Girl Doc Survival Guide

Tiffany Yu on Disability Pride, Ableism, and Taking Anti-Ableist Action

On The Girl Doc Survival Guide, Christine interviews Tiffany Yu—Founder and CEO of Diversability and author of The Anti-Ableist Manifesto—about disability identity, ableism, and practical inclusion. Yu shares a childhood car accident that caused permanent arm paralysis, temporary wheelchair use, and later a PTSD diagnosis, emphasizing that trauma care must address mental health as well as physical injuries. She discusses defining disability using the WHO’s interaction between health conditions and environmental barriers, reframing disability as “another way of being or doing,” and noting that naming disability can protect rights under the ADA. Yu defines ableism as devaluing people based on how their bodies or minds work, connects it to intersecting oppressions, and describes anti-ableism as action beyond passive “not ableist” behavior, including accessibility practices like captions and the curb cut effect. She closes with examples of readers applying the book’s ideas to make bookstores and book festivals more accessible.

00:00 Meet Tiffany Yu

00:58 Her Disability Story

02:06 Defining Disability

03:35 Reclaiming the Word

05:49 Advocacy Without Apology

09:02 What Ableism Means

10:46 Pity and Nuance

12:34 From Passive to Action

13:58 Accessibility Advantage

14:46 Final Takeaways

Menopause Basics and Hormone Therapy: A Conversation with Dr. Betyshia Belardo

Christine interviews Dr. Betyshia Belardo, a board-certified Obesity Medicine physician and Menopause Society Certified Practitioner and founder of CaliberMD, about menopause care for midlife women. Belardo defines menopause as the single day marking 12 consecutive months without a menstrual cycle, with perimenopause as the years leading up to it (often starting in the 40s and sometimes earlier in African American women) and postmenopause thereafter. They discuss how the Women’s Health Initiative contributed to fear around hormone therapy and how later analysis suggested benefits and lower risks when started within 10 years of the last period, versus increased risk when started later. Belardo emphasizes hormone therapy is individualized with contraindications (e.g., clot/stroke history, certain breast cancers), notes nuanced options like vaginal estrogen and non-hormonal treatments, encourages women to ask clinicians and seek specialists, and advocates for earlier, open conversations so women don’t feel they must suffer.

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

01:00 Personal Wellness Origin Story

01:29 Menopause Defined Clearly

02:31 WHI Study and HRT Fear

05:10 Who Should Consider HRT

06:31 Contraindications and Vaginal Estrogen

07:08 Breast Cancer and Nonhormonal Options

08:07 Advocating for Yourself

10:27 Breaking the Menopause Taboo

11:19 Thriving Through the Transition

12:15 Part One Wrap Up

Physician Women Rising: Strategic Leadership, Visibility, and Sponsorship for Women in Medicine

Christine interviews Dr. Shannon Udovic Constant, a San Francisco pediatrician and immediate past president of the largest state medical association and only the fifth woman to hold the role in over 160 years, about advancing women physicians into leadership. Dr. Constant shares a childhood story from her daughter about “boy money,” illustrating how ambition and leadership are gendered, and explains how this shaped her drive to expand women’s representation in executive rooms. Dr. Constant describes launching Physician Women Rising as coaching and education, including a weekly Substack newsletter, to teach leadership skills she learned without a roadmap. Key themes include being strategic about career direction, making impact visible, stating ambitions, and building sponsorship (distinct from mentorship) through purposeful conversations. She discusses the narrower range of acceptable leadership behaviors for women and urges intentional positioning to improve healthcare decisions. Linkd to find Dr. Constant: at her website and on her substack.  

00:00 Meet Dr Shannon

00:49 Boy Money Moment

02:58 Why Visibility Matters

04:03 Launching Women Rising

06:02 Three Leadership Keys

08:20 Sponsors Not Mentors

10:07 Her Path to President

13:03 Owning Ambition

14:53 Invisible Work Trap

15:51 Leading in a Narrow Box

19:09 Taking Credit Gracefully

19:55 Final Leadership Challenge

Sustainable Success and Burnout Prevention with Dr. Judy Wright: The PACE Method

Christine interviews Dr. Judy Wright, a physician and sustainable performance strategist, about self-leadership, burnout, and redefining success so it “elevates your life, not erode it.” Dr. Wright shares how missing mammograms while prioritizing others led to a 2019 breast cancer diagnosis, double mastectomy, and a wake-up call that she wasn’t caring for herself and her boundaries had become “a suggestion,” especially with blurred work-from-home lines; Christine relates her own 2022 breast cancer treatment experience and how it forced her to prioritize herself. They define burnout as more than exhaustion, including disconnection, irritability, loss of joy, and diminished achievement, often missed because overwork is glorified. Dr. Wright advises scheduling oneself, taking intentional pauses, and using her PACE framework—Pause, Audit, Calibrate, Elevate—to assess goals, manage decision fatigue, set boundaries, and build sustainable success, including creating one’s own “ladder” and identity beyond roles. Links to find Dr. Wright: LinkedIn and Instagram.

00:00 Meet Dr Judy Wright

01:23 Cancer Wake Up Call

04:06 Lessons on Boundaries

05:23 Scheduling Yourself First

09:23 Burnout Warning Signs

11:19 Why We Miss Burnout

12:11 Intentional Pauses Daily

13:29 PACE Framework Explained

16:43 Keeping PACE Consistent

17:18 Redefining Success Ladder

20:12 Sustainable Success Closing

Nancy Williams on Hearing Loss, Accommodations, and Returning to the Piano

Christine interviews Nancy M. Williams, Founder and President of Auditory Insight, who shares her lifelong journey with hearing loss, from diagnosis at age six and delayed hearing aid use to its progression to moderately severe loss. Nancy describes loving the piano as a teen, being pressured to quit due to stigma around disability, and returning to lessons years later, culminating in performing at Weill Recital Hall while wearing hearing aids, which helped inspire her to commit professionally to hearing healthcare and advocacy. They discuss language choices around “disability” versus “difference,” Dr. Michael Hoffman’s advice to never apologize for hearing loss, and the importance of seeking accommodations (including seat placement and Zoom needs). Nancy emphasizes that hearing loss is often invisible, urges giving others grace, and explains distinctions between hearing vs. understanding and hearing vs. listening.

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

01:01 Nancy's Hearing Loss Story

02:06 Piano Passion and Comeback

04:39 Disability Language Talk

06:16 Never Apologize and Ask

09:14 Parents Processing Diagnosis

11:57 Hearing Loss Is Invisible

13:37 Hearing Versus Understanding

15:04 Listening and Closing Thanks

Staying Grounded Through a Super Busy Season

Christine reflects on an unusually busy few months that included family vacations to Paris, London, and Amsterdam; adjusting to a new work role with coaching; submitting a 100+ page grant; launching her middle grade novel Love Language; playing her first tennis doubles tournament; and teaching her second child to drive. She shares that while she still dislikes the “just get through today” mindset, she is glad she didn’t sacrifice self-care and hobbies as she has in past busy seasons, recognizing she is more than her career and family roles and that her other identities deserve attention. She notes that honoring multiple identities takes time and can increase burnout risk, but coaching has helped her streamline by asking whether a task is part of her role and, if so, what the goal is. She also mentions giving herself grace, including missing an episode, and previews continued discussions on identity, ability, coaching, and more.

00:00 Summer Busy Season

01:00 Investing in Yourself

01:12 Identity Beyond Roles

01:39 Two Coaching Questions

02:04 Hobbies and Grace

02:19 Looking Ahead

End of Summer 2026! it’s okay to pause sometimes...

Dr. Ray Goldsworthy on Cochlear Implants, Timing, Music, and Identity

In this episode of The Girl Doc Survival Guide, Christine interviews Dr. Ray Goldsworthy, a cochlear implant (CI) user and USC Associate Professor of Otolaryngology whose work integrates psychoacoustics, signal processing, and auditory rehabilitation to improve CI speech and music perception, especially through more precise stimulation timing. Goldsworthy shares losing hearing suddenly at 13 from spinal meningitis, receiving a CI in 1988 during pediatric trials, and shifting from physics to CI research. He explains cochlear frequency mapping with a “piano in your ear” analogy and discusses why 22-electrode arrays can still support useful pitch perception, though below typical hearing. He describes listening effort in noisy settings, the value of turning the implant off, growing identification as deaf, and emphasizes community engagement, resources for music rediscovery, workshops, and internships for students with hearing loss. Contact Dr. Goldsworthy: [email protected].

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

01:04 Ray’s Hearing Loss Story

01:54 Why Cochlear Implant Research

03:27 Timing and Hearing Precision

04:14 Cochlea Explained Like Piano

05:22 Electrodes and Pitch Limits

07:47 Community and Music Programs

09:25 Life as a CI User

10:47 Advice and Building Support

12:58 Identity and Closing Thoughts

Dr. Kate Gfeller on Supporting Families After a Hearing Loss Diagnosis and Music with Cochlear Implants

Christine interviews Dr. Kate Gfeller about what it means for families when a child is diagnosed with hearing loss, emphasizing that testing and diagnosis can be tricky, hearing loss may be unstable, and children’s development varies widely so “one size does not fit all.” She describes the emotional, social, and practical burdens on parents who must navigate variable professional guidance, limited incidental learning for the child, and the challenge of finding accurate information and supportive communities. Gfeller notes cochlear implant users often benefit from connecting with other users and mentions a free informational website. The host shares how conventions and programs with panels of implanted kids helped her. Gfeller also discusses music: cochlear implants transmit music poorly, but rhythm can be accessible, listening can improve skills, and interested kids should be supported by specialized teachers or music therapists.

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

01:30 Diagnosis and Testing Challenges

02:51 Emotional and Social Burden

04:14 Support Groups and Resources

05:41 Finding Community Through Events

06:23 Kids First Care Model

07:47 Music and Cochlear Implants

09:14 Let Kids Explore Interests

09:43 Closing Thanks

Identity, Endurance, and Choosing Your Path with Dr. Valencia Thomas

This episode of The Girl Doc Survival Guide features Dr. Valencia Thomas, a Black dermatologist and professor at UTHealth Houston and MD Anderson, who discusses her extensive training path and how identity shifts across places and career stages. She describes growing up in Fort Worth, being the only Black student in her class, and arriving at Harvard amid racial violence and inflammatory remarks, while valuing active dialogue and trusting an inner voice for safety and direction. Dr. Thomas emphasizes being race-conscious but not race-limited, and notes that people may say off-color things through ignorance rather than malice, sharing a story from Dr. Harley Haynes about learning respect and the “us vs. them” divide. She highlights lessons on communication from Ted Lasso, explains that about 16% of people are “never adopters,” and advises endurance—“adapt, migrate, or die”—and making decisions knowing they can often be changed.

00:00 Meet Dr Valencia Thomas

01:07 Texas Roots and Moving Around

01:53 Identity and Being Black

03:54 Harvard and Racial Reality Check

05:42 Learning Across Differences

06:50 Ted Lasso and Hard Conversations

07:53 One in Five Never Adopters

09:20 Endurance and Career Thriving

10:37 Changing Paths in Medicine

12:09 Wrap Up and Thanks