Married to Doctors

In this last episode of the Married to Doctors Podcast, Lara shares her hopes for her listeners in what they have gained from her show. Lara has increased the dialogue for physician families and physician spouses and became a voice for the physician family community.

"I hope that throughout this podcast you have been able to go from pessimistic thinking, or a little bit more on the pessimistic side, to the optimistic side, as you have seen more possibilities for you and your physician marriage." -Lara McElderry

In this podcast episode, Lara chats with Michelle Streeter, an IVF Support Coach, about their fertility journey while on the medical journey. Michelle shares her experiences and tips from what she has learned while navigating IVF, med school, and residency. 

"One of the things about being married to doctors is that you have to learn to navigate that uncertainty and the shifts and changes that come with all the things. It's not to say I didn't do it begrudgingly sometimes, but that is part of the thing we did or didn't sign up for, right?" -Michelle Streeter

In this episode, Lara chats with Vanessa and Dr. Jeep Naum about intimacy and connection in medical marriages. The Naums help physicians save their marriage, family, and bank account.

"I think the big part was we needed to get to the place where we were talking with each other. And that he could connect with my feelings of, 'Hey, look. I need help. We're in this family life together. I know your job is extremely important, but I need help too.'" -Vanessa Naum

In this flashback episode, Lara talks with Donna Rovito, editor of Physician Family Magazine. Donna shares some of her experiences being in a medical marriage for over 30 years and how the medical profession has evolved over time.

Lara and Donna also discuss the importance of support for physician spouses and the best marriage advice Donna says she ever received.

“As the spouse of a physician, there are so many ways that you can contribute to your community and to your own well-being that there’s no reason for anybody to sit at home and feel bad and feel lonely because there is a huge support group out here and how ever you find that, however you find us, we’re here.” -Donna Rovito

This replay episode jumps back to an earlier episode you may have missed if you are new here! Lara talks with marriage and family therapist Yasman Mostajeran about the relationship characteristics that often cause affairs, how to avoid attachment issues, and how to regain trust in a relationship that has suffered a betrayal.

"The affair is a symptom of something happening in the relationship, so this is your opportunity to either rewrite your marriage and create a whole new story together and make it so much better, so much stronger than you were before, or throw your hands up in the air and give up and just let the relationship die.” - Yasman Mostajeran

For more on the membership, visit www.marriedtodoctors.com

Happy Match Week! In this replay episode, Lara speaks with an anonymous couple who share their experience when they did not match to a residency program. They participated in the scramble, applied for research positions, and finally ended up where they needed to be as they embraced the journey.

*The couple will be known as Jack and Lisa in this episode. Names are changed for privacy.

“I applied to all the surgical subspecialties. I applied to prelim surgery spots. I applied to prelim medicine spots. I applied to anesthesia spots. I applied to EM spots. All of them. Literally every single open spot. Like I said, I think it was over 100 spots that I applied to.  So, anyways, it was a really stressful time. Very hard time.” -Anonymous 

Conversations around sex and intimacy can be awkward and difficult. But it can lead to a deeper connection. In this episode, Lara shares why talking about sex in your marriage is important, questions to think about, and how to bring up the conversation with your significant other.

Inside the Married to Doctors Membership they will be doing a deep dive into sex and intimacy. Interested in joining in and learning from this conversation? Come join us inside the membership!

"You matter. Your thoughts and feelings matter. Your opinion on your sex life matters. And it's ok to have that conversation with your spouse." -Lara McElderry

In this episode, Lara chats with Ed Coambs, a Couples Therapist specializing in Financial Therapy, on how attachment styles, childhood trauma, and more affects our medical marriage, specifically from a financial standpoint. 

"One of the things we talked about is that we have different brains with different expectations. And as adults you would think we would think about this on a regular basis. But most couples don't really think about this as completely as they can. They don't always recognize just how different each person is in the couple. That you are inevitably going to have differences. And it's not that you have differences is the problem. It's how you work through them that matters." - Ed Coambs

Why should you work toward believing new things? Well, it's more than making resolutions. It is about becoming your best self. In this episode, Lara shares various phrases to be mindful of when working on believing new things. 

We all have an idea of who we have been, who we currently are, and who we want to be. Tune in to this podcast episode to learn more about believing new things, how to be ok with where you are, and how to get to where you want to go. It all starts with a belief. 

"I just want you to know that right now where you are, is ok. Because the more you can feel ok with where you start, the less judgement you're going to take in to making changes about yourself." -Lara McElderry