Today I sit down with communication researcher Richard Frankel, PhD, whose decades of work have helped define listening as a clinical skill. We talk about this as not only structured and teachable, but, more importantly, deeply tied to outcomes and our well-being. Together, we explore how small moments of attention shape trust, efficiency, and meaning in medicine, and why the simple act of hearing a patient fully is more impactful than we often think.

In this episode, physician coach Anne Hirsch, MD talks with me about communication shifts and behavior changes that often appear long before burnout gets identified. Drawing on more than three decades in medicine and years of coaching experience, Anne explains why high-performing physicians often struggle to see these changes in themselves, and how we can help each other.

In this episode of Heal the Burn, I speak with Dr Leonard Calabrese, a rheumatologist and clinical immunologist at Cleveland Clinic who has spent years studying empathy in medicine. We explore the practitioner–patient relationship, the biology of human connection, and why empathy may actually protect physicians from burnout rather than cause it. We discuss how tools like ambient AI can help physicians reconnect with their patients by freeing them from the computer.

In this episode I sit down with Dr. Bud Isaacson, former Executive Dean of the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western University, to explore how the way we train and support learners shapes the future of medicine, and the impact we can make. We talk about reflective practice, the power of small teaching moments, and why even mid-career physicians who feel stretched or worn down often have more to offer the next generation than they realize. The conversation is a reminder inviting learners into our work can quietly restore meaning for both teacher and student.

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Moises Auron to explore the unspoken curriculum of medicine: how professionalism, leadership, and emotional intelligence help shape how physicians feel about work and belonging. We unpack why pretending, suppressing emotion, and “holding it together” can fuel burnout, and how authenticity, vulnerability, and human connection can become sources of resilience instead.

In this special episode, Primary care doctor and Executive Dean, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Bud Isaacson, MD, takes the mic and turns the questions on me. We talk about my journey to a career in medicine, what burned me out, what brought me to Cleveland, and how Heal the Burn began.

Why did that person not say hello? Why did the patient respond that way? What did my boss mean by not responding to my email. These are the stories we tell ourselves. Unfortunately, they're hard wired into our brains. But can we do anything to counter this? Please join me as I dig into the story I tell myself with Dr. Andrea Sikon from Cleveland Clinic

Join me as I have a speak with Dr. Christine Sinsky from the AMA about the impact administrative duties pushed on doctors is causing burnout, and that data supports an improved Inbox experience!

EMRs, am I right? Weren't they supposed to make everything better? Wait, have they? Join me with my guest, Dr. Eric Boose who is the Associate Chief Medical Information Officer at The Cleveland Clinic as we explore the relationship between providers and the electronic record.

Please feel free to leave comments!

Here are references for today's discussion:

1.

Electronic Health Records andBurnout: Time Spent on the Electronic Health Record After Hours and MessageVolume Associated With Exhaustion but Not With Cynicism Among Primary CareClinicians.

Adler-Milstein J, Zhao W, Willard-Grace R, Knox M, Grumbach K.

Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA.2020;27(4):531-538. doi:10.1093/jamia/ocz220.

 Leading Journal 

2.

Electronic Medical Record-RelatedBurnout in Healthcare Providers: A Scoping Review of Outcomes andInterventions.

Li C, Parpia C, Sriharan A, Keefe DT.

BMJ Open. 2022;12(8):e060865. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2022-060865.

3.

Exploring the Relationship BetweenElectronic Health Records and Provider Burnout: A Systematic Review.

Yan Q, Jiang Z, Harbin Z, Tolbert PH, Davies MG.

Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA.2021;28(5):1009-1021. doi:10.1093/jamia/ocab009.

 Leading Journal 

4.

Physician Stress and Burnout: TheImpact of Health Information Technology.

Gardner RL, Cooper E, Haskell J, et al.

Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA.2019;26(2):106-114. doi:10.1093/jamia/ocy145.

 Leading Journal 

5.

Associations of Physician BurnoutWith Organizational Electronic Health Record Support and After-Hours Charting.

Eschenroeder HC, Manzione LC, Adler-Milstein J, et al.

Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA.2021;28(5):960-966. doi:10.1093/jamia/ocab053.

 Leading Journal 

Can you work in medicine and not identify as burned out? Believe it or not, it's a thing! In my interviews I met emergency room physician Nik Jones who has made some big changes in his professional life to remain lit as a doctor in a high-pressure specialty.