Podcast for Burnt Out Healthcare Professionals | Shift Happens

In this episode of Shift Happens, I'm sharing a big life update — yes, I quit my full-time hospital job — but I'm talking about it for one reason: to show you what's possible when you stop telling yourself you "don't have time."

Because for months, I said the same thing you probably say every day: I'm exhausted. I don't have the hours. My schedule is the problem. But when I finally got honest, I realized I was the problem — and that small shifts create way more freedom than we think.

In this episode, I break down: ✨ How to find more time for your health even if you work 12s ✨ Why you feel stuck (and how to get out of your own way) ✨ How to use the pockets of time you already have without adding stress ✨ The mindset shift that made everything easier — and can do the same for you ✨ A real client example that proves you don't need a perfect schedule to see results

My goal isn't to convince you to quit your job — it's to show you that you're not as trapped as you feel. You have more control, more flexibility, and more opportunity than you think… and this episode will help you finally see it.

If you're ready to stop surviving your life and start shaping it, this episode is for you.

📝 Find your burnout type here and get an exclusive invite only for email peeps!

👯‍♀️Come say hey on IG!

🏥 Join Healthy in Healthcare

Happy Black Friday, friends — and welcome to the most chaotic, unedited, brutally honest episode yet.

I'm giving you a big life update, spilling some tea, and finally answering all the questions you constantly DM me about travel healthcare.

If you've ever wondered: ✨ How to become a healthcare traveler ✨ Whether it's worth the money ✨ How contracts, recruiters, and pay actually work ✨ What red flags to look out for ✨ Or why the hell I decided to go back to traveling…

…this episode is your new best friend.

Before we get into the travel talk, I'm giving you the real story of why I stepped away from my full-time hospital job, what finally pushed me over the edge, and why taking a risk on myself (again) felt like the only right move.

We're talking burnout, messy middles, scary decisions, pay cuts, gut feelings, and the weird full-circle moment that brought a travel offer straight into my inbox the same week I submitted my PRN notice.

If you've been sitting on the decision to travel, feeling stuck, or just curious how the whole thing works… buckle up.

And YES — because it's Black Friday, I'm also giving early access (and a free month + bonuses) to Healthy in Healthcare for my podcast listeners only. The link is below because I love you. 😘

🩺 Join Healthy in Healthcare (Black Friday deal ends Dec 1): Get a month free, a 1:1 coaching call, + extended payment plan! 🎉

👯‍♀️ Follow my travel journey on Instagram

⏰ Connect on TikTok!

We're getting real about healthcare burnout, mental health, and what it actually takes to pull yourself out of the hole you didn't even realize you were sinking into. I'm joined by PA-C Leigha Barbieri—healthcare worker, world traveler, burnout coach, and someone who literally had to leave medicine to save her sanity.

This episode is your permission slip to stop pretending you're "fine."

Leigha and I talk about:

🔥 What burnout really feels like for healthcare workers (hint: it's not just being tired) 🔥 The slow, sneaky signs of emotional exhaustion most providers ignore 🔥 Why misdiagnosis is so common—especially in women—and how to advocate for yourself 🔥 How boundaries (yes, those) can literally save your career 🔥 What a sabbatical for healthcare workers looks like and how to do it without blowing up your life 🔥 The truth about taking FMLA for mental health (and why more clinicians need to) 🔥 How she left her PA job, traveled to 11 countries, and finally started healing from years of chronic burnout 🔥 The exact habits healthcare workers need to feel human again—inside and outside the hospital

If you've ever come home from a shift and sat in your car thinking, "I can't keep doing this," this episode will hit hard… in the best way. Whether you're a nurse, PA, RT, tech, NP, or any woman working in scrubs, this conversation will make you feel seen and remind you that you deserve more than survival mode.

Not sure what type of burnout you're in? ✨ Take My Burnout Quiz

💪🏼 Apply for 1:1 coaching with Mary

👯‍♀️Come say hey on IG!

🤝 Meet Leigha on IG!

✈️ Off Duty on Purpose

🎙️ So You Want to Work in Healthcare?

Let's be real — you don't need more time, you just need to know where the hell your time is going. ⏰

In this episode of Shift Happens, I'm giving you a raw, practical breakdown of how to actually find time for your health (even when you're buried under patient orders, 12-hour shifts, and laundry piles). Because the truth is — you do have 24 hours a day. The problem isn't time… it's how you're spending it.

I'm walking you through the same 3-step framework I use with my clients (and my own chaotic schedule) to finally make time for workouts, meal prep, and rest without sacrificing your sanity. If you're ready to stop saying "I don't have time" and start saying "I've got this," this one's for you.

✨ In This Episode, I'll Chat:

• The real reason you keep saying you don't have time (and how to fix it)

• My 3-step Audit → Change → Maintain method for mastering your schedule

• How to get back hours of your day without quitting your job

• Simple hacks that save you energy (and brain space) before and after your shifts

• Why "something is better than nothing" will change how you look at progress forever

📆 Join the Shift Schedule Solution - the 5 day challenge where I'm showing you exactly how to make healthy habits fit for your schedule (yes, even if you don't get a lunch break 😉)

📝 Find your burnout type using my 2 minute quiz!

👯‍♀️ Come say hey on IG!

You don't really want weight loss.. you want your life back. 💥

In this heart-to-heart episode, I'm getting brutally honest about what you're really chasing when you say you want to lose weight. It's not about the number on the scale.. it's about waking up with energy, hiking without gasping for air, rebuilding your confidence (and maybe your marriage), and finally living your damn life again.

After coming back from hiking through Utah's national parks, I had a massive realization: we don't crave weight loss, we crave the freedom that comes with feeling strong, healthy, and alive in our bodies.

If you've ever caught yourself saying "I'll start after the holidays," or if you're tired of missing out on the life you actually want to live, this episode is your wake-up call.

✨ Get ready for:

• The real reason most women in healthcare struggle to stay consistent

• Why weight loss goals fail (and what your brain is actually trying to tell you)

• My husband's health journey and the mindset shift that changed everything

• How to start feeling better now, not in January

💬 Resources

• 🔥 Take the free Burnout Quiz to find out what type of burnout is keeping you stuck.

• 💌 DM me your biggest "why" on Instagram

• 🌄 Follow our hiking adventures and more real-life health tips @MaryKathrynFitness

• 📆 Join the waitlist for the Healthy in Healthcare
• 👯‍♀️Sick of waiting? Apply for 1:1 coaching today!

Let's be real.. burnout isn't just mental. It's physical, and your body's been trying to tell you something for a while now.

In this episode, I'm breaking down the three biggest physical symptoms I experienced when I was deep in burnout. From rapid weight gain and back pain to that stubborn, stress-triggered acne that made me want to scream. We'll talk about how your body's basically waving a big red flag saying, "Hey, I can't keep doing this," and what happens when you finally start listening.

You'll hear:

• Why your body holds on to weight even when you're "doing everything right"

• How burnout physically manifests as pain, inflammation, and fatigue

• Why your skin freaks out when your stress does

• And how setting simple boundaries (yes, even between patients) can start reversing it all

If your body feels like it's revolting against you.. it's not. It's begging for rest, boundaries, and balance.

✨ Take my free Burnout Quiz here to find your burnout type — because once you know what's draining you, you can finally fix the right problem.

👯‍♀️ Come say hey on IG!

So grab your coffee, clock out mentally for a few minutes, and let's talk about what burnout is really doing to your body.

What if we've been labeling it wrong this whole time? In this episode of Shift Happens, I sit down with Dr. Lori Laws, nurse scholar, author of Nursing Our Healer's Heart, and founder of The Halen Academy, to talk about why healthcare burnout isn't actually burnout — it's nurse-specific (and occupational) trauma.

This conversation hit me hard (and honestly gave me chills more than once). Dr. Lori breaks down why bubble baths and yoga aren't fixing the problem, the science behind how trauma impacts our nervous system, and how we can start truly healing instead of just surviving shift to shift.

We dive into:

• Why "burnout" is the wrong diagnosis — and how trauma-informed care changes everything

• How trauma shows up in healthcare workers (even if you think you're "fine")

• What happens to your vagus nerve and mitochondria under chronic stress

• Why your nervous system literally can't heal when it doesn't feel safe

• The Microdoses Matter practice you can do in 30 seconds between patients to start regulating your nervous system

• How Dr. Lori's Innate Care Plan Framework helps healthcare workers map out their symptoms and heal from the inside out

• Why community and co-regulation are essential (and why "self-care" culture has failed healthcare workers)

This episode is deep, powerful, and packed with real solutions — not just surface-level fluff.

💬 Connect ⬇️

🩺 Dr. Lori Laws' Website 📘 Book: Nursing Our Healer's Heart 🧠 Free Trauma Symptom Assessment 🌿 The Haelen Academy: — Dr. Lorre's nonprofit supporting healers through trauma recovery

Follow Dr. Lorre Laws on: 🔗 LinkedIn 👯‍♀️ Instagram

Follow Mary Hodson on: 💪 Instagram: @MaryKathrynFitness 🧩 Free Burnout Quiz: Find your burnout type (Over-Giver, Silent Struggler, Invisible Achiever, or Checked-Out Queen) and start fixing the real problem

You're tired, starving, and the last thing you want to do after your shift is spend three hours cooking. Been there, done that. In this quick, no-BS episode of Shift Happens, I'm walking you through my exact step-by-step process to get a full week of meals prepped in under an hour — without living out of soggy Tupperware or eating dry chicken and plain rice.

We'll talk about:

• How to plan your week's meals in 10 minutes or less

• My go-to "one cooks, one bakes, one chills" method to multitask without chaos

• The meal prep mindset shift that actually saves your sanity

• Why it's not about eating perfectly — it's about staying prepared when life (or your shift) hits the fan

If you're sick of overcomplicating meal prep and want to stop relying on vending-machine dinners, this one's for you.

👉 Take my free Burnout Quiz to find out which burnout type is running your life — and how to finally fix it.

👯‍♀️ Come say hey on IG!

Listen in, grab your coffee, and let's make meal prep simple again.

In this episode of Shift Happens, I'm getting real about something I've wrestled with for months.

😮‍💨Admitting that I'm not happy where I am. After years of traveling as a rad tech, I thought settling into a permanent job would finally give me peace. But instead, I've found myself struggling with guilt, frustration, and that gut-punch feeling of burnout all over again.

I'm sharing what happened during my recent evaluation. The moment I finally spoke up, the fear of retaliation that followed, and what it's taught me about the difference between being grateful and being fulfilled. This is as honest as it gets.

If you've ever felt stuck, unappreciated, or scared to make a change because you don't want to rock the boat, this one's for you. Staying stuck is still a choice and while change might suck, so does staying miserable.

👉 Take my Burnout Quiz to find your burnout type and how to start climbing out. 👉 Then come say hey (or vent.. I get it) over on Instagram @marykatherynfitness.

🥰 PS: Putting together my biggest giveaway yet as a huge thank you to YOU for helping the podcast get to over 1K downloads in under 3 months! 🎟️ To enter, simply rate/review the podcast then share the show to your story and don't forget to tag me! Winner will be selected in November!

Okay, buckle up because this one's a ride. I'm taking you through my entire TravCon experience!

The missed flights, the pink blazer I almost didn't wear, the nerves, the "holy shit, I did that" moment, and everything in between. This isn't a polished recap; it's me using this mic as my voice journal so I never forget what it felt like to go from doubting myself in an airport to standing on stage in Vegas talking about burnout to a room full of people who just got it.

If you've ever felt stuck in the hospital grind, wondering if you're crazy for wanting more, I think you'll hear pieces of yourself in this.

👉 Curious what kind of burnout has been chewing at you? Take my Burnout Quiz. It'll hit close to home, but also have you just as confident on how to break free as these people in my room did!

👉 And if something I said made you feel seen, come say hey on IG @marykathrynfitness. My DMs are always open for venting, messy bun selfies, or just talking real life.