June 30, 2025

Episode 128: Guilt is a common barrier to reducing workload in medicine

38 minutes

Welcome to the Sustainable Clinical Medicine Podcast!

In this episode, Dr. Sarah Smith is joined by Dr. Vanessa Kustec, a family physician from Ontario with a passion for personal development and sustainable practice. Dr. Kustec shares her candid journey through the highs and lows of medicine—from taking on an overwhelming workload and reaching a breaking point during the pandemic, to discovering mindset coaching and reclaiming her time, energy, and joy both inside and outside the clinic.

Tune in as Dr. Kustec opens up about the realities of burnout, the importance of setting boundaries, and the transformative power of reprogramming your mindset. She discusses concrete steps for saying no, prioritizing what truly matters, and reshaping both your professional and personal life—proving you don’t have to abandon your career to find fulfillment. Whether you’re feeling overwhelmed or simply ready to put more life back into your days, this conversation is packed with practical strategies and inspiring stories to help you create a more sustainable, joyful approach to medicine.

Here are 3 key takeaways from this episode:

Prioritize YOU, Not Just Your Patients: Kustec realized that saying yes to everything led to severe burnout and personal sacrifice. She flipped the script by learning to prioritize her own needs—without guilt—so she could bring her best self to both medicine and life.

Small Changes = Major Impact: You don’t need a drastic overhaul to see results. Whether it’s carving out just five extra minutes in your day, cutting unnecessary meetings, or handing off responsibilities, every little bit lightens the load and gives you space to thrive.

Rewrite Your Inner Narrative: Through mindset work and coaching, Dr. Kustec changed her deeply ingrained beliefs about “not being enough.” She even wrote a new life script and practiced affirming it daily—leading not only to a more sustainable practice, but also meeting her life partner, starting a family, and rediscovering joy outside the clinic.

Meet Dr. Vanessa Kustec:

Originally from Montreal, Dr. Kustec is currently a family physician in Stratford, Ontario where she lives with her husband and baby girl. She also works as a hospitalist and long-term care physician. Over the years, she's also held various administrative positions such as Chief Hospitalist at Stratford General Hospital, HPA Ontario Health Team Implementation Committee Physician Representative and the STAR Family Health Team Lead Physician.

Her areas of interest include primary care, hospital medicine, long-term care, dermatology, and quality improvement, and she also enjoys teaching. Most recently, she pursues all this with a newly created work-life balance. She is now passionate about empowering others to do the same as a physician work-life balance coach. Her vision is for every doctor and healthcare worker to access coaching and acquire these vital skills, as they have the power to revolutionize our entire healthcare system.

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