rankin and Malcolm Gladwell. We also talk about the Dr Alexander and his work with rat parks and addiction. Share this episode with those who make up your modern-day Roseto. Connection may just trump all.
Favorite comments:
Amanda: So the only thing that they could come up with was that there was something about this town and their social solidarity that was somehow more important than any of the things that they thought, you know, medically were important for longevity.
Laura: Loneliness is likely to increase your risk of death by 25%. Loneliness and living alone and poor social connections are as bad for your health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. That is crazy to me. Loneliness is worse for you than obesity. It causes increased high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, severe depression, early mortality and even dementia.
Kendra: And so maybe being more intentional about that village or creating that village no matter where you are to help with that. Because number one, you show up as a better mom, if you have your own back. And we've talked about this in several podcasts, just considering that you also need, you know, a connection with someone to vent with someone or someone that, you know, is going through that same stage of life.
Kendra: The challenge we want you to leave today with is, who can you call or spend time with in the next couple of days that will be good for you? That will make you feel good. That will refresh your soul and above all, make you laugh and laugh hard and laugh without restraint. Because we know laughter is the best medicine.
There's a quote from Mother Theresa. It says, “If you want to change the world, go home and love your family”. So we challenge you today. Find your people. Call or spend time with them in the next couple of days.

Works mentioned:
https://lissarankin.com/books/
https://www.gladwellbooks.com/titles/malcolm-gladwell/outliers/9780316040341/
campaigntoendlonliness.org
https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/what-does-rat-park-teach-us-about-addiction
https://www.escardio.org/The-ESC/Press-Office/Press-releases/lonliness-is-bad-for-the-heart
Resource:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1695733/
For more - visit our Emergency Medicine News article on the Roseto Effect

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
28 min
August 18, 2022 #23: 10 Signs of Emotional Maturity Pt. 3
This episode is part 3, the final part, of our evaluation of Signs of Emotional Adulthood according to americalbehavioralclinics.com.
Signs 8-10 of Emotional Adulthood:
8. Believes in him/herself
9. Approachability
10. Sense of humor

Referenced article:
americanbehavioralclinics.com: “10 Signs of Emotional Maturity”

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
12 min
August 11, 2022 #22: 10 Signs of Emotional Maturity Pt. 2
In part 2 of our journey through discovering what Emotional Adulthood looks like, we discuss how we can learn from every experience, seek to understand each other and how to build our resiliency. There are so many fantastic examples in this show and they are so applicable to today's modern family and relationships. So sit back and enjoy the doc's discussion on what mindsets we can develop to propel us into our emotional adulthood.
Emotional Adulthood:
1. Looks for Learning and Growth From Every Opportunity
2. Actively seeks out multiple points of view to help inform their own
3. Able to stay resilient
Next week we will wrap up the final thoughts on this topic! Enjoy!

Credit to:
Americanbehavioralclinics.com, “10 Signs of Emotional Maturity”
https://americanbehavioralclinics.com/10-signs-of-emotional-maturity/

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
17 min
August 04, 2022 #21: 10 Signs of Emotional Maturity Pt. 1
In this episode we start a series on the 10 Signs of Emotional Maturity as laid out in this article from americanbehavioralclinics.com. This follows our introduction on Emotional Maturity in Episode #20 explaining what it is. But here are some characteristics of someone exhibiting emotional maturity:
#1: Being Flexible - when things don't go according to plan, emotionally mature people can roll with it and come up with Plans B or even C. They don't let speed bumps derail the entire plan.
#2: Taking Ownership and Responsibility - an emotionally mature person has self-honesty and acceptance. They don't need someone to blame when things go wrong. They can objectively look at their contribution in the situation- for more understanding and a better chance to course correct.
#3: Knowing that They Don't Know Everything - an emotionally mature person is much more interested in learning than always being right.
Next week we will tackle 3 more characteristics of emotionally mature people.

Article referenced:
https://americanbehavioralclinics.com/10-signs-of-emotional-maturity/

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
15 min
July 28, 2022#20: Emotional Adulthood
In this episode, we discuss how to go from emotional childhood to emotional adulthood and what that looks like as we progress from one into the other. We share some candid and real stories in our own lives of becoming aware of when we moved into emotional adulthood from a place of victimhood and blaming. Enjoy our show!
Commentaries:
Amanda, "When we stay in that disempowered place, that's called emotional childhood. When we move into an emotional adulthood, that is when we start taking responsibility and realizing that only we have control of how we feel."
Laura, "Instead of judgment, I started to look with curiosity myself and decided that I could have a relationship with my dad that was positive. And even, he passed about five years ago, I still have a relationship with him. The relationships that we have are in our minds and even the ones that we have from the past, whether they're good or bad, that's also in our minds."
Laura: "Instead, I now am Laura and I've had experiences that have changed me. But now I've allowed them to be a source of strength and a source of love and compassion and grace for other people."
Kendra, "But when we operate from an emotional childhood, we actually use a lot of blame. And so we blame others for how we're feeling or we blame others for the actions they do because in a way we're kind of trying to control their actions. Because we want the result that will make us feel better. When, in reality, we can't control other people. We can't control what they're thinking, what they're saying or what their actions are."

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

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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