Get A Shift On: Healthcare Career Change and Business Stories

What if the life you want has nothing to do with building a bigger business and everything to do with thinking differently?

In this episode of Get A Shift On, David Birchmore speaks with entrepreneur and solopreneur mentor Moe Choice, who has built 12 businesses and now helps people create genuine independence through business ownership.

Together they explore why so many people stay stuck, how fear shapes our decisions, why changing your narrative changes your future, and the three reasons most entrepreneurs fail.

Expect an honest conversation about independent thinking, communication, sales, leadership, personal growth, mindset and building a business that supports the life you actually want.

If you're considering career change, starting a business or becoming self-employed, this episode is packed with practical insight and refreshing honesty.

Connect with David:

• LinkedIn

Connect with Moe:

• LinkedIn
• Website
• Join Moe's Masterclass

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

01:00 Why Moe decided to create his own path

04:00 The real meaning of being a solopreneur

06:00 Building 12 businesses and what they taught him

08:20 Why talent isn't the secret to success

11:30 Learning to separate people from their actions

14:40 Why young people should be taught to question everything

18:30 Social media, changing your mind and new information

20:45 Understanding your personal strategies

23:30 Labels, personality and self-awareness

26:00 Nature vs nurture and where our behaviours come from

29:20 Can people really change?

34:30 The three reasons most entrepreneurs fail

43:20 Why committing fully changes everything

49:20 Selling without feeling "slimy"

53:30 How to sell with integrity

57:20 Why your offer matters more than your process

It's Mental Health Awareness Week. And one of the most under talked tools for managing stress, anxiety and mental well-being isn't medication, therapy or a morning routine. According to sex and relationship coach Gemma Nice, it starts a lot closer to home.

Gemma Nice is back for part two. Multi-award-winning founder of The Relationship Coach, former veterinary nurse of 19 years, and someone who rebuilt her own 26-year relationship from the ground up using breath work, yoga and some very honest conversations.

This episode goes deeper. If part one was about communication breaking down, this one is about what it actually takes to rebuild it — and what your body is doing while you ignore it. For healthcare professionals who've spent years being the strong one, the capable one, the one who holds everyone else together, this conversation will land differently than most.

Topics covered:

• Why orgasms are a legitimate mental health tool — the science of cortisol, dopamine and stress release
• The real reason intimacy disappears in high-achieving relationships — and why it's rarely about attraction
• What perimenopause actually does to a relationship when communication isn't already there
• Why men are still left out of miscarriage, menopause and emotional health conversations
• The traffic light system for exploring new things together without pressure or blame
• How to use I statements at work — not just at home — to feel seen and heard
• What erectile dysfunction and loss of arousal actually signal about the nervous system
• Why the taboo around self-pleasure is a Victorian hangover that's still costing people their mental health
• Monogamy, open relationships and how communication is the only way through any of it
• Why body shame starts young, why parents carry it forward, and how to break the cycle

Follow Gemma Nice:Website: https://www.gemmanice.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gemmanicerelationshipcoachYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@gemmanicerelationshipcoachPinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/GemmaHayleyNice/Twitter: https://twitter.com/GemmaHayleyNiceInsight Timer: https://insighttimer.com/yogigemmaBook a call: https://calendly.com/gemmahayleynice

Follow David :David's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidbirchmore/

Are you ready to leave healthcare? Still in a role you've mentally already left?

Answer 15 questions and find out exactly where you stand, and what to do first.

Take the free 2 min quiz here: https://david-a0a3cnqe.scoreapp.com

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Gemma's Journey

01:02 From Veterinary Nurse to Intimacy Coach

04:03 The Impact of Travel on Relationships

10:11 Navigating Arguments and Disagreements

13:33 The Power of 'I' Statements in Communication

18:07 Authenticity in Conversations

21:51 Breaking Taboos Around Sex and Relationships

26:06 Men's Emotional Health and Communication

33:52 Sexuality and Pleasure at Any Age

35:53 Navigating Relationships Through Menopause

39:05 The Importance of Communication in Intimacy

42:54 Understanding Orgasms and Mental Health

45:58 Breaking Taboos: Masturbation and Self-Exploration

48:54 Exploring Kinks and Fetishes in Relationships

52:58 Monogamy vs. Open Relationships: A Modern Perspective

58:03 Cultural Perspectives on Sexuality and Nudity

Most healthcare professionals assume the skills they built in clinical practice are only useful in clinical practice. Matt Vigar spent 18 years at Elekta, went from therapy radiographer to Vice President, and is now building his own health tech startup from Seoul. His story is proof that what you learn at the bedside, in the planning room, and on the treatment machine travels a very long way.

Matt Vigar is a radiation therapist turned global business leader. He started his career in Sydney, came to the UK on what was supposed to be a two-year working holiday, and never went back. He worked his way through applications training, sales, business development and senior leadership across the UK, Australia, Hong Kong and South Korea, before being made redundant during an Elekta global restructure. He's now co-founder of AyniHealth, a health tech platform focused on clinical education, credentialing and community of practice.

This conversation is honest about what it actually feels like to reach the role you set out to get and realise it isn't what you expected. Matt talks about redundancy, rebuilding, and why having a purpose before the call comes makes all the difference. For any healthcare professional wondering whether their skills travel, this is worth your time.

Topics covered:

• How a chance conversation in a hospital corridor led to an entirely different career
• The clinical skills Matt took directly into his first applications role at Elekta
• 18 years across the UK, Australia, Hong Kong and South Korea — and what each move taught him
• Getting promoted to VP and feeling flat when he got there
• Why setting systems rather than goals changes how you work
• How a mentorship programme helped him find his purpose before redundancy landed
• The financial reality of going from VP salary to startup founder
• How AyniHealth was built around the same problem Matt watched healthcare teams struggle with for two decades
• Why healthcare professionals make unusually good business founders
• What to do when redundancy hits and the "why me" feeling takes over
• The value of finding stillness — and why Matt meditates for 30 minutes before he touches his phone

Listen to the full episode now.

Follow Matt Vigar:Website: https://www.ayni.health/enLinkedIn:

Follow David / Via Nova here:

⁠⁠David's LinkedIn⁠⁠

If you’re done pretending you’re fine… start here.

Your Final Shift is a straight-talking exit guide for healthcare professionals who can’t do another 20 years of this. Get your copy here

Are you ready to leave healthcare? Still in a role you've mentally already left?

Answer 15 questions and find out exactly where you stand, and what to do first

Take the free 2 min quiz here Chapters00:00 - Introducing Matt Vigar and his journey from radiation therapy to healthcare leadership
02:05 - Early career in Sydney and decision to explore global opportunities
04:34 - Moving into industry at Elekta and international travel experiences
08:00 - Lessons from working abroad in Europe and Russia
12:15 - Applying clinical skills to industry roles and teaching experiences
15:43 - Notable cultural moments and social traditions in healthcare settings
21:04 - Experiences in Asia: South Korea, Hong Kong, and the region's healthcare landscape
27:35 - Transitioning from regional management to founding AyniHealth
32:00 - Building a healthcare community platform and solving education challenges
36:50 - Navigating corporate restructuring and making career shifts
42:56 - The significance of community, support, and mental well-being during change
48:46 - The role of teamwork and collaboration in healthcare and startups
55:35 - Prioritizing purpose, reflection, and mental clarity during career decisions
60:10 - Practical tips for embracing change and pursuing passions
64:18 - Personal achievements and re-evaluating success beyond titles
65:00 - Final thoughts and future plans for AyniHealth and community impact

Relationship breakdown rarely starts with a single event. It starts with communication that just stops, busy schedules, late nights, devices, and two people living alongside each other without actually connecting.

Gemma Nice is a multi-award-winning sex and relationship coach, founder of The Relationship Coach, and someone who rebuilt her own 25-year relationship from near-breakdown. She left a 19-year veterinary nursing career, found yoga in Thailand on a backpacking trip that saved her relationship, and eventually built a business around the three things she sees break every relationship: communication, intimacy, and trust.

This conversation goes places most podcasts won't. Gemma talks about why high-achieving professionals are particularly vulnerable to relationship breakdown, why scheduling intimacy is smarter than waiting for spontaneity, and what your body is already trying to tell you — if you'd just stop and listen. For healthcare professionals who've spent years being the capable one, the one who holds it together, this episode will make you think about what that's actually cost you.

Topics covered:

• How to fix communication, intimacy and trust when the relationship has stalled
• Leaving a 19-year veterinary nursing career and why corporate takeover was the final push
• How the stress of clinical work showed up physically — and what happened when she left
• The backpacking trip to South Africa, Thailand and New Zealand that rebuilt a relationship from the inside out
• Why the three pillars of communication, intimacy and trust collapse in a specific order — and what to do about it
• What high-achieving professionals get wrong about connection, and why devices are the silent relationship killer
• The back-to-back conversation technique she gives clients who can't talk without it turning into an argument
• Why scheduling intimacy is not unromantic — and why you'd do it for a work meeting without blinking
• The hormonal reality of orgasm as a stress response, and what that means for anyone stuck in fight or flight
• The generational roots of sexual shame, why the Victorians are still running the show, and what it takes to change that
• Why foreplay starts the moment penetrative sex ends — and what that means day to day

New episode out now. Link in the comments.

Follow Gemma Nice:WebsiteLinkedIn

YouTubeInsight Timer: https://insighttimer.com/yogigemmaBook a call: https://calendly.com/gemmahayleynice

Follow David / Via Nova here:

⁠⁠David's LinkedIn⁠⁠

If you’re done pretending you’re fine… start here.

Your Final Shift is a straight-talking exit guide for healthcare professionals who can’t do another 20 years of this. Get your copy here

Are you ready to leave healthcare? Still in a role you've mentally already left?

Answer 15 questions and find out exactly where you stand, and what to do first

Take the free 2 min quiz here 

Most healthcare professionals who leave do so after years in clinical practice. Tiarnan McKeever decided during medical school that he wasn't going. He finished the degree, got the letters, and used them to build something else entirely.

Tiarnan is a qualified doctor and founder of KE Socials, a digital marketing agency that works exclusively with healthcare businesses — private clinics, doctor-led services, and medical education companies. He built the foundations while still studying, graduated without ever working clinically, and now runs a team in a London office serving clients across the private healthcare sector.

This conversation covers what it looks like to use medical training as a commercial asset rather than a clinical one — and what healthcare professionals who are thinking about leaving can take from a doctor who made that call early and made it deliberately.

Specific topics covered:

• Why Tiarnan finished medical school knowing he'd never work clinically, and why having the letters still mattered
• How a conversation with a consultant about an app with no users sparked the idea for the agency
• Sending 600 cold emails to get the first client, and what being a medical student actually got him in the door
• Why 50% of his clients have come through his personal LinkedIn, not the company page
• The three-stage patient acquisition model most private clinic owners get wrong
• Why he lets go of clients who undermine his freedom, even if they're paying well
• How he defined his core values around freedom before designing the business, not after
• What doctors bring to business that they completely underestimate — and why he'd still go to medical school knowing what he knows now
• His Q1 this year — what a bad patch looked like and how outside perspective pulled him through it
• Why personal brand beats business brand, and what Daniel Priestley got right

Listen to the episode here.

Follow Tiarnan McKeever:Website: https://growth.kesocials.com/us/xLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiarnánmckeever/

Follow David / Via Nova here:

⁠⁠David's LinkedIn⁠⁠

If you’re done pretending you’re fine… start here.

Your Final Shift is a straight-talking exit guide for healthcare professionals who can’t do another 20 years of this. Get your copy here

Are you ready to leave healthcare? Still in a role you've mentally already left?

Answer 15 questions and find out exactly where you stand, and what to do first

Take the free 2 min quiz here 

Want to try billboard advertising from £80? Get started with CAASie at https://caasie.co/?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=get-a-shift-on&utm_content=referral - 1.5M screens worldwide, pay-per-play.

• 00:00 - Introduction and guest background
• 02:29 - Why Tiarnan stayed in medical school despite starting a side hustle
• 04:19 - The importance of perseverance and taking on challenges
• 07:33 - Origins of Tiarnan’s business idea and initial side projects
• 09:27 - What services his healthcare marketing agency offers
• 12:17 - Why more doctors seek multiple income streams
• 14:06 - The effect of systemic issues on medical professionals’ career satisfaction
• 16:24 - How Tiarnan designs his ideal workday based on core values
• 18:25 - Boundaries with clients and maintaining work-life freedom
• 20:56 - Building and managing his team with clear core values
• 23:16 - Challenging client arrogance and focusing on ideal collaborations
• 27:19 - The stages of patient acquisition and common clinic mistakes
• 33:21 - Views on private healthcare and system limitations
• 44:04 - Advice for healthcare professionals considering leaving medicine
• 47:43 - The value of medical skills beyond clinical practice
• 49:50 - Future plans for business expansion and growth

Most doctors and healthcare professionals are brilliant at their job. They're invisible online. That gap is costing them opportunities they don't even know exist.

In this episode of Get A Shift On, David Birchmore speaks with Souad Menif — 4th year dental student, founder of Medica Ink, and LinkedIn ghostwriter and strategist for healthcare professionals and doctor-founders — about why clinicians struggle to build a visible presence online, and what actually changes when they do.

Souad shares how she built a LinkedIn ghostwriting agency while still studying full-time, what made her realise her writing skills were a real asset, and why the biggest problem isn't that doctors can't write — it's that they're trying to say too much.

The conversation covers:

• Why healthcare professionals undervalue their own skills and experience
• Why doctors over-complicate LinkedIn and how to fix it fast
• The difference between a strong personal brand and a large following
• Why engagement and commenting can outperform your own posts
• How to optimise your LinkedIn profile before you write a single post
• Building a business alongside a clinical career — what's realistic
• Why waiting until everything is in place is the biggest mistake
• Family pressure, career identity, and the weight of the path you were "supposed" to take
• Why Souad still does dentistry — and what that tells us about portfolio careers
• The role of LinkedIn for clinicians facing NHS redundancy or career change

For healthcare professionals wondering whether they can build something of their own without leaving the system — this episode is a direct answer.

Follow Souad / Medica Ink:Website: medicaink.comLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/souad-menifInstagram: @linkedin_dentist

Follow David / Via Nova here:

⁠⁠David's LinkedIn⁠⁠

If you’re done pretending you’re fine… start here.

Your Final Shift is a straight-talking exit guide for healthcare professionals who can’t do another 20 years of this. Get your copy here

Are you ready to leave healthcare? Still in a role you've mentally already left?

Answer 15 questions and find out exactly where you stand, and what to do first

Take the free 2 min quiz here 

Want to try billboard advertising from £80? Get started with CAASie at https://caasie.co/?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=get-a-shift-on&utm_content=referral - 1.5M screens worldwide, pay-per-play.

Most workplace problems aren’t motivation problems.
They’re communication problems.

In this episode of Get A Shift On, David Birchmore speaks with communication strategist, LinkedIn trainer and podcast host Graham Coath about why organisations repeatedly misdiagnose the real issue inside teams.

From NHS-style hierarchy and structured communication to the messy reality of business, leadership and entrepreneurship, this conversation explores what actually happens when people stop assuming and start listening.

Graham explains why hearing and listening are completely different skills, why most CPD training fails, and how assumptions quietly destroy communication inside organisations.

The conversation also dives into:

• Why communication should start with listening, not speaking

• The biggest communication mistakes leaders make

• Why assumptions break teams and businesses

• How communication styles differ across industries

• The rise of portfolio careers and career changes

• Why imposter syndrome is often misunderstood

• Emotional intelligence and leadership

• The real risk of AI replacing thinking in communication

For healthcare professionals considering a move outside the system, this episode also explores how the communication skills developed in clinical environments translate into business, leadership and entrepreneurship.

If you’ve ever wondered why organisations struggle with engagement, leadership or change, this episode explains why the answer is often much simpler than people think.

Learn more about Graham Coath and his work:

A Better Way Of Life

The London Leadership Series 2026 - The Thinking MachineThe London Leadership Series brings together business leaders to discuss the big questions shaping the future of work.

These are not conferences.

There are no keynote speakers, no slide presentations and no sales pitches.

Instead, each event centres around one carefully chosen question designed to spark thoughtful discussion between people leading organisations, shaping culture and navigating change.

⁠Join the A Better Way Of Life community event

My Music Podcast

Follow David / Via Nova here:

⁠⁠⁠David's LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠Via Nova Website⁠⁠

If you’re done pretending you’re fine… start here.

Your Final Shift is a straight-talking exit guide for healthcare professionals who can’t do another 20 years of this.

⁠Get it here⁠

Feeling stuck in your healthcare role? Take our quiz to discover how close you are to making your final shift and what your next steps could be - ⁠How Close Is Your Final Shift⁠ 

Chapters

00:00 The Essence of Communication

02:53 The Evolution of Marketing and Sales

05:40 Career Paths and Job Mobility

08:10 The Changing Landscape of Recruitment

10:54 The Future of Work and Self-Employment

13:18 Communication in the Digital Age

16:21 Understanding Neurodiversity in Communication

18:51 The Impact of COVID-19 on Communication

21:31 Disruption and Innovation in Business

24:13 Navigating Imposter Syndrome

32:56 Understanding Imposter Syndrome and Personal Growth

36:45 The Importance of Continuous Learning

41:51 Communication in Professional Development

47:11 Emotional Intelligence and Generational Differences

50:57 Transitioning Communication Skills Across Sectors

56:39 The Dangers of Assumptions in Communication

01:01:02 AI's Impact on Communication and Human Connection

What actually happens when a doctor realises the career they trained for no longer fits the life they want?

In Episode 43 of Get A Shift On, David Birchmore sits down with Dr Luke Mitchell, a former clinician who stepped away from medicine and rebuilt his career as a financial planner. This is one of the podcast’s most direct conversations about healthcare career change, identity, and the financial reality behind leaving a clinical role.

Rather than quick fixes or motivational noise, this episode explores the real sequence many professionals go through:

Understanding the value and skills you bring beyond your job title
Recognising what you want your days to look like, not just your job title
Facing the affordability question honestly before making a move

Luke shares how values work helped him recognise an “unreasonable appetite for freedom,” why rotas felt misaligned with who he was, and how networking, self-employment and long-term financial thinking shaped his transition away from clinical practice.

You’ll hear real discussion around:

• transferable skills from healthcare that most professionals overlook

• why many clinicians feel capable yet stuck

• networking and building genuine connections outside medicine

• minimum viable income and the financial myths that keep people in roles they have outgrown

• the loneliness, uncertainty and opportunity that comes with self-employment

This episode marks a stronger healthcare focus for Get A Shift On and reflects the reality facing many clinical professionals today, experienced, capable people questioning whether the traditional path is still right for them.

Hosted by David Birchmore, Business Consultant and creator of the Personal Exit Plan framework, supporting healthcare professionals to build viable career transitions beyond clinical roles.

If you’re a doctor, nurse, radiographer or allied health professional thinking about what comes next, this conversation offers clarity without hype.

Follow Dr Luke On LinkedIn here

Follow David / Via Nova here:

⁠⁠David's LinkedIn⁠⁠

⁠⁠Via Nova Website⁠

If you’re done pretending you’re fine… start here.

Your Final Shift is a straight-talking exit guide for healthcare professionals who can’t do another 20 years of this.

Get it here

Feeling stuck in your healthcare role? Take our quiz to discover how close you are to making your final shift and what your next steps could be - How Close Is Your Final Shift 

#HealthcareCareers #DoctorCareerChange #LeavingHealthcare #FinancialPlanningUK #GetAShiftOnPodcast

What does it really look like to rebuild your confidence, career, and identity after a business collapses?

In this episode of Get A Shift On, David Birchmore welcomes back entrepreneur and marketing consultant Ben Walton for a brutally honest conversation about portfolio careers, freelancing after failure, side projects, and finding purpose beyond traditional job titles.

After nine years running restaurants, Ben faced the reality many founders quietly experience, loss of direction, rebuilding income, and learning to start again without the safety net. Instead of chasing another “perfect” career path, he began experimenting with freelance marketing, email strategy, community building, and creative side projects that eventually grew into a portfolio business model.

This episode goes beyond hospitality or business. It explores the mindset behind career change, authenticity in an AI-driven world, and why the future of work may look less like a ladder and more like a collection of evolving projects. From launching Substack communities and networking events to running a Bloody Mary brand born from the ashes of failure, Ben shares how small creative moves can unlock unexpected opportunities.

You’ll hear real talk about:

• How to transition into freelancing or consulting after burnout or business loss

• Why a portfolio career is becoming the new normal across industries

• The role of side hustles in rebuilding confidence and momentum

• Authentic marketing, social media pressure, and staying human in an AI world

• Creativity, parenting, and preparing for a future where traditional careers are changing fast

Although this conversation sits outside healthcare, the themes will resonate with clinical professionals and anyone questioning the traditional career path. If you’ve ever wondered how to pivot without burning everything down first, this episode offers a grounded, honest perspective on what comes next.

🎧 Expect humour, hard-won lessons, and a refreshing look at building a meaningful working life without pretending you’ve got it all figured out.

Follow Ben:

⁠⁠Ben's Website⁠⁠

⁠⁠Ben's LinkedIn⁠⁠

⁠⁠Ben's Instagram⁠⁠

⁠⁠Bloody Bens Instagram⁠⁠

⁠⁠On A Plate Growth Instagram⁠⁠

⁠⁠Ben's Canteen Instagram⁠⁠

Follow David / Via Nova here:

⁠⁠⁠⁠David's LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Feeling stuck in your healthcare role? Take our quiz to discover how close you are to making your final shift and what your next steps could be - How Close Is Your Final Shift -

Want to try billboard advertising from £80? Get started with ⁠⁠CAASie⁠⁠ - 1.5M screens worldwide, pay-per-play.

#PortfolioCareer
#FreelancingUK
#CareerChangePodcast
#SideProjects
#FutureOfWork

You can be winning on paper and still feel completely lost underneath.
In Episode 41 of Get A Shift On, I’m joined by Farran Turner, former enterprise technology sales high performer turned Life & Performance Coach, now helping “corporate misfits” in target-driven roles rebuild a life that actually fits them.

Farran opens up about chasing the next role, the next pay rise, the next shiny thing… while feeling more disconnected each year. Then his Dad’s cancer returned for the third time, and he died four months later. That moment forced a brutal realisation: you can’t outrun a life that doesn’t feel right.

In this episode we cover:

• The biggest signs you’re out of alignment in a high-performing career

• Why corporate life can feel like meaningless “Q2 and Q3” conversations

• The fear of redundancy, pressure, and the constant tight knot in your stomach

• Identity loss after leaving a job title you’ve built your whole life around

• How to recognise your real transferable skills beyond your CV

• Why deep work matters more than quick fixes

• The Misfit Method: values, nervous system regulation, mindset, superpower, execution

• The truth about money, freedom, and “how much do you actually need to live?”

If you’ve been googling things like “how to leave corporate sales”, “what to do after enterprise tech sales”, “high achiever burnout but successful”, or “I hate my job but it pays well”, this is for you.

Connect with David

⁠⁠David's LinkedIn⁠⁠

⁠⁠Via Nova Website⁠

If you’re done pretending you’re fine… start here.

Your Final Shift is a straight-talking exit guide for healthcare professionals who can’t do another 20 years of this.

Get it here

Feeling stuck in your healthcare role? Take our quiz to discover how close you are to making your final shift and what your next steps could be - How Close Is Your Final Shift 

Want to try billboard advertising from £80? Get started with CAASie at https://caasie.co/?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=get-a-shift-on&utm_content=referral - 1.5M screens worldwide, pay-per-play.

Connect with Farran

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.corporatemisfitscoaching.com/