Stethoscopes and Strollers

Hey Doc —

I finally had to sit down and record this episode because I keep talking about NotebookLM to everybody. My Facebook friends. My sisters. Random physician moms who probably just asked me one innocent question and suddenly got a 20-minute TED Talk about AI 😂

But seriously? This tool is one of the most useful things I’ve added to my life recently.

And if your brain already feels overloaded by medicine, motherhood, emails, meetings, MOC articles, school forms, endless tabs open on your laptop, and the 47 mental sticky notes floating around your head at all times… this episode is for you.

Most people know about ChatGPT or Claude. But NotebookLM works differently.

Instead of pulling random information from the internet and confidently making stuff up like a sleep-deprived intern on hour 26 of call, NotebookLM only works from the sources you upload yourself.

PDFs. Research articles. Website links. YouTube videos. Audio files. Google Docs.

That means:

• Less hallucinating • More accuracy • Actual citations you can click and verify • And a MUCH better experience for physician brains

In this episode, I’m sharing:

• Why I think physicians need to learn AI instead of avoiding it
• How I use NotebookLM for MOC studying and research
• The surprising ways I use it in my business and personal life
• Why this tool feels like having a research assistant who actually cites her sources
• How AI can create more time, ease, and mental space for physician moms

And before somebody messages me:

No, I am not using AI to cheat on my MOCs 😂

I’m using it the same way most of us already use Ctrl + F on giant articles because ain’t nobody trying to reread a 42-page paper after putting kids to bed at 10 PM.

This episode is really about working smarter.

Because physician moms do not need more guilt about efficiency. We need tools that help us protect our energy and our time.

🎧 Listen now if you’re AI-curious, overwhelmed, skeptical, or just tired of wasting time searching through massive documents like you’re auditioning for a detective show nobody asked for.

What did you think of the episode, doc? Let me know!

Subscribe to ✨Stethoscopes and Strollers✨ on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode.

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Connect with me: Website | Instagram | Facebook 

Join my Email list to get tips on navigating motherhood in the medical field.

If you are going through a transition -- becoming a parent, leaving a job, figuring out how manage it all, schedule a strategy coaching session and get clarity and strategic next steps for the life and career you want.

Strategy Coaching Session with Dr. Toya

I have to tell you what just happened in my house. My son ran inside to find me, eyes wide, proud as anything, and announced: "Mommy, I was just being resourceful." His toy car had rolled under the fridge. He tried the broom. He tried the mop. The fly swatter is what finally worked and he found another car under there he thought he had lost.

In this episode, I'm using that moment to walk you through what affirmations actually do. Not the fluffy version. The clinical one.

I'll tell you how my kids ended up saying "I am resourceful" every night, what changed when I started repeating the affirmations back during the day, and what that has to do with you, doc — because this isn't a parenting episode. This is about the instructions you've been giving your own subconscious without realizing it, and what shifts when you decide on purpose.

What you'll walk away with:

• Why your brain takes your I-am statements as instructions, even when you don't believe them yet
• The reason repetition has to come before the meaning lands
• How to reinforce an affirmation in real life so it stops being words and becomes behavior
• The one small homework assignment for this week — pick one, say it out loud, say it in the mirror if you want to get fancy

Homework: One I-am statement. Out loud. Every day. That's it.

Listen if: you've ever rolled your eyes at affirmations, you've tried them and quit because they felt like lying, or you want to know what's actually happening in your brain when you repeat the same sentence on purpose.

What did you think of the episode, doc? Let me know!

Subscribe to ✨Stethoscopes and Strollers✨ on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode.

Apple Podcast | Spotify | YouTube

Connect with me: Website | Instagram | Facebook 

Join my Email list to get tips on navigating motherhood in the medical field.

If you are going through a transition -- becoming a parent, leaving a job, figuring out how manage it all, schedule a strategy coaching session and get clarity and strategic next steps for the life and career you want.

Strategy Coaching Session with Dr. Toya

Au pair travel comes up in the groups every single week, and it's usually a horror story. The awkward silences, the au pair completely checked out, the vacation that didn't feel like a vacation.

I did this episode because I think a lot of that drama is avoidable, and I want to share how we do it.

But before you book that extra ticket, you need to answer a few questions honestly.

• Is this a trip or a vacation?
• Do you actually want childcare, or do you just feel like you should bring them?
• And do you know this person well enough to travel with them at all?

I'm breaking down exactly how my family handles travel with an au pair: From setting work expectations before you leave, to giving dedicated time off so your au pair can go explore, to the seating arrangement on the plane that changed everything. (Yes, I'm going to tell you to go sit somewhere else. Trust me on this one.)

This one is practical and direct, and it's full of the kind of clarity that makes the difference between a vacation and a very expensive, very stressful trip.

In this episode:

• Vacation vs. trip; and why that distinction matters before anything else
• When to bring your au pair and when to leave them home (both are valid)
• How to communicate work hours, flexible schedules, and travel days upfront
• Why dedicated time off during a work trip benefits everyone
• The plane seating arrangement I swear by

You worked hard for this vacation. Let's make sure you actually enjoy it.

What did you think of the episode, doc? Let me know!

Subscribe to ✨Stethoscopes and Strollers✨ on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode.

Apple Podcast | Spotify | YouTube

Connect with me: Website | Instagram | Facebook 

Join my Email list to get tips on navigating motherhood in the medical field.

If you are going through a transition -- becoming a parent, leaving a job, figuring out how manage it all, schedule a strategy coaching session and get clarity and strategic next steps for the life and career you want.

Strategy Coaching Session with Dr. Toya

Hey Doc,

I just got back from ACOG and I’m still on a high!

I went mainly to hear Michelle Obama speak and she did not disappoint. But what surprised me most was how deeply aligned her message was with everything I talk about here on Stethoscopes and Strollers.

This wasn’t some polished keynote speech full of inspirational fluff. It felt like sitting in on a private conversation between two accomplished Black women talking honestly about identity, confidence, womanhood, and what it takes to stay grounded in a world that constantly tries to tell women — especially Black women — who we should be.

And the whole time I kept thinking:

“Oh. This is exactly what I’ve been trying to help physician moms understand.”

We talked about:

• Why confidence actually comes from knowing yourself deeply
• How long it can take to truly trust yourself
• The danger of shrinking your accomplishments to make other people comfortable
• Why some people not connecting with you is not automatically a “you” problem
• How motherhood and life transitions force you to confront who you really are
• The importance of celebrating yourself unapologetically
• Learning to trust your knowing instead of overriding it with practicality or people-pleasing

Also… I found out Michelle Obama is 62 and now I need somebody to explain the sorcery immediately.

Hearing someone at her level speak so openly about groundedness, self-trust, and identity felt incredibly validating. Especially as physician moms navigating careers, motherhood, marriage, leadership, ambition, and all the invisible expectations sitting on top of us every single day.

If you’ve been questioning yourself…

If you’ve been minimizing yourself…

If you’ve been waiting for permission to trust your instincts…

This conversation is for you.

Press play, Doc.

What did you think of the episode, doc? Let me know!

Subscribe to ✨Stethoscopes and Strollers✨ on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode.

Apple Podcast | Spotify | YouTube

Connect with me: Website | Instagram | Facebook 

Join my Email list to get tips on navigating motherhood in the medical field.

If you are going through a transition -- becoming a parent, leaving a job, figuring out how manage it all, schedule a strategy coaching session and get clarity and strategic next steps for the life and career you want.

Strategy Coaching Session with Dr. Toya

Hey Doc,

I’m on my way to DC!

My first home in this country. Howard. All of it.

I’m going to ACOG’s ACSM, our national meeting, which is funny, because I don’t practice anymore.

But this work I do with physician moms is rooted in the same transitions we see every day in medicine.

Last year I went for physician wellbeing.

This year, Michelle Obama is there, so… clearly I’m going.

Also, it’s my son’s birthday weekend so I’m bringing the kids, there’s a party, and yes—there will be a spa day.

This episode is a little life update, a little reflection, and a reminder:

You don’t have to choose one version of yourself.

Press play.

What did you think of the episode, doc? Let me know!

Subscribe to ✨Stethoscopes and Strollers✨ on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode.

Apple Podcast | Spotify | YouTube

Connect with me: Website | Instagram | Facebook 

Join my Email list to get tips on navigating motherhood in the medical field.

If you are going through a transition -- becoming a parent, leaving a job, figuring out how manage it all, schedule a strategy coaching session and get clarity and strategic next steps for the life and career you want.

Strategy Coaching Session with Dr. Toya

Hey Doc,

If you’ve ever said, “I just need more help,” and then somehow ended up more overwhelmed… this episode is for you.

Because the problem usually isn’t that you don’t have help.

It’s that you’re delegating the wrong things… in the wrong order… without a system.

So now you’ve got someone managing tasks that probably shouldn’t exist in the first place, while the things that would actually make your life easier are still sitting on your plate.

I see this all the time with woman physicians.

You finally decide to get support—maybe it’s an assistant, childcare, or help at home—and instead of relief, you feel frustrated.

Now you’re paying someone… and still tired.

In this episode, I walk you through how to actually delegate your life in a way that gives you your time, energy, and brain space back.

Not just shifting tasks around.

Not just “getting help.”

But building a system that works for you.

We’re starting with what most people skip, and why that’s exactly why delegation fails.

Inside this episode:

• Why “just hire help” is incomplete advice (and often a waste of money)
• The first step you must take before delegating anything
• How to identify tasks that should be deleted vs. delegated
• What to automate first (especially in the era of AI)
• How to stop paying people to do things no one needed to do in the first place

This is the work that makes everything else easier.

Less mental load.

Less resentment.

Less “why am I still doing all of this?”

More clarity.

More efficiency.

More space to actually live your life.

Because you didn’t work this hard to spend your evenings organizing email folders no one will ever open again.

🎧 Listen to the full episode and start delegating like someone who actually values her time.

What did you think of the episode, doc? Let me know!

Subscribe to ✨Stethoscopes and Strollers✨ on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode.

Apple Podcast | Spotify | YouTube

Connect with me: Website | Instagram | Facebook 

Join my Email list to get tips on navigating motherhood in the medical field.

If you are going through a transition -- becoming a parent, leaving a job, figuring out how manage it all, schedule a strategy coaching session and get clarity and strategic next steps for the life and career you want.

Strategy Coaching Session with Dr. Toya

Hey Doc,

Let’s talk about something that sounds simple… but clearly is not.

You are allowed to change your mind.

I say that, and I already know some of you are side-eyeing me like, “Okay… but it’s not that easy.”

I know. I know it’s not.

Because in medicine, we don’t pivot. We commit. We decide and then we stick with it.

Even when life changes.

Even when we change.

Especially after motherhood.

I see this all the time.

Dr. So-and-so used to want the big cases, the leadership roles, the titles, the prestige.

Now? She wants to go to work, do her job well, and be home by 3 to sit on the floor with her babies.

And instead of feeling clear about that… she feels guilty.

Like she’s betraying the version of herself who worked so hard to get here.

Like she’s letting someone down: her mentors, her colleagues… or honestly, just herself.

So in this episode, we’re getting into that tension.

Not in a fluffy “just follow your heart” kind of way.

But in a real, grounded way that actually applies to your life right now.

We talk about:

• Why it feels so hard to change your mind as a physician mom
• The guilt that shows up when your priorities shift
• The difference between “becoming a different person” vs actually evolving
• Why your old goals don’t have to define your current decisions
• And how to give yourself permission to want something different without spiraling about it

Because let me be very clear about something:

Wanting a different life now does not erase who you were.

It means you’ve lived enough to know what actually matters to you.

That’s not failure.

That’s growth.

And if you’re sitting there trying to force yourself to want the same things you wanted at 28…

Yeah. We’re not doing that anymore.

If this hits a little too close to home (which it probably does),

go ahead and press play.

🎧 Listen to the full episode.

What did you think of the episode, doc? Let me know!

Subscribe to ✨Stethoscopes and Strollers✨ on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode.

Apple Podcast | Spotify | YouTube

Connect with me: Website | Instagram | Facebook 

Join my Email list to get tips on navigating motherhood in the medical field.

If you are going through a transition -- becoming a parent, leaving a job, figuring out how manage it all, schedule a strategy coaching session and get clarity and strategic next steps for the life and career you want.

Strategy Coaching Session with Dr. Toya

Hey Doc

I had a moment recently that stopped me in my tracks.

My kids were heading out for a full day—something fun, something special—and I wasn’t there. And instead of guilt?

I felt peace. Gratitude. Relief.

Not because I don’t want to be with them. But because I know they are well cared for, loved, and having a full, joyful experience, even when I’m not the one making it happen.

In this episode, I’m talking about what it looks like to build a life that actually works with support.

We get into:

• Why the right childcare supports you, instead of replacing you
• What it can look like when your kids are cared for and you can focus on your work
• The shift from “this won’t work for me” to “how could this work?”
• Why so many physician moms hesitate to invest in help, and what that hesitation is costing

If you’ve been telling yourself that getting help isn’t an option, I want you to at least pause and question that.

There may be more possibilities than you’ve allowed yourself to consider.

🎧 Press play on Stethoscopes and Strollers.

And if you know a doc who is stretched way too thin right now, send this to her.

What did you think of the episode, doc? Let me know!

Subscribe to ✨Stethoscopes and Strollers✨ on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode.

Apple Podcast | Spotify | YouTube

Connect with me: Website | Instagram | Facebook 

Join my Email list to get tips on navigating motherhood in the medical field.

If you are going through a transition -- becoming a parent, leaving a job, figuring out how manage it all, schedule a strategy coaching session and get clarity and strategic next steps for the life and career you want.

Strategy Coaching Session with Dr. Toya

Hey Doc —

Doctor’s Day can feel… underwhelming.

A small gesture. A generic message. Maybe a reminder that you’re appreciated, without anything actually changing.

And for a lot of physicians, that disconnect doesn’t go unnoticed.

In this episode, I’m sharing a different kind of Doctor’s Day message. Not about what you received, but about how you see yourself inside the system you work in.

We get into:

• Why external appreciation often falls short (and what actually matters more)
• How physicians underestimate their own leverage
• What it looks like to advocate for yourself at a higher level
• The shift from waiting to be valued → to operating like you already are

This is a short episode, but it’s an important one.

Because how you think about your value shows up in your decisions, your negotiations, and what you tolerate.

🎧 Press play on Stethoscopes and Strollers.

And take this as your reminder to move differently this week.

What did you think of the episode, doc? Let me know!

Subscribe to ✨Stethoscopes and Strollers✨ on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode.

Apple Podcast | Spotify | YouTube

Connect with me: Website | Instagram | Facebook 

Join my Email list to get tips on navigating motherhood in the medical field.

If you are going through a transition -- becoming a parent, leaving a job, figuring out how manage it all, schedule a strategy coaching session and get clarity and strategic next steps for the life and career you want.

Strategy Coaching Session with Dr. Toya

Hey Doc —

This is Part 2 of my conversation with Dr. Traci De Splinter, an OB/GYN here in Texas and a seasoned physician mom whose daughters are now adults.

In Part 1, we talked about what it looked like for her to have a baby during residency and navigate some incredibly difficult years early in her career. In this part of our conversation, we move forward in the story.

Dr. Traci shares what life looked like raising two young daughters while practicing medicine as a single mom—and the decisions she made along the way to make that life work.

We talk about:

• How she navigated single motherhood while practicing OB-GYN
• The childcare decisions that helped her manage a demanding medical career
• Why she chose predictability in her schedule during her daughters’ early years
• The reality of mom guilt—and how her daughters actually saw it differently
• What it looked like to prioritize being present for the moments that mattered most

Dr. Traci also shares the perspective that only comes with time: what she might do differently, what she’s most proud of, and the advice she would give physician moms who are currently raising young children while building their careers.

And we talk about the exciting next chapter of her professional life as she prepares to open a practice focused on caring for midlife women.

This is an honest conversation about motherhood, medicine, guilt, support systems, and the long arc of raising children while practicing in a demanding profession.

🎧 Press play to hear Part 2 of my conversation with Dr. Traci De Splinter.

And if you haven’t listened to Part 1 yet, make sure you go back and start there.

What did you think of the episode, doc? Let me know!

Subscribe to ✨Stethoscopes and Strollers✨ on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode.

Apple Podcast | Spotify | YouTube

Connect with me: Website | Instagram | Facebook 

Join my Email list to get tips on navigating motherhood in the medical field.

If you are going through a transition -- becoming a parent, leaving a job, figuring out how manage it all, schedule a strategy coaching session and get clarity and strategic next steps for the life and career you want.

Strategy Coaching Session with Dr. Toya