The Balanced Medics' Handover Podcast

Dr Sarah Arachchi is a paediatrician, soon to be author, speaker, mother of two boys and a strong advocate for women. She has organised conferences and events for medical parents and currently co-convenes the RACP educational sessions for paediatricians as well as being a member of the AMA Women in medicine committee.

We discuss:

- How mentorship and support are crucial in a medical career

- Being a parent and a doctor

- Fert...

Dr Adaira Landry is an Emergency Medicine Physician, and Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School with almost a decade of experience mentoring students and early-career professionals. She is an entrepreneur, keynote speaker, and mentor. She co-founded Writing in Color, a nonprofit that teaches the craft of writing. 

Dr Resa E. Lewiss is a Professor of Emergency Medicine, TEDMed speaker, designer, entrepreneur, educator, me...

Dr. Malathi Acharya shares her journey from being a hospitalist to becoming a primary care physician and eventually starting her own practice in integrative medicine. Dr. Acharya emphasises the importance of self-care and self-nourishment in combating burnout and finding meaning and purpose in medicine.

We discuss:

- How self-care and self-nourishment are essential in combating burnout and finding meaning and purpose in medic...

Dr. Patrick Johnson, a psychiatrist and the medical director of the Victorian Doctors' Health Program, discusses physician suicide and wellbeing. He shares his journey to becoming a psychiatrist and his interest in doctors’ health. Dr. Johnson emphasises the importance of addressing loneliness, shame, and depression as risk factors for suicide. He highlights the need for leadership and wellbeing in the medical profession and en...

Dr Stephen Bergman AKA Samuel Shem, author of famed ‘The House of God’, is on to talk his new book.

‘Our Hospital’ is the final book in Shem’s Healing Quartet, about the COVID-19 pandemic and money-driven bureaucracy in medicine. 

It was fun to speak with Shem to hear about his colourful life & provocative books.

‘The House of God’ is a satirical novel, exposing the dark side of medicine training. It’s often said...

Dr Jolie Keenan is an infectious disease physician, real estate investor, mother, and founder of Best Year Journals. Best Year Journals was created after witnessing patients write down lists of dreams and aspirations post life-changing diagnoses. Jolie noticed that often the dreams were being written down for retirement, so she decided to create these journals with her mother so that we can live our “retirement” goals NOW. 

We...

Dr Mary Leung is on this episode to discuss how she recovered from burnout and found a path that aligned with her values more. Dr Leung is a physician specialised in medical oncology, haematology, and internal medicine. She went from feeling trapped and devalued at work to regaining control of her life.

We discuss:

- what led up to Mary’s burnout

- the danger of self-sacrifice

- how she transformed her life

- how caring for ou...

This episode we have Dr. Funke Afolabi-Brown, a sleep medicine physician, to speak all about how she found her niche in medicine and created her own business. She is passionate about helping people discover sleep as their superpower. Dr. Afolabi-Brown is a clinician, speaker, consultant, and coach, and she helps busy professionals and their children prioritise sleep to thrive, achieve optimal health, and live to their fullest poten...

This episode we have Sharee Johnson on. Sharee is a registered psychologist and executive coach to leaders, business owners and health professionals. Sharee is the founder of Coaching for Doctors and author of bestselling book The Thriving Doctor. As part of Coaching for Doctors, Sharee also offers Recalibrate, an immersive development program for doctors that is due to start in-person this 8th of March in Melbourne. There is an on...

Today we have Dr Nishi Bhopal, a psychiatrist, sleep medicine physician, who practices holistic medicine, calling from San Francisco. Nishi did all the things she was supposed to do, but found herself experiencing high levels of stress in training, that ultimately led to burnout. Nishi is on to share her story and how she turned her experience into a practice that helps to heal others.

Nishi currently teaches other doctors slee...

This episode we my friend on, Dr Charlotte Cachia, my friend from internship & residency who has a big career change.

From critical care to a non-clinical specialty, pathology, Charlotte is on to share her story. I’m so grateful for Charlotte’s vulnerability and honesty in how she healed from burnout and found a career in medicine that helps her live a more fulfilling life. 

We discuss:

- Charlotte’s journey from youn...

This episode we have Dr Barb Blasko, an Emergency Medicine Specialist and owner of a mobile healthcare service for equestrian events, called Show MD. This episode is all about how we can combine our passions to create our own unique career. Instead of ‘either/or’, we can be ‘yes, and’.

We discuss:

- How she got to where she is now

- Why Barb chose Emergency Medicine

- How Barb combined her love of horses with medicine

- Tips on sta...

This episode we have Dr Mary Magdy on to discuss her role as a Principal Investigator in Clinical Trials. This job is a hidden gem that remunerates well. It’s a growing industry in Australia and not want some might think when they hear research. Tune in to learn more about this role that is a great option for doctors that want to stay in medicine, keep seeing patients, but in a different way.

We discuss:

- Mary’s journey in me...

This episode we have Dr Bishan Rajapakse on. He is an Emergency Medicine Specialist, writer, educator, and advocate for wellbeing, culture, and safety. Bishan came on to share his story & wisdom. This episode is great to show us all how there is no rush to the consultant finish line. We all do life at our own pace and that is more than okay.

We discuss:

- Bishan’s scenic route to specialisation

- How he lived his life with...

We’re so excited to share the latest episode of the podcast. Dr Kristine Goins, also known as The Nomad MD, is our guest. Kristine is an integrative adult and paediatric psychiatrist and world traveler. She is living proof that doctors can work remotely and is on a mission to help digitise medicine. Kristine is a coach to help other physicians change their life from traditional medicine to pursue location freedom.

We discuss:

- Kri...

This episode we have the inspiring Dr Vanessa Atienza-Hipolito on to share her journey. Vanessa is a Clinical Breast and Interventional Radiologist and solopreneur. She is the Clinical Director and business owner of Women’s & Breast Imaging in Cottesloe, educator, co-author, mother and triathlete. Vanessa is an international medical graduate and dedicates her recent award, Filipino-Australian of the Year, to all migrant people ...

This episode we have Dr Toni Liu back! Listen to episode 2 to hear our first chat about people-pleasing and how to beat it. This time we are chatting all about those tricky emotions surrounding leaving medicine. Dr Toni Liu is a physician from the US who left medicine to be a cartoonist, digital nomad, and self-love and relationship coach. 

We discuss:

- The emotions we both felt when contemplating leaving medicine

- What came up w...

This episode we have Dr Seema Pattni, a mother, GP and career coach with a special interest in coaching women of South Asian backgrounds. Seema kindly came on to the pod to discuss how we can make empowered choices in our lives. I’m sure we have all felt a bit lost at some point in our lives, moving past this fog can be scary. Where do we even start?

We discuss:

- How we can make sustainable career and life choices based on ou...