Episodes

  • Coping with Burnout as a Pediatrition and Cancer Survivor | Dr. Cora Breuner

    Coping with Burnout as a Pediatrition and Cancer Survivor | Dr. Cora Breuner
    1 Oct 2026
    For this episode I am welcoming Dr. Cora Breuner, a pediatrician and adolescent medicine specialist at Seattle Children's Hospital. She details her journey, beginning with a marine biology detour in college to a Navy scholarship that landed her on a ship with 1,400 people, to years overseas in Japan, to eventually building a career in pediatrics and adolescent medicine. From an over-booked schedule that forced her to cut back to part-time, to a divorce that nearly took her under while raising three young kids, to a metastatic breast cancer diagnosis in the middle of it all, Cora definitely knows the feeling of burnout well. She offers honest insight into the bold, sometimes messy moves it took to keep loving this work despite everything trying to knock her off her feet. I'm so grateful Cora came on to share with us, it's refreshing to hear how she's made peace with the chaos. And today, she shares how movement, mindfulness, and a hand-picked "mentoring family" are what keep her grounded. Takeaways: We can sometimes recognize burnout in our colleagues long before we recognize it in ourselves. As in Dr. Breuner's case, cutting back to part-time can allow you to sustain a decades-long career rather than leaving medicine entirely. A 2017 metastatic breast cancer diagnosis reshaped how Dr. Breuner approaches both work and her self-worth. Building a "mentoring family", a group of trusted people who fill different supportive roles, has been central to her resilience. Movement, music, and journaling are tools she credits with helping her process grief, stress, and major life transitions. ------- Want your burnout story featured on the show? Email us at it ⁠hello@stillpracticingpod.com⁠ for a chance to be read on an upcoming episode. Follow the show: Instagram @suedaniels.md and @stillpracticingpodLearn more and get transcripts for EVERY episode at www.stillpracticingpod.com For Sales Inquiries & Ad Rates, Please Contact: Sales@Human-Content.Com Connect with Human Content on Socials: @humancontentpods Produced by: Human Content Chapter: 00:00 - Intro 01:52 - Why Pediatrics? 11:22 - Navy, Japan & Mindfulness 17:14 - Spotting Burnout in Peers 25:17 - Hitting Her Own Wall 42:16 - Cancer & Acceptance Therapy 57:11 - Build Your Mentoring Family Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 18 min
  • I Almost Quit Medicine to Sell Skincare | Dr. Sarah Webber

    I Almost Quit Medicine to Sell Skincare | Dr. Sarah Webber
    17 Sep 2026
    Dr. Sarah Weber and I met at the AAP National Conference, where she was presenting on cultivating joy, and immediately I knew I wanted to speak with her more in depth. I was curious about her ideas on joy, and more importantly wanted to hear the full story behind her work. Sarah is a practicing academic pediatrician, a physician coach, and someone who had to honestly reckon with how burnout was eating from the inside out. Sarah talks about her burnout starting gradual. Setting roots and festering in the background and she almost didn't catch it until a random webinar described her symptoms back to her. She saw she exhibited clear signs of medical burnout and knew identifying the issue was only the start. She had to rewire herself to learn stillness, starting with 10-minute meditations, that at first she couldn't commit to. Now Sarah participates at silent retreats, rediscovered her creative self through pottery, and laughs at the days she considered quitting medicine to sell skincare at MLM parties. The point isn't that burnout recovery is a light switch. The point is rediscovery and recomittment to the things that one joy. Takeaways: Sometimes burnout announces itself in absurd ways. Recovery isn't a light switch. It's ongoing navigation. Stillness is a skill, and most of us have to train it from scratch. Burnout can sever you from parts of yourself you've carried your whole life. We extend compassion to everyone but ourselves. ------- Want your burnout story featured on the show? Email us at it hello@stillpracticingpod.com for a chance to be read on an upcoming episode. Want more Dr.Sarah Weber? @wildgeesesw Follow the show: Instagram @suedaniels.md and @stillpracticingpod Learn more and get transcripts for EVERY episode at www.stillpracticingpod.com For Sales Inquiries & Ad Rates, Please Contact: Sales@Human-Content.Com Connect with Human Content on Socials: @humancontentpods Produced by: Human Content Chapters: 0:00 - Intro 1:10 - Life Before Burnout 4:27 - When Things Started to Crack 9:20 - Naming the Burnout 12:57 - The Road to Recovery 17:40 - Rediscovering Creativity & Joy 26:48 - Listener Story Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    47 min
  • I Went from Burned Out Pediatrician to AAP President | Dr. Sue Kressly

    I Went from Burned Out Pediatrician to AAP President | Dr. Sue Kressly
    3 Sep 2026
    From the outside, our guest, Dr. Sue Kressly has an impressive career arc. she is the immediate past president of the American Academy of Pediatrics and led the organization during one of it's most politically turbulent moments in pediatric medicine with grace and clarity. Many of us found her to be incredibly grounding during that time, and appreciate the calm she brought during a tenuous time. Dr. Sue Kressly is a tour de force and in this episode she opens up what people didn't see was happening in the background in her life. From feeling trapped 10 years into her career, losing both parents far too young, and the intense risk she took starting her own practice from scratch. She has a way with her words and shares a metaphor about her calendar being like a closet that needs periodic purging. It's practical, it's useful, it's poetic, and it's honestly a good piece of advice when it comes to protecting one's own energy. Enjoy the double Sue episode! We've both come far and we're still works in progress. Takeaways: Dread is the early warning sign. Feeling trapped is real, and it's not weakness. Ask what's the risk of not changing, not just the risk of changing. Awareness of self-compassion comes before mastery of it. When there's no white space, it's time to clean the calendar closet. ----- Want your burnout story featured on the show? Email us at it hello@stillpracticingpod.com for a chance to be read on an upcoming episode. Want more Dr. Sue Kressly? LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/susan-kressly Follow the show: Instagram @suedaniels.md and @stillpracticingpod Learn more and get transcripts for EVERY episode at www.stillpracticingpod.com For Sales Inquiries & Ad Rates, Please Contact: Sales@Human-Content.Com Connect with Human Content on Socials: @humancontentpods Produced by: Human Content Chapters: 0:00 - Intro 1:36 - Why Pediatrics? 7:25 - Leading the AAP Through Firestorm 9:25 - Burning Out 10 Years In 25:27 - Becoming an Accidental Informaticist 46:38 - Advice to Her Burned-Out Self Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    56 min
  • Nobody Knew I Was Drowning | Dr. Corey Fish

    Nobody Knew I Was Drowning | Dr. Corey Fish
    20 Aug 2026
    This episode, I have on Dr. Corey Fish, who I've known since he his training day at the University of Texas. I've watched him grow from a baby doctor (not literally) into owning his own practice. From rural pediatrics in Montana , to starting an urgent care clinic in Portland, to putting his house up as collateral, working 70-hour week alone, and landing in the space of venture-backed start-ups, Corey doesn't shares it all. He offers immense insight on the bold moves it took to make his career fulfilling, with and despite all the obstacles he faced. The shame and isolation that comes with struggling is something that resonates with so many of us clinicians, but we rarely say it out loud. That's why I'm so grateful Corey came on, between the minutiae of daily medical labor to the kismet encounter he had with a stranger in Austin music festival, it's refreshing how he's embraced the storm. Now that he's on the other side, self-compassion and protecting one's own energy play the most vital part in his life. Takeaways: Burnout in pediatrics carries a particular stigma. The depth of physician suffering is frequently invisible to those closest to them. Financial risk amplifies burnout to a dangerous degree. Entering a venture-backed startup relieved immediate financial pressure but did not address the underlying drivers of burnout. Self-compassion and boundary-setting are the most durable protections against burnout. ----- Want your burnout story featured on the show? Email us at it hello@stillpracticingpod.com for a chance to be read on an upcoming episode. Want more Dr. Corey Fish? Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/corey-fish-405b00132/ Follow the show: Instagram @suedaniels.md and @stillpracticingpod Learn more and get transcripts for EVERY episode at www.stillpracticingpod.com For Sales Inquiries & Ad Rates, Please Contact: Sales@Human-Content.Com Connect with Human Content on Socials: @humancontentpods Produced by: Human Content Chapters: 0:00 - Intro 1:40 - Why Pediatrics? 6:27 - The Dark Days of Running a Startup13:47 - Lessons from Venture Capital 26:43 - Setting Boundaries & Finding Balance38:21 - Japan, Music Snacks & Ski Patrol Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    52 min
  • I Thought the Pandemic Would Break Me | Dr. Karen Dorn

    I Thought the Pandemic Would Break Me | Dr. Karen Dorn
    20 Aug 2026
    We're ringing in the first episode of this podcast with my good friend, Dr. Karen Dorn! We've known each other for over 30 years, since our first year at the University of Minnesota Medical School and we've witness each other grow over the years. Karen is an adult hospitalist in Minneapolis and during the pandemic, she was in ICU watching critically ill patient pass away in record numbers, with a single week reaching 70% mortality rate. Uniquely, the exhaustion didn't break Karen, rather it was patient distrust. When people started coming in sick, refusing vaccines, demanding invermectin and other things they saw online, doubting everything she had to offer, that's when the burnout settled in. It dug deep into her work and into other aspects of her life. In this episode, we explore Karen's burnout, and I also share parts of my story, including the loss of my brother Bill, who was tragically murdered weeks before I began the podcast. This episode is more personal than others, but I hope this episode offer people some reprise in their lives. Takeaways: Burnout doesn't always stay at work. It was the loss of patient trust, not the brutal hours, that finally broke her. Not every burnout recovery has to look like a formal intervention. When you're deep enough in burnout, the tools you've built can become inaccessible. Want your burnout story featured on the show? Email us at it hello@stillpracticingpod.com for a chance to be read on an upcoming episode. Follow the show: Instagram @suedaniels.md and @stillpracticingpodLearn more and get transcripts for EVERY episode at www.stillpracticingpod.comFor Sales Inquiries & Ad Rates, Please Contact: Sales@Human-Content.ComConnect with Human Content on Socials: @humancontentpodsProduced by: Human Content Chapters: 0:00 - Intro 3:04 - Early Careers in Medicine 9:47 - Pandemic Impacts 26:40 - Hitting Rock Bottom & Seeking Help 38:33 - Rediscovering Joy in Medicine 43:29 - What Fortifies Us Outside of Work Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 8 min
  • How I Found My Way Back

    How I Found My Way Back
    22 Jul 2026
    I said yes to everything, trained hard, showed up for everyone, and then one day woke up running on empty. I've been there, and I found my way back. Still Practicing is my biweekly show for those of us who are past the burnout prevention stage and sitting with the harder question: now what? Every episode, I pull up a chair with a fellow clinician who hit that same wall and rebuilt, and we talk honestly about the moments and choices that changed everything. No toxic positivity, no generic coping tips, just real stories shared with warmth and care. If you still love medicine but know something has to change, come sit with us. You're among friends here. Come say hi on Instagram! @suedaniels.md and @stillpracticingpod Or visit www.stillpracticingpod.com to drop me a line or learn more about Still Practicing For all other inquiries, please email hello@stillpracticingpod.com Connect with Human Content on Socials: @humancontentpods Produced by: https://human-content.com/https://human-content.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    3 min