Dr. Ramin Manshadi hosts board-certified pediatrician and physician advocate Dr. Shannon Udovic-Constant, a longtime Kaiser Permanente clinician, UCSF clinical professor, founder of Physician Women Rising, and 2024 California Medical Association president representing 50,000+ physicians. Dr. Udovic-Constant describes how a patient’s comment about not being able to drink water at school led her to champion California Senate Bill 1413 requiring potable drinking water in every school, shaping her commitment to advocacy and leadership. The conversation addresses higher burnout rates among women physicians, driven by disproportionate EHR time, uncompensated tasks, mentoring, and family responsibilities, framing burnout as structural rather than personal failure. They discuss solutions including structural workload recognition, institutional measurement of invisible labor, physician-led implementation of AI, and leadership development through applying before feeling “ready,” plus the difference between mentorship and sponsorship. She outlines a 10-year vision emphasizing systemic wellbeing supports, boundaries, and women in real authority, and calls for reduced administrative burden through collective physician action.

Learn more about Shannon's work

at:https://drshannonudovicconstant.com/

https://physicianwomenrising.substack.com/

www.LinkedIn.com/in/shannon-udovic-constant.

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

02:09 Safe Water Advocacy Spark

04:15 Why Women Burn Out

05:47 Structural Fixes and Support0

7:30 AI in Clinical Practice

09:16 Step Into Leadership Now

10:36 Mentors vs Sponsors

11:42 Physician Women Rising Mission

14:13 Building Leadership Early

16:23 Overlooked and Double Bind

19:37 Ten Year Vision for Wellbeing

21:29 One Change to Reduce Burnout

25:35 Closing Thanks and Farewell

In this Episode, host Dr. Ramin Manshadi speaks with Dr. Susan Murin, Dean of the UC Davis School of Medicine, about medical education, physician wellbeing, and leadership. Dr. Murin shares what the reality of medical school looks like today for students. She talks about the stressors contributing to burnout, including the medical school admissions “lottery" driven by applicants applying to more schools and the rise of student-driven gap years to improve competitiveness and preparedness. She describes holistic admissions, advice on choosing a rewarding specialty and practice setting aligned with desired autonomy, and the value of academic medicine’s mix of clinical care, teaching, and research. She outlines UC Davis wellbeing resources, notes decreasing stigma around mental health support, reviews curriculum changes emphasizing early clinical exposure and self-directed learning, and reflects on AI’s emerging impact. 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro01:13 Mission and Vision02:11 Admissions Pressure and Burnout04:35 Gap Years and Holistic Review07:20 Building a Sustainable Career11:06 Wellbeing Programs and Support14:31 Curriculum Redesign16:45 AI and the Future Doctor19:59 Overextension and Lessons Learned22:01 Women in Medicine and Balance23:39 Final Thanks and Wrap Up

Dr. Ramin Manshadi interviews Dr. Eldrin Lewis, Chief of Cardiovascular Medicine at Stanford, about physician wellbeing and cardiology burnout. Dr. Lewis highlights major drivers of burnout and potential solutions. He discusses how AI can help solve many issues faced by modern physicians, and highlights some of the risks.Dr. Lewis brings his personal experiences to the table and he advises trainees to align passion, technical fit, future job landscape, and lifestyle to reduce misalignment and burnout.Its an incredibly useful conversation for both future medical professionals and practicing physicians alike.00:00 – Introduction to Physicians’ Pulse & Guest Bio (Dr. Eldrin Lewis)01:44 – Biggest contributors to cardiologist burnout today04:00 – Data deluge, critical results, and fear of missing something06:36 – How AI can help reduce burnout and improve patient care08:30 – Patient trust, privacy, and keeping AI within the health system firewall09:24 – Advice to trainees choosing a cardiology career path16:00 – Team culture, coverage, and making room for real life events17:32 – Do we need such a long training pathway in cardiology?18:00 – Piloting shorter, focused subspecialty pathways (e.g., ACHD 2+2)28:00 – Stanford’s vision: from basic science to implementation and health span

After experiencing sudden chest discomfort and using his Apple Watch to identify atrial fibrillation at a heart rate of 171, cardiologist Dr. Ramin Manshadi is wheeled to the ER as a patient—an experience that prompts him to ask what is happening to those who dedicate their lives to healing others. He reflects on the pressures of pre-med, medical school, residency, and private practice, including long hours, stress, emergencies, administrative burdens, and running a business, while also acknowledging the deep rewards of saving lives. Citing historically high physician burnout, he introduces Physicians Pulse as a podcast exploring the human side of medicine through conversations across training and leadership to improve physician training, reduce burnout, modernize board certification, and build a healthcare system where physicians can thrive.

00:00 A Doctor Becomes Patient

00:58 Denial and ER Reality

01:39 Why This Podcast Exists

02:09 The Training Gauntlet

03:37 Private Practice Pressures

05:23 Why Medicine Matters

07:00 Burnout and the Mission

08:04 Questions We Will Tackle

08:54 A Call to Heal Together

09:51 Closing Thanks

Join me bi-weekly to learn what it takes to survive the medical profession. You'll hear stories on how to succeed in every stage of your professional life as a practitioner, from pre-med to opening your own practice.