Welcome to the Sustainable Clinical Medicine Podcast!

In this episode, Dr. Sarah Smith sits down with Dr. Jessi Gold, psychiatrist, author, and Chief Wellness Officer for the University of Tennessee system. Together, they delve into Dr. Gold’s fascinating journey through medicine—from her early days resisting the pull of psychiatry, despite her father’s influence, to finding her true calling in supporting healthcare workers and college students through mental health challenges.

Dr. Gold shares candid stories about her own mental health struggles, the barriers to seeking help in medicine, and how the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped her clinical focus to frontline healthcare workers. She opens up about recognizing burnout in herself, the subtlety of its symptoms, and the lessons she learned about self-care, connection, and setting boundaries. Along the way, Dr. Gold offers practical strategies for identifying burnout early, building resilience, and creating sustainable ways to care for ourselves and each other in healthcare.

If you’ve ever wondered how to stay well while caring for others—or found yourself feeling isolated in your own struggles—this episode is for you. Join us as Dr. Gold brings wisdom, vulnerability, and humor to the vital conversation about humanity in medicine, and learn simple, actionable steps you can take to support your own mental health.

Let’s dive in!

Here are 3 key takeaways from this episode:

1. Burnout Creeps in Subtly: It’s rarely one big event. The signs can include relentless fatigue, irritability with routine work tasks (like inbox overload!), and gradual withdrawal from friends and family. Often, they go unnoticed until things become critical.
2. Check in With Yourself—Intentionally: Gold emphasizes the importance of pausing after tough clinical interactions to genuinely ask yourself, “How am I doing?” This simple self-awareness practice is more powerful than it sounds and is a foundational skill in building emotional resilience.
3. Connection is Medicine, Too: Vulnerability among colleagues and strong social connections are not just “nice to have”—they’re protective against burnout. Sharing how you’re really doing creates a culture of support and reduces feelings of isolation in tough times.

Meet Dr. Jessi Gold:

Jessi Gold, MD, MS is the Chief Wellness Officer of the University of Tennessee System and an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. This inaugural leadership position encompasses all five University of Tennessee campuses, UT Knoxville, UT Chattanooga, UT Southern, UT Martin, and UT Health Science Center, and includes over 62,200 students and 19,0000 faculty and staff.

In her clinical practice, she sees healthcare workers, trainees, and young adults in college. Dr. Gold is also a fierce mental health advocate and highly sought-after expert in the media on everything from burnout to celebrity self-disclosure.

She has written widely for the popular press, including for The New York Times, The Atlantic, InStyle, Slate, and Self. Her first book, HOW DO YOU FEEL? One Doctor's Search for Humanity in Medicine came out in October 2024 from Simon Element and is a national bestseller.

Dr. Gold is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. and M.S in Anthropology, the Yale School of Medicine, and Stanford University Department of Psychiatry, where she served as Chief Resident.

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**** Charting Champions is a premiere, lifetime access Physician only program that is helping Physicians get home with today's work done. All the proven tools, support and community you need to create time for your life outside of medicine.

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Welcome to the Sustainable Clinical Medicine Podcast!

In this episode, Dr. Sarah Smith is joined by Dr. Vanessa Kustec, a family physician from Ontario with a passion for personal development and sustainable practice. Dr. Kustec shares her candid journey through the highs and lows of medicine—from taking on an overwhelming workload and reaching a breaking point during the pandemic, to discovering mindset coaching and reclaiming her time, energy, and joy both inside and outside the clinic.

Tune in as Dr. Kustec opens up about the realities of burnout, the importance of setting boundaries, and the transformative power of reprogramming your mindset. She discusses concrete steps for saying no, prioritizing what truly matters, and reshaping both your professional and personal life—proving you don’t have to abandon your career to find fulfillment. Whether you’re feeling overwhelmed or simply ready to put more life back into your days, this conversation is packed with practical strategies and inspiring stories to help you create a more sustainable, joyful approach to medicine.

Here are 3 key takeaways from this episode:

1. Prioritize YOU, Not Just Your Patients: Kustec realized that saying yes to everything led to severe burnout and personal sacrifice. She flipped the script by learning to prioritize her own needs—without guilt—so she could bring her best self to both medicine and life.
2. Small Changes = Major Impact: You don’t need a drastic overhaul to see results. Whether it’s carving out just five extra minutes in your day, cutting unnecessary meetings, or handing off responsibilities, every little bit lightens the load and gives you space to thrive.
3. Rewrite Your Inner Narrative: Through mindset work and coaching, Dr. Kustec changed her deeply ingrained beliefs about “not being enough.” She even wrote a new life script and practiced affirming it daily—leading not only to a more sustainable practice, but also meeting her life partner, starting a family, and rediscovering joy outside the clinic.

Meet Dr. Vanessa Kustec:

Originally from Montreal, Dr. Kustec is currently a family physician in Stratford, Ontario where she lives with her husband and baby girl. She also works as a hospitalist and long-term care physician. Over the years, she's also held various administrative positions such as Chief Hospitalist at Stratford General Hospital, HPA Ontario Health Team Implementation Committee Physician Representative and the STAR Family Health Team Lead Physician.

Her areas of interest include primary care, hospital medicine, long-term care, dermatology, and quality improvement, and she also enjoys teaching. Most recently, she pursues all this with a newly created work-life balance. She is now passionate about empowering others to do the same as a physician work-life balance coach. Her vision is for every doctor and healthcare worker to access coaching and acquire these vital skills, as they have the power to revolutionize our entire healthcare system.

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Would you like to view a transcript of this episode? Click here

**** Charting Champions is a premiere, lifetime access Physician only program that is helping Physicians get home with today's work done. All the proven tools, support and community you need to create time for your life outside of medicine.

Learn more at https://www.chartingcoach.ca

**** Enjoying this podcast? Please share it with someone who would benefit. Also, don’t forget to hit “follow” so you get all the new episodes as soon as they are released.

**** Come hang out with me on Facebook or Instagram. Follow me @chartingcoach to get more practical tools to help you create sustainable clinical medicine in your life.

**** Questions? Comments? Want to share how this podcast has helped you? Shoot me an email at admin@reachcareercoaching.ca. I would love to hear from you.

Welcome to the Sustainable Clinical Medicine Podcast!

In this inspiring episode, Dr. Sarah Smith sits down with Dr. Linde Corrigan, a family physician practicing in Ontario's Ottawa Valley. Dr. Corrigan shares her journey as a rural generalist, juggling family medicine, care of the elderly, and specialized clinic procedures—all while navigating the unique challenges of ADHD within the medical profession.

Listen in as Dr. Corrigan opens up about overcoming imposter syndrome, adapting her workflow to suit her learning style, and the tools and reframing strategies that have helped her create a more sustainable clinical day. She and Dr. Smith discuss practical solutions—from using timers and EMR hacks to embracing positive self-talk and gamifying the most dreaded tasks. Whether you're facing your own clinical challenges or just looking for ways to make your workday more manageable, this conversation is packed with actionable insights and relatable stories.

Tune in for an honest, uplifting, and strategy-filled episode designed to help you reclaim time for your life outside of medicine!

Here are 3 key takeaways from this episode:

1. Make the Most of Your Strengths: Recognizing personal strengths and challenges (like leveraging visual memory or adapting workflows for ADHD) can be a game-changer in both career direction and daily efficiency.
2. Reframe the Hard Parts: Shifting mindset—from “I have to finish this report” to “I’m almost out the door!”—makes a huge difference. Reward yourself, gamify tasks, and see the power of a positive reframe.
3. Gamify for Focus and Flow: Small hacks (timers, shortcut tools like Magical, or breaking tasks into manageable chunks) help combat time blindness and overwhelm, making even inbox management feel like a win.

Meet Dr. Linde Corrigan:

I am a rural family physician with enhanced certification in care of elderly. Currently, I work part-time in my family medicine practice in Petawawa, as well as part-time at the hospital, as well as in local long-term care homes in the area.

I graduated medical school at University of Ottawa in 2010, Family Medicine residency at U of Ottawa in 2014.

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Would you like to view a transcript of this episode? Click here

****Get in on the Backlog Buddies Sale where All Session in June are only $10 https://www.backlogbuddies.com/

**** Charting Champions is a premiere, lifetime access Physician only program that is helping Physicians get home with today's work done. All the proven tools, support and community you need to create time for your life outside of medicine.

Learn more at https://www.chartingcoach.ca

**** Enjoying this podcast? Please share it with someone who would benefit. Also, don’t forget to hit “follow” so you get all the new episodes as soon as they are released.

**** Come hang out with me on Facebook or Instagram. Follow me @chartingcoach to get more practical tools to help you create sustainable clinical medicine in your life.

**** Questions? Comments? Want to share how this podcast has helped you? Shoot me an email at admin@reachcareercoaching.ca. I would love to hear from you.