Stethoscopes and Strollers

Hey Doc,

As Juneteenth approaches, I've been thinking a lot about freedom.

Not the big, abstract kind we usually talk about. The everyday kind.

The freedom to be a child.

The freedom to love your beautiful brown skin without anyone planting doubt in your mind.

The freedom to be curious, imaginative, and just a little bit weird.

In this episode, I'm sharing some of the moments that make me grateful for the life my husband and I have inten...

Hey Doc—

If you're looking for an au pair right now and wondering whether all the good candidates have disappeared into thin air, you're not imagining it.

I've had several physician moms ask me how I find au pairs when the agency websites seem completely picked over. And since I'm currently searching for a new au pair myself, the timing felt perfect to pull back the curtain on exactly how I do it.

This is not a conversation abou...

Hey Doc,

Were you taught that patients lie?

I was.

Somewhere during training, the idea got planted that our job is to uncover the truth because patients won’t always tell it. Then I became an attending and started experiencing it myself.

You spend twenty minutes counseling a patient. You draw diagrams. You answer questions. You document everything.

Then somehow…

“Nobody explained that to me.”

“The doctor nev...

Hey Doc —

I finally had to sit down and record this episode because I keep talking about NotebookLM to everybody. My Facebook friends. My sisters. Random physician moms who probably just asked me one innocent question and suddenly got a 20-minute TED Talk about AI 😂

But seriously? This tool is one of the most useful things I’ve added to my life recently.

And if your brain already feels overloaded by medicine, motherhood, ...

I have to tell you what just happened in my house. My son ran inside to find me, eyes wide, proud as anything, and announced: "Mommy, I was just being resourceful." His toy car had rolled under the fridge. He tried the broom. He tried the mop. The fly swatter is what finally worked and he found another car under there he thought he had lost.

In this episode, I'm using that moment to walk you through what affirmations actually do. No...

Au pair travel comes up in the groups every single week, and it's usually a horror story. The awkward silences, the au pair completely checked out, the vacation that didn't feel like a vacation.

I did this episode because I think a lot of that drama is avoidable, and I want to share how we do it.

But before you book that extra ticket, you need to answer a few questions honestly.

• Is this a trip or a vacation?
• Do you actually want ch...

Hey Doc,

I just got back from ACOG and I’m still on a high!

I went mainly to hear Michelle Obama speak and she did not disappoint. But what surprised me most was how deeply aligned her message was with everything I talk about here on Stethoscopes and Strollers.

This wasn’t some polished keynote speech full of inspirational fluff. It felt like sitting in on a private conversation between two accomplished Black women talking...

Hey Doc,

I’m on my way to DC!

My first home in this country. Howard. All of it.

I’m going to ACOG’s ACSM, our national meeting, which is funny, because I don’t practice anymore.

But this work I do with physician moms is rooted in the same transitions we see every day in medicine.

Last year I went for physician wellbeing.

This year, Michelle Obama is there, so… clearly I’m going.

Also, it’s my son...

Hey Doc,

If you’ve ever said, “I just need more help,” and then somehow ended up more overwhelmed… this episode is for you.

Because the problem usually isn’t that you don’t have help.

It’s that you’re delegating the wrong things… in the wrong order… without a system.

So now you’ve got someone managing tasks that probably shouldn’t exist in the first place, while...

Hey Doc,

Let’s talk about something that sounds simple… but clearly is not.

You are allowed to change your mind.

I say that, and I already know some of you are side-eyeing me like, “Okay… but it’s not that easy.”

I know. I know it’s not.

Because in medicine, we don’t pivot. We commit. We decide and then we stick with it.

Even when life changes.

Even when we change.

Especially after motherho...

Hey Doc

I had a moment recently that stopped me in my tracks.

My kids were heading out for a full day—something fun, something special—and I wasn’t there. And instead of guilt?

I felt peace. Gratitude. Relief.

Not because I don’t want to be with them. But because I know they are well cared for, loved, and having a full, joyful experience, even when I’m not the one making it happen.

In this episode, I’...

Hey Doc —

Doctor’s Day can feel… underwhelming.

A small gesture. A generic message. Maybe a reminder that you’re appreciated, without anything actually changing.

And for a lot of physicians, that disconnect doesn’t go unnoticed.

In this episode, I’m sharing a different kind of Doctor’s Day message. Not about what you received, but about how you see yourself inside the system you work in.

We get...

Hey Doc —

This is Part 2 of my conversation with Dr. Traci De Splinter, an OB/GYN here in Texas and a seasoned physician mom whose daughters are now adults.

In Part 1, we talked about what it looked like for her to have a baby during residency and navigate some incredibly difficult years early in her career. In this part of our conversation, we move forward in the story.

Dr. Traci shares what life looked like raising two young d...

Hey Doc —

This is a conversation I’ve really been looking forward to sharing with you.

I’m joined by Dr. Traci De Splinter, an OB/GYN here in Texas and a seasoned physician mom whose daughters are now adults. I love conversations like this because most of the physician moms I talk to in this podcast are in the thick of early motherhood—myself included. There is something really powerful about hearing from some...

Hey Doc —

There’s something I see over and over again when I work with physician moms.

You’ve achieved incredible things. Medical school. Residency. Building a career. Raising children. Holding together entire ecosystems of people who depend on you.

And yet, when I ask you to name something you’re proud of?

Silence.

Or you brush it off.

Or you immediately pivot to the next thing you still need to accomplish.

In thi...

Hey Doc,

I’m in the middle of launching a brand-new HVAC business with my husband. And let me tell you: starting a business from scratch, self-funded, no clients, no safety net? It will humble you real quick.

I’ve been nauseous before networking meetings.

Sweaty before introducing myself.

Mortified after asking a very basic question at a major conference.

And I still did it.

Because here’s the truth I keep teaching my c...

Hey Doc,

What do you do when everything looks “successful” on paper… but you’re not actually satisfied?

In Part 2 of my conversation with Dr. Gina Dapul-Hidalgo — allergist, CEO, twin mom — we talk about the season that doesn’t get discussed enough.

The one where you’ve done everything right.

You trained.

You built the career.

You became the mom.

And yet… something feels off.

Dr. Gina...

Hey Doc,

What happens when you’re pregnant with twins, working full-time, and living in a city with no family nearby?

In this first part of my conversation with Dr. Gina Dapul-Hidalgo, board-certified pediatric and adult allergist, private practice CEO, and twin mom, we go back to the beginning.

Before the CEO title.

Before the older-kid stage.

Back to the pregnancy. The delivery. The five-week postpartum return to work.

Dr. Gina s...

You already have the degree that matters, doc.

But somewhere along the way, many of us started believing that we need another certification, another course, or another set of letters behind our name before we’re “ready” to do the thing we actually want to do.

In this episode, I’m breaking down three common degrees I see women physicians chasing — not because they truly need them, but because they’v...