
Stimulus - Learn Tools to Crush It in Your Medical Career
Do you work in medicine and love patient care but feel like parts of the job don’t measure up? Stimulus equips you with tools, mindset shifts, and strategies they didn’t teach you in training—so you can practice medicine like a boss, flourish in your career, and not let it crush your soul. Emergency physician and executive coach Rob Orman, MD, goes in-depth with thought leaders on how to avoid burnout, improve communication, lead without drama, and stay calm amidst the storm. Don’t just suck it up, think differently.
Latest episodes

12 snips
Mar 22, 2021 • 56min
43. How to Not Take Things Personally
Frederik Imbo, founder of Imboorling, shares insights on how to not take things personally, achieving sustainable happiness, dealing with patient reviews in healthcare, and the joy of giving without expectations. He emphasizes self-awareness and self-restoration, as well as the importance of direct communication and self-love for personal growth.

Mar 8, 2021 • 19min
42. Tough Love and Managing Complainers | Unapologetic expectations with Jim Adams, MD
Jim Adams, MD is direct, transparent, and unapologetic in his ‘tough love’ management strategy. In this episode, Jim breaks down: how setting expectations early helps to manage complaints later, managing those who degrade social capital, redirecting conflict to mutual benefit, and how understanding what motivates others’ behavior keeps you from taking things personally. Guest Bio: Jim Adams, MD is professor and chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. He is also the senior vice president and chief medical officer at Northwestern Medicine. Awake + Aware | Our 2025 Live Event⭐ Join us at Awake and Aware 2025, a game-changing 3-day workshop from May 5-7 in Bend, Oregon. Learn how to stay cool when the pressure’s on and lock in the mindset you need to flourish. Space is limited.🖱️ Website: Awakeandawarebend.com🎓 P.S. Yes, this is a CME event!The Flameproof CourseThe hidden anti-burnout curriculum we all should have learned in training. Cohort 3 begins Sept 10, 2024. Get the deets For full show notes of this episode and all sorts of other goodies, visit our podcast website We discuss: Zen and the art of scheduling [05:30]; Why you might not want to be a complainer [07:05]; The benefit of assuming people are unreasonable and crazy [08:10]; A strategy for handling people who degrade social capital [10:30]; Blend and redirect, a technique for negotiation and collaboration that’ll make you much happier than combat [14:00]; “People are not against you. They're just for themselves.” [16:15].

12 snips
Feb 22, 2021 • 27min
41. Cognitive Reframing | Shifting the approach with addiction, end of life, and catastrophizing
In this episode, Dr. Jaime Hope discusses the power of cognitive reframing and how it can help in difficult situations. Topics include reframing interactions with hostile patients, discussing comfort measures with dying patients' families, and dealing with dramatic patients. Dr. Hope also explores addiction and promoting compassion as well as the impact of reframing oneself and their job for increased job satisfaction. Great advice is shared for first-year medical students on listening to patients and the importance of empathy.

Feb 8, 2021 • 1h 13min
39. Vinay Prasad Wants to Flip Your Vote | Chemotherapy delusions, overstating benefit, trade offs, and medical reversal
Vinay Prasad pulls no punches in this wide ranging conversation about the realities (and delusions) about chemotherapy research, principle centered social media engagement, flipping votes, the FDA drug approval process, the importance of early palliative care, the dangers of embellishing therapeutic benefit, medical reversals, effective vs efficacious, and trade offs in decision making. Guest Bio: Dr Vinay Prasad is a practicing hematologist-oncologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of California San Francisco. He studies cancer drugs, health policy, clinical trials and better decision making. He is author of over 250 academic articles, and the books Ending Medical Reversal (2015), and Malignant (2020). He hosts the oncology podcast Plenary Session. Follow Vinay on Twitter.Episode Sponsor: This podcast is also brought to you by Panacea Financial, a financial services company created for doctors, by doctors -- aiming to improve the lives of physicians and physicians in training with products and services tailored to the medical community. Spotlighted in this episode is the Panacea Financial Foundation which provides grants to underrepresented minorities in medicine. Panacea Financial is a Division of Sonabank, Member FDIC.Awake + Aware | Our 2025 Live Event⭐ Join us at Awake and Aware 2025, a game-changing 3-day workshop from May 5-7 in Bend, Oregon. Learn how to stay cool when the pressure’s on and lock in the mindset you need to flourish. Space is limited.🖱️ Website: Awakeandawarebend.com🎓 P.S. Yes, this is a CME event!The Flameproof CourseThe hidden anti-burnout curriculum we all should have learned in training. Cohort 3 begins Sept 10, 2024. Get the deets For full show notes of this episode and all sorts of other goodies, visit our podcast websiteWe discuss:The realities of the dissemination of scientific information on Twitter [05:12];Vinay’s intent when he posts a controversial tweet [09:00];Why he’s an outlier in the cancer drug policy circle [16:15];A recent JAMA article which raises the question: Do we have a collective delusion about the potential benefits of chemotherapy? [18:20];The FDA drug approval process [20:25];The discrepancy between what's measured in cancer clinical trials and what actually would matter to cancer patients [22:38];Questions to ask when being offered treatment options for cancer [24:30];The importance of having rich discussion with patients about treatment side effects and potential toxicities [28:30];The value of early palliative care and a common cognitive pitfall in oncology [31:25];The dangers of empathy and the better alternative: compassion [35:00];Why embellishing the benefit of a treatment is the wrong thing to do [39:20];Prasad’s book Ending Medical Reversal and the potential harms of sudden flip-flopping of standards of care in medicine [44:00];The difference between ‘effective’ and ‘efficacious’ as it relates to public health and policy [47:46];Prasad’s thoughts on the language surrounding masks vs. the data surrounding masks [54:40];How not wearing a mask might be the product of a lot of long-standing failures in American economic policy and upward mobility [01:02:00];A deficiency of the pandemic which is to not thoroughly consider the trade-offs of the decisions we make [01:06:24];What the data tells us about the risk of COVID transmission in schools [01:08:34];And more.

Jan 25, 2021 • 1h 13min
38. How to Meditate
In this podcast, master meditation teacher Robert Beatty discusses the basics of meditation, starting a meditation practice, mindfulness principles, and healthy coping mechanisms. He also explores the paradoxes of meditation and shares personal insights gained from long-term practice. The podcast delves into the concepts of impermanence, compassion, self-hatred, and self-acceptance. The speakers emphasize the importance of living in the present moment, finding balance and gratitude, and turning towards difficult emotions with the help of meditation.

Jan 11, 2021 • 22min
37. Stress Inoculation | HALO procedures, racing the clock, low fi sim, and the power of an audience
We break down three techniques to inoculate yourself against the stress of time-critical tasks.Guest Bio: Jason Hine, MD is a community emergency medicine physician at Southern Maine Healthcare where he is the Medical Director of Education. He is a graduate of Tufts University School of Medicine and the Temple EM Residency program where he served as chief. He serves as an Associate Editor and Author on the DownEast EM blog and podcast and has an interest in procedural skill set decay as well as the role of academics in improving the recruitment, retention, and satisfaction of community physicians. Episode Sponsor: Panacea Financial is a financial services company created for doctors, by doctors -- aiming to improve the lives of physicians and physicians in training with products and services tailored to the medical community. Whether it's scheduling residency interviews, trying to buy a house during training, or looking for ways to fund your practice, Panacea Financial was created to remove the unique financial hurdles of physicians and allow you to better serve your communities. Panacea Financial is a Division of Sonabank, Member FDIC. You can follow them on the Insta, Twitter, Facebook, and everybody's well dressed favorite, Linkedin. Awake + Aware | Our 2025 Live Event⭐ Join us at Awake and Aware 2025, a game-changing 3-day workshop from May 5-7 in Bend, Oregon. Learn how to stay cool when the pressure’s on and lock in the mindset you need to flourish. Space is limited.🖱️ Website: Awakeandawarebend.com🎓 P.S. Yes, this is a CME event!The Flameproof CourseThe hidden anti-burnout curriculum we all should have learned in training. Cohort 3 begins Sept 10, 2024. Get the deets For full show notes of this episode and all sorts of other goodies, visit our podcast websiteWe discuss:The importance of stress inoculation training when you need to perform a HALO (High Acuity Low Opportunity) procedure [05:15];How inoculating against stress helps you 1) perform well when confronted with the situation in real life and 2) serves as a memory aid [07:05];3 techniques for stress inoculation [08:00];Why you should not only ask people to observe you, but also request that they provide feedback on your imperfections [16:40];The advantages of low-fidelity stress inoculation strategies as compared with simulation labs [18:00];Additional tools for reducing stress [19:20];And more.

Dec 28, 2020 • 30min
35. A Physician's Terminal Diagnosis | Facing mortality and sharing wisdom
Guest Christiaan Maurer MD, diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, discusses what terminal illness taught him about time and what people with cancer do and don't need. They also talk about preparing your family for a future without you, the most/least admirable traits in physicians, and the secret of life.

Dec 21, 2020 • 19min
34. How Tylenol and Sleep Impact Vaccine Antibody Response
The historical effects of acetaminophen and sleep on vaccine antibody response. Awake + Aware | Our 2025 Live Event⭐ Join us at Awake and Aware 2025, a game-changing 3-day workshop from May 5-7 in Bend, Oregon. Learn how to stay cool when the pressure’s on and lock in the mindset you need to flourish. Space is limited.🖱️ Website: Awakeandawarebend.com🎓 P.S. Yes, this is a CME event!The Flameproof CourseThe hidden anti-burnout curriculum we all should have learned in training. Cohort 3 begins Sept 10, 2024. Get the deets For full show notes of this episode and all sorts of other goodies, visit our podcast websiteWe Discuss:Listener questions about ERcast and how an mRNA vaccine works [0:00:30];COVID mutations in Europe may increase transmissibility [00:04:40];Recently published side effects and adverse reactions of Pfizer COVID vaccine [00:06:05]Impact of acetaminophen and ibuprofen on vaccine antibody response [00:10:13];How sleep impacts vaccine antibody response [00:16:19]

19 snips
Dec 14, 2020 • 51min
33. Willpower Depletion and the Limits of Self Regulation
Most of us have habits we'd like to change -- both getting rid of bad ones and adopting good ones. It's easier said than done! Habits by nature are hardwired and happen without much activation energy. In this episode, Christina Shenvi MD, PhD breaks down the nature of willpower, how knowing it's a limited resource can play to our advantage, strategies for getting out of bad habits, and how to adopt the ones you want.Guest Bio: Christina Shenvi MD, PhD is an emergency physician at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill where she is the director of the UNC Office of Academic Excellence. A frequent guest on Stimulus, she has now started coaching and teaching more broadly on time management. Her goal is to help busy professionals find more peace with their schedules, feel less stressed, and use their time more effectively. Dr. Shenvi blogs at: www.timeforyourlife.org, and offers workshops on time management.Episode Sponsor: Panacea Financial is a financial services company created for doctors, by doctors -- aiming to improve the lives of physicians and physicians in training with products and services tailored to the medical community. Whether it's scheduling residency interviews, trying to buy a house during training, or looking for ways to fund your practice, Panacea Financial was created to remove the unique financial hurdles of physicians and allow you to better serve your communities. Panacea Financial is a Division of Sonabank, Member FDIC.Awake + Aware | Our 2025 Live Event⭐ Join us at Awake and Aware 2025, a game-changing 3-day workshop from May 5-7 in Bend, Oregon. Learn how to stay cool when the pressure’s on and lock in the mindset you need to flourish. Space is limited.🖱️ Website: Awakeandawarebend.com🎓 P.S. Yes, this is a CME event!The Flameproof CourseThe hidden anti-burnout curriculum we all should have learned in training. Cohort 3 begins Sept 10, 2024. Get the deets For full show notes of this episode and all sorts of other goodies, visit our podcast websiteWe discuss:Self-regulation and how it relates to willpower [06:00];How willpower is a limited resource [08:00];Tricks for building up your willpower muscle [14:45];The habit cycle, and why we need to understand how habits work before we can change them [20:25];Breaking bad habits using mental contrasting with implementation intention [24:55];The process of strategic automatism, where you're strategically forming a habit so that you do it automatically [28:50];Why it helps to think about the identity you want to have when you’re working on improving your habits [29:30];Habit stacking [36:30];And more.

Nov 30, 2020 • 1h 9min
31. The Dalai Lama’s Doctor, Barry Kerzin MD
A discussion with His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s personal physician Barry Kerzin, MD on: how he came to his unique job, why compassion might be better than empathy in healthcare, simple ways to develop compassion towards both others and yourself, the cure for jealousy, lessening the impact of errors, and a prescription for longevity in medicine and life. Guest Bio: Barry Kerzin, MD is a US born and trained family physician who for the past several decades has resided a monk in Dharamshala, India -- home of the Tibetan community in exile. In addition to serving as H.H. the Dalai Lama’s personal physician, Dr. Kerzin is the founder of the Altruism in Medicine Institute, whose mission is to increase compassion and resilience among healthcare professionals and extended professional groups, such as police officers, first responders, teachers and leaders.Self described as “...a doctor, a monk, a teacher, a lazy man. All of these things, yet none of these things,” you can follow Dr. Kerzin on Facebook, Youtube, Instagram or learn more about his story here.Awake + Aware | Our 2025 Live Event⭐ Join us at Awake and Aware 2025, a game-changing 3-day workshop from May 5-7 in Bend, Oregon. Learn how to stay cool when the pressure’s on and lock in the mindset you need to flourish. Space is limited.🖱️ Website: Awakeandawarebend.com🎓 P.S. Yes, this is a CME event!The Flameproof CourseThe hidden anti-burnout curriculum we all should have learned in training. Cohort 3 begins Sept 10, 2024. Get the deets For full show notes of this episode and all sorts of other goodies, visit our podcast website We discuss: How Barry Kerzin got the job of being the Dalai Lama’s personal physician [07:15]; Why allopathic medical providers shouldn’t discount traditional health care systems [18:20]; Advice Dr. Kerzin would give to his younger self upon graduation from family medicine residency in the late 1980s [24:25]; The dangers of too much empathy [27:00]; Compassion, which is just about a half step back from empathy [29:15]; Methods of teaching compassion on a curricular level [33:20]; The Buddhist practice of unconditional compassion [39:45]; The importance of mutual respect, even in the face of difference [43:35]; Replacing jealousy with rejoicing [46:00]; The pillars of self-compassion [49:48]; Lessening the impact of an error [56:15]; Bodhisattvas -- people who have universal compassion that excludes no one [56:15]; What it’s like to live in Dharamshala and to be the Dalai Lama’s physician for the past 15 years [59:20]; Dr. Kerzin’s prescription for longevity in medicine [01:07:45]; And more.