Women Physicians Flourish. A Podcast About Life and Wellbeing

In this episode, Rebecca discusses the neuroscientific basis for the inner critic - a runaway part of the phonological loop - how it arises, how to recognize it, and how to begin untangling from this dysfunctional aspect of a helpful, natural phenomenon that develops as we learn language as babies. This work can allow us to become free from unhelpful critical thoughts that we internalize from our environment throughout our lives.  It can allow us to be more willing to take healthy risks, to grow, and to take exciting leaps into greater things. It is also an essential tool for building the capacity for self-love and compassion, which in early episodes we have established as prerequisites for wellbeing and flourishing.

Transcript Here

Rebecca Lauderdale, MD's website
email me at [email protected]

Tara Mohr - Playing Big
Ethan Kross, PhD - Chatter
Jill Bolte Taylor, PhD - TED Talk and book My Stroke of Insight

Amee Wayton, SLP, at Hyperfocus Solutions (ADHD Coaching for adults!)

Support the podcast on buymeacoffee.com. Small contributions add up and help me to continue this work!

You can get on my email list here .  You'll  get a free copy of my book, regular updates on the podcast,  and an occasional newsletter!

Music used with permission:
Intro "Death Dance" by Luftmensch
Outro "Timeless Clouds" by Luwaks

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Love and belonging aren't things we talk about much in medicine.  But they're irreducible needs of humans.  Join Rebecca Lauderdale, MD, for an introduction to the burgeoning science of human flourishing, and why we as physicians can benefit from understanding it.

Support the podcast on buymeacoffee.com. Small contributions add up and help me to continue this work!

You can get on my email list here .  You'll  get a free copy of my book, regular updates on the podcast,  and an occasional newsletter! 

Resources: 

The Gifts of Imperfection, by Brene Brown, PhD

The Meaning of Human Existence, by Edward O. Wilson, PhD

PERMA Theory of Well-being

Character Strengths and Virtues, A Handbook and Classification by Martin Seligman, PhD, and Christopher Peterson, PhD

Learned Optimism by Martin Seligman, PhD

"The Journey" in Dream Work by Mary Oliver

Music Used with Permission:
Intro "Death Dance" by Luftmensch
Outro: "Crossing the Rubicon" by Jakob Ahlbom

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In this episode, Rebecca introduces herself and talks a bit about her journey from burnout to flourishing.  She talks about her passion for helping other women physicians change the culture of medicine by first liberating themselves from unhealthy patterns and conditioning.  She lays a foundation of concepts for proceeding through a curriculum for flourishing for women physicians which includes some surprising, yet evidence-based research findings that can be liberating and life-changing. 

You can find Dr. Lauderdale on instagram, or email her at [email protected]

Support the podcast on buymeacoffee.com. Small contributions add up and help me to continue this work!

You can get on my email list here .  You'll  get a free copy of my book, regular updates on the podcast,  and an occasional newsletter!

Resources and References:

Organizational Factors Affecting Physician Well-Being. Tawfik, D.S., Profit, J., Webber, S. et al. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40746-019-00147-6

Impact of Organizational Leadership on Physician Burnout and Satisfaction. Shanafelt, T., Gorringe, G., et al.

The Gifts of Imperfection, by Brene Brown

Brene Brown TED Talks 

Flourish by Martin Seligman

The Body Project by Joan Jacobs Brumberg

The Meaning of Human Existence by Edward O. Wilson

Immunity to change, by Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey

Passive Income MD - Peter Kim

Dr Una’s EntreMD Podcast and Business School

Sunny Smith, MD - Empowering Women Physicians Podcast and coaching program

In the Sanctuary of Women by Jan Richardson

Music used with permission:

Intro “Death Dance” by Luftmensch

Outro “ Gold among the sand” by Trevor Kowalski

Support the show

My name is Rebecca Lauderdale, and I’m an internal medicine doctor in private practice in the deep south. About 7 years ago, I suffered from severe burnout and depression.  I had three kids under 12, a demanding career, and I felt like I was failing at every role in my life. 

This was around the time that the first big data on physician burnout was published, and nobody outside academia had much awareness about the issue, much less any physician wellness or burnout prevention programs. And even in academia, the first physician chief wellness officer wasn't hired until 2017.  

All there really was were numbers about how many doctors were burned out, but not how to fix it. This also was before it was clear in the evidence, big surprise, that it’s not us individually, but the organizations and systems we work within that contribute most to burnout.  

Doctors are some of the most resilient people on the planet, so how was this happening to us? Without really knowing where to start, I set out on a somewhat messy, hard, rewarding, journey to figure this out because I was suffering, but I didn’t have anyone to mentor me through it.  I was committed to finding out how to get from where I was, which felt like the absolute bottom,  to not just being without burnout but flourishing, living a truly fulfilling life.

This podcast is about bringing the things I learned on that journey to you. It’s about the science and the stories and the people that helped me heal and then flourish. The things we’ve learned about wellbeing as a science, a burgeoning field right now, and how those things can help you if you’re struggling. 

If you feel like you’re failing, if you feel like your life as a physician isn’t what you thought it would be, and you need some hope, but also some actionable ways to help - this podcast is for you. I’ve directed this content toward women, because I’m a woman, and I found that a lot of the work I had to do in the beginning related directly to the fact that I was a woman living with the social and cultural conditioning  of women in America. There are strange things that happen when outdated expectations of gender roles are making you suffer,  and you try to change them.  I had to work on some of that first, before I was ready to change my practice of medicine. 

Regardless of your gender identification, you are welcome with open arms. I promise you it can get better, and we need each other to do it.

I hope you’ll join me for the first episode, out soon wherever you get your podcasts. In the meanwhile, you can click the link here at www.rebeccalauderdalemd.com/podcast  to sign up for my email list and get notified when episodes are released. 

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