☕ Coffee Playdate Podcast: From Bicycle Accident to Building the Most Effective Physician Wellness Program – Dr. Sunny Smith

Dr. Sunny Smith joins Dr. Olga for a refreshingly honest conversation about how one life-changing moment can completely shift your path. A former academic physician, Sunny shares how a serious bicycle accident in Tahiti led her to discover coaching — and eventually found Empowering Women Physicians, now one of the largest and most effective coaching programs for women doctors.

She opens up about the power of mindset, learning to believe in possibilities before they happen, and why thinking outside the traditional “yellow brick road” of medicine was the key to creating something meaningful. Sunny also talks about the huge inflection point during COVID, pivoting her group program when no one signed up at first, and how she’s now training other physicians to become coaches through her new certification program.

This episode is packed with real talk on entrepreneurship, resilience, and building a business that truly supports women physicians — plus a beautiful story about creating magical team experiences (including a surprise bioluminescent bay trip with Liz Gilbert!).

More on Dr. Sunny Smith Dr. Sunny Smith is a former academic physician and the founder & CEO of Empowering Women Physicians. She leads one of the largest and most effective coaching programs for women physicians in the country. Learn more and explore her work at www.empoweringwomenphysicians.com.

Timelines (Total length: 20:41)

• 00:25 – Welcome and introduction
• 00:40 – Coffee chat & Games
• 02:40 – Background and the birth of Empowering Women Physicians
• 04:35 – The power of coaching
• 05:49 – Transitioning from clinical medicine to full-time entrepreneurship
• 06:24 – Key mindset shift: believing ahead of time
• 08:57 – The biggest business challenge
• 12:46 – COVID pivot and the new Physician Coach Certification
• 15:42 – Creating magical experiences for the team (Liz Gilbert story)
• 19:13 – Book recommendation
• 20:32 – Closing thanks and appreciation

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💬Subscribe & Share! If this conversation touched you, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, or Deezer and share it with a fellow doctor or healthcare friend who might need to hear it. One intentional step at a time ✨ — Dr. Olga Deengar, Coach Olga MD © 2026 Coach Olga MD. All rights reserved.