Doctors at Work

Send us a textAll of us have a reputation and a personal brand. In this episode of Doctors at Work, Greg and I discuss the concept of personal branding. We talk about where our reputation comes from, including the importance of digital presence. There are benefits to a positive personal brand, both financial (if working in private systems) and reputational, but there are costs too including professional help and the headspace needed. Changing one's personal brand is definitely possible, and i...

Send us a textMarie Lyons is an ENT consultant who has held multiple senior leadership roles. In this episode of Doctors at Work, she shares her leadership journey from medical school to her current role, highlighting her experiences and motivations along the way. She discussed the importance of formal training, cross-divisional collaboration, and personal growth in leadership roles, emphasising the need for humility, self-reflection, and open communication. Marie also reflected on the challe...

Send us a textLearning practical skills such as surgery is challenging. In this episode of Doctors at Work, Brian Westerberg tells me about mental imagery. This is a technique that he has found through his elite sport contacts. It helps him anticipate and "practice" surgical steps, and is a way to train new surgeons too. We also talk about mindfulness, exercise, the importance of having non-judgemental support.You might also like episodes 56, 80, 82, 108 on performance psychology, and episode...

Send us a textIn this episode of Doctors at Work, I have a conversation with Bu whose career spans multiple countries. She is now in Australia working as a GP, and also as a voluntary assisted-dying practitioner. She tells me that her career has evolved though a series of organic steps, focused on what she was enjoying, and what the opportunities were. With a backbone of General Practice that she can always return to, it has been easy for her to explore work as a breast physician as well as i...

Send us a textSui is a neurologist who has had a creative career pathway - she took time out of training to do charity work, is a trained yoga teacher, she studied lifestyle medicine, and wrote a book. In this episode of Doctors at Work, she talks about how her own career decision making, and tells me how she developed innovative ways to deliver clinical care using her knowledge of lifestyle medicine. We focus on wellbeing for doctors, and talk about the mind-body connection, and the importan...

Send us a textYou are coming to the end of your training, what next? Many doctors choose to do a fellowship. In this episode of Doctors At Work, Simon talks about the different reasons for doing a fellowship, the different fellowship types, and we discuss how to actually obtain one. The key is to recognise that fellowships are a deeply personal decision, so really know what you are wanting out of one, and start planning early.Simon Fleming is an orthopaedic hand and wrist surgeon, medical edu...

Send us a textGreg tells me that perfectionist tendencies can be very useful, but when they get in the way of a good career or patient care there is a problem. At the core, perfectionism is about excess expectations and rigid thinking. In this episode of Doctors at Work, we talk about how perfectionism shows up in clinical work, we talk about fear of failure, and discuss some ways that we can help ourselves and others. See transcript for meeting summary.Gregory S. Chasson, PhD, ABPP, is an es...

Send us a textAll of us are leaders and need to have good leadership skills. In this episode of Doctors at Work, Nitin and I reflect on how we learnt about leadership, the challenges we faced, and we discuss what good leadership looks like. Top tips include learning to manage yourself, knowing what success means to you personally, observing others, and asking for others' critical feedback. See transcript for meeting summary.You might also like episode 98 on impostor syndrome, and Doctors at W...

Send us a textGreat leadership at all levels is essential. In this episode of Doctors at Work, Fiona Day tells me that it start with knowing your own values and strengths, and consciously choosing the behaviours that you display. Much of what senior leaders do is highly complex, and this potentially can contribute to burnout - so regularly checking your own stress levels and proactively managing these is really important. We are all leaders, and leadership is an ongoing journey of learning, a...

Send us a textMichael Akadiri is a doctor and a comedian. In this episode of Doctors at Work, we talk about how he made career decisions that pivoted from full time surgery into mostly comedy. He tells me that managing uncertainty can be challenging, and this can be helped by focusing on what he can influence. We talk about the importance of recognising how a career fits into one's whole life, and the need to marry up your passion with realistic career prospects in the future. See transcript ...

Send us a textCharles is a core trainee, and recently won two prizes with different projects. In this episode of Doctors at Work, he tells me that great ideas often come from noticing an issue and doing something about it; but you need time and headspace. Great ideas can also come from consultant supervisors, but it's important to assess whether the project idea meets your needs. When you present, your enthusiasm and the quality of the presentation matters, and each poster or presentation sho...

Send us a textSteve and I discuss the parallels between high performance sport and the medical world. He tells me that high performance requires focus on the individual, the team, and the whole organisation. As doctors, we need to know ourselves well, including our strengths, identities, and how we deal with stress. Performance, whether operating, an on call, the ward round, or something else, requires preparation, and routine, including ensuring that we arrive in the optimum state. He shares...

Send us a textWe will all know that a certain department or hospital feels a specific way. But what is culture and how can it be changed? In this episode, Simon Fleming and I talk about culture, how it develops, and we discuss both good and bad aspects. Simon shares tips for changing culture, whether as a senior doctor or as someone early in their career.Simon Fleming is an orthopaedic hand and wrist fellow, medical education Ph.D and culture change advocate, with an international reputation ...

Send us a textIn this episode, Ross and I talk about how to set yourself up for a satisfying career, and not be a medic zombie going through life without noticing what's going on. He talks about the importance of reflection, of actively setting up strategies to protect you from inevitable stresses, and of having quality connection with others. We discuss how important it is to notice what's going on, make conscious decision, and actively be aware of the choices that we have. And whilst planni...

Send us a textAs doctors many of us have things we wish to change, be it life balance, our exercise, or our work. Yet change itself is often difficult. In this episode, Michael and I discuss why change is so tricky, what holds us back, and how the beliefs that we have get in the way. He tells me that change is most certainly possible, and it is necessary to identify what you want to change, and why.Dr. Michael Hersh is a Gastroenterologist, husband, father, podcaster, and physician coach at B...