Tonya L Caylor, MD, FAAFP is a family physician and an academic physician coach in Anchorage, Alaska with 23 years of clinical and academic practice. She owns and runs Joy in Family Medicine Coaching Services ® which partners with family medicine residency programs to help residents, faculty, and recent graduates enjoy all of life and thrive in their chosen careers.

In this episode she describes the 3 stages of her RESET: burnout, recovery, and coach training and practice. She outlines the fullness of her recovery phase, details what in the practice she joined made it work, and reveals what helped her re-learn to enjoy the practice of medicine. She talks about her experience with coaching family medicine residents and faculty and the lightbulb moments she sees. Lastly, we dive into what it takes to change the culture of medicine.

Pearls of Wellness Wisdom:

1. Point your brain in the direction you want to go.

2. Figure out what self-care looks like for you and don't let yourself down.

3. Take time to reflect.

More ways to find Dr Caylor:

www.joyinfamilymedicine.com

[email protected]

www.joyinfamilymedicine.com/blog

https://www.facebook.com/joyfmcoaching/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonya-caylor-md-faafp-b74a04158/

https://youtube.com/@academicmedicinecoach

Dr. Laurie Boge is a wife, runner, feminist, dog mom, combat veteran and dessert lover who in her spare time works part-time as an Emergency Medicine physician and recently founded GreenCloud Apparel, an elevated scrub company on a mission to make women in medicine feel and look as amazing as the work they are doing.

In this episode (#98!) Dr Boge talks about her transitions from a military medical career where she served in wartime in Iraq to community and academic medicine. She shares her experience as a combat physician and how she honors veterans now.

She has a passion for mentoring and sponsoring women physicians, re-inventing her career despite a system that is not always supportive, and pursuing her entrepreneurial venture.

GreenCloud Apparel grew out of a "crazy idea" to improve what is already out there and honor and support women physicians along the way. Listen in to hear what is next!

Pearls of Wellness Wisdom that work for her:

Stay Healthy- get sleep and exercise.

Surround Yourself with People who get you and your vision and believe in it!

Boost your Confidence by putting on scrubs you love! Shift the attitude for the day.

and...

Dr. Miriam Zulberglait Lisigurski joins us today to discuss her new book, "The 3G Cycle of Life: The Secrets of Achieving Joy, Meaning and Well-Being", but also to share her story of finding healing for herself, being vulnerable, and in working through burnout how she created something to help others-- in medicine and outside of medicine to grow through challenges and avoid burnout.

Listen in to hear her story of how writing about her challenges and frustration helped to create a path forward on her journey.  Her book also highlights stories from 30 individuals along with her own personal story and shows how she recovered hope with this collaboration.  She is not healed but is much better and describes life as being linear, with a series of interconnected cycles.  Each "3G Cycle" is comprised of Goals, Grit & Growth.  She shares pearls in this episode that can be applied personally and professionally.  

In this Episode, she discusses:

-Vulnerability

-Your life being a continuous journey we are on with others; you are not travelling alone!

-Keys to success in these cycles include setting realistic goals, using internal energy to bolster the cycle you are in in your life and not being afraid to accept help from others when you need some of their energy to continue to propel you forward.  Recognize growth even when goals aren't always met.

-Achieving a better version of yourself occurs every time you try, even if your goal wasn't necessarily met.

- Finding who you really are and aligning your values.  This will help you set those goals.

Dr. Zulberglait's book can be found on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/3G-Cycle-Life-Achieving-Well-Being-ebook/dp/B0BSJ48MP

Dr. Debbie Bradley is a board-certified medical oncologist, certified executive coach, avid mountain biker and adrenaline junkie. She has worked in the academic setting, private practice, and somewhere in between. Most recently she has pivoted to leave clinical medicine and step into industry/pharma. 

In this episode, Debbie talks about what drove her to make the career resets along the way.  We discuss how she had to ultimately follow her heart even if it meant disappointing others. What was the one thing after a year of trying to decide that prompted her to ultimately leave clinical medicine? When we recorded this, she was almost 3 months into a return to her roots in research and she shares several insights about the way this helped her get out of a chronic "fight or flight" life.  Now she is more aware of what lead her to overwhelm and what will keep from returning there over and over again. 

Pearls of Wellness Wisdom:

1. Remember your why/your goals before saying yes to something.

2. Have a "Board of Directors" to support you and help you be accountable.

3. You can have white space- you don't always have to have a well-defined plan. 

You can reach out to Debbie if you would like to know more at www.debbiebradleymd.com

Meet Momin Taherkheli - An upbeat, full of life and brilliant student whose life was turned upside down by transverse myelitis. Momin was born in Pakistan and came to Kansas City with his parents when in elementary school and since then, this community has been his home. A straight A student, an athlete and a wonderful brother and son, he vividly remembers the day that completely changed his life. He went from playing basketball to not being able to move his limbs in the span of a few hours. He always wanted to be a physician because his father was one and growing up he thought physicians were well respected, took care of people and were humanitarians and that was embedded in his psyche. But having to experience every facet of healthcare while being on the p[patient side of things really solidified his resolve. Momin had thought doctors knew EVERYTHING and realized that it was not the case but, it was OK not to know everything and yet be passionate about one's career.

Momin strongly credits his positive attitude and composure for his recovery and being able to fulfill his dream. The times when he was in the hospital but still working on his test scores, medical school applications etc., happened because he knew where he wanted to be. He believes that if you can envision where you need to be, your body and mind leads you to that. They almost conspire to make it happen. He credits his tenacity to the people around him, his family, friends and community. He states his strength that he exhibited was a reflection of their love and support.

Momin blew me away in this interview with how much good he sees in people and how much gratitude he felt even when the odds were all against him. His spirituality and faith have been instrumental in having him succeed in his journey.

MOMIN'S PERALS OF WISDOM:

KNOW your PURPOSE before you enter medical school. Your "why" is important all throughout your journey.

To be happy in life, look at those who are less fortunate than you, to better yourself and to improve, look at those who are better than you. This leads you to a state of gratitude and hunger at the same time.

One can find happiness in the smallest things in life. A touch, a smell and every breath are all joy.

Momin says NEVER to be afraid of asking for help. 

Knowing your limitations is an IMPORTANT skill 

There is no end to gratitude.

Find mentors early on and be honest with them!

Life is a Gift, cherish it.

Meet Tara, a student at one of the highly competitive, full tuition provided, medical schools. She shares her experience of navigating the realities of "all expenses covered medical education." 

Tara might have chosen differently had she understood what being a part of a very small group and an even smaller minority student group, meant. Tara shares her struggles with home sickness, acclimatizing to a culture that was vastly different than what she grew up with and trying to find community and build trust while feeling scrutinized through a biased lens. She uses powerful language like " Burnout of the soul" which really got me thinking deeper and left me wanting to do a lot more to support my students.

She goes on to tell us how medical school is hard enough and trying to navigate and figure out who really cares about you and is in your corner can be really hard on students. the institutions should be in our corner and support us whether we are the top 1 percent or not. That is really their responsibility and duty. She talks about her frustration with DEI measures in medicine being "surface level” and that intentionality and true change can only occur when people can have real conversations without fear of reprimand and when those in power are held accountable for their actions. 

Tara believes that Introspection is important for well being. Enjoy the good and see what you need to do about the bad. Make those changes intentionally and early on so you are not wasting precious time and resources. Medical education of the future needs to extend the same benefit of doubt as is given to the faculty/ higher ups. Right now, the hierarchal system is causing the most damage imaginable.

TARA'S PEARLS of WISDOM for STUDENTS:

Chasing perfection sets you up to fail. 

Not every classmate can create a safe space for you.

Its OK to look through your worst case scenario and If you are OK with it, you should be at peace. 

Find happiness outside of accolades and remember what all there is to love and be grateful for outside of medicine

Remember that you are a good person and don’t deserve bad things to happen to you

FOR FACULTY AND ADMINISTRATION:

Nurture mistakes so students can learn from them. 

Be honest with your students, it helps build trust.

Let students have realistic expectations, but support them regardless.

Meet Sahana Shiggaon, a medical student graduating from the University of Missouri Kansas City- School of Medicine's 6 YR combined BA/MD program. She talks about the unique challenges of being in an accelerated program and how she found her "groove". Sahana talks about suffering from imposter syndrome and overcoming it. She talks about feeling alone and isolated as one of the few students who was out fo state and learning to start from scratch as far as building her social circle. Medical schools need to provide opportunities to socialize and speak to other students so one can open up, not feel isolated and learn to work together in a collaborative environment. She believes that being at a school where her concerns were addressed and "listened to" really helped in feeling welcome and helped her succeed. 

Her pearls for us:

Being vulnerable is normal

Don’t sweat the small stuff

Celebrate yourself and your accomplishments even if they feel small. Validate yourself!

Build your confidence and believe in yourselves. We are all capable since we have landed in these places.

Invest in yourself and try to find other things that give you joy. Take up a hobby early on.

Meet Daniya Mozaffar, a highly energetic, motivated medical student who never gave up on her dreams. After going through two cycles of a medical school match, she decided to fulfill her goals by attending a Caribbean medical school. She shares her journey with her and how she has grown over these years and the person she is becoming. She has learnt what it takes to succeed as a medical student and to never forget that yes, we might be physicians, but we are human and people first. 

Some pearls of wisdom from Daniya:

REMEMBER YOUR WHY

Choose yourself above all, that will always help you stay true to yourself and your vision

Surround yourself with people who will support you and left you up, build your community

Define what that support looks like for you and build it intentionally

Being proactive about your mental wellbeing is essential. Invest your time and energy in a good therapist.

 Empower yourself with the knowledge of what all is available to you on your campuses and beyond.

Learn to be as efficient, work smarter not necessarily harder.

Learn to develop a growth mindset and thinking through a “worst case scenario” might be a great exercise. Failure is good.

Listen in for a quick recap of 2022 and a preview of what's starting soon in 2023.

January 11, 2023 we will start a series:  "Setting the Stage ... Medical Student Memoirs"

You can reach us at 

Email: [email protected]

https://www.facebook.com/Resetmdpodcast

Instagram: @resetmdpodcast

Twitter: @ResetMDPodcast

Nanette Nuessle, MD, or Dr. Nan as she is affectionately known to patients and colleagues, has led an exciting life as a frontline Pediatrician providing excellent care to patients for over 30 years. She has spent the last half of her career giving back to rural areas that are short staffed. More recently, as a Pediatric Hospitalist she has concentrated on her strengths: stabilization of critically ill infants and children, acute airway management, and attendance at high-risk deliveries.

Dr. Nan also runs a coaching company, Beat Down Burnout, which has a unique process of communication skills and relationship building, allowing healthcare organizations to improve staff retention, increase patient safety, and reduce risk management. This helps both the organization, and their staff find opportunities and learn new ways to build trust and fight to prevent burnout.

In this episode, we explore her experience with bullying as a student and where she sees it happening today, how she turned around a toxic situation by learning the values of her colleague and used that information to change the conversation, and her recommendations for those interested in doing locums medical work.  We discuss what has worked for her to help with both the intuitional causes and the personal causes of burnout. 

Take home points/Pearls:

1. Know other people's values. 

2. Anyone can be a leader- lead from where you are.

3. You can’t pour from an empty pot.

Dr Nan invites you to learn your own code: My.Bankcode.com/beat-burnout