Welcome to the Sustainable Clinical Medicine Podcast!

In today’s episode, Dr. Sarah Smith sits down with Dr. Sarah Lea, a family and addiction medicine physician based in Victoria, BC, to discuss her deeply personal and transformative journey through medicine. Together, they dive into Dr. Lea’s experiences navigating medical training, motherhood, and a rewarding but complex clinical career—including her candid account of facing and working through burnout.

Dr. Lea shares how she balanced demanding clinical roles, built an innovative perinatal addiction medicine program, and ultimately made tough decisions to prioritize her well-being and her family. Listeners will hear about the support systems and strategies she used, like coaching, therapy, and honest conversations at home, as well as her passion for supporting other physicians facing burnout. Plus, Dr. Lea discusses her ongoing work in coaching, retreats, and her own podcast—all aimed at helping clinicians lead more sustainable and fulfilling lives.

If you’re looking for inspiration, practical tools, and validation that you’re not alone in the challenges of practicing medicine, you won’t want to miss this insightful and heartfelt episode.

Here are 3 key takeaways from this episode:

1. Burnout is often invisible on the outside: Lea describes how, even while “holding it together” at work, burnout showed up at home—as irritability, distraction, and feeling disconnected from family. It’s a powerful reminder to check in with how we’re actually feeling, not just performing.
2. Support and coaching are essential tools: For Dr. Lea, reaching out to a coach and counselor helped her gain clarity and prioritize her needs, both professionally and personally. Finding or building your support system can be career-saving.
3. Teamwork matters—at home and at work: Whether it’s sharing responsibilities with a partner or building multi-disciplinary teams in healthcare, sustainability comes from collaboration. Delegating tasks and honest conversations can lighten the load for everyone.

Meet Dr. Sarah Lea:

Dr. Sarah A. Lea is a family and addiction medicine physician, executive coach, and wellness champion based in Victoria, BC. With a background in women's health and over a decade in clinical practice, she blends science, storytelling, and soul in her talks and workshops. Whether she’s coaching burned-out docs, speaking on perinatal addiction, or helping teams build real-deal resilience, Sarah brings both the evidence and the empathy. She’s also a certified meditation instructor and TEDx speaker who believes that well-being is the secret sauce to sustainable healthcare—and she's on a mission to help others lead with energy, authenticity, and heart.

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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
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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.

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 special episode, Dr. Sarah Smith brings together her “brains trust”—the talented team of assistant coaches from Charting Champions and Smarter Charting—for an inspiring and honest roundtable discussion. Join Dr. Jacqueline Holm-Jhass, Dr. Milene Argo, and Dr. Noel Nelson as they open up about their personal journeys from burnout to rediscovering joy in medicine, and share their passion for helping clinicians create better clinical days.

You’ll hear firsthand stories about the real costs of working after hours, practical strategies for managing the chaos of unpredictable clinic days, and priceless reminders that you are not alone in the struggle. The coaches offer compassionate advice on emotional regulation, self-compassion, and the vital importance of finding celebration and purpose—even on the hardest days.

Whether you’re deep in the trenches of clinical work or just starting to think about how to make medicine more sustainable, this episode is packed with relatable insights, encouragement, and actionable wisdom to help you reclaim time for your life outside of medicine. Get ready to meet the coaches who are changing the way clinicians approach their clinical days and rekindling love for the profession—one conversation at a time.

Here are 3 key takeaways from this episode:

1. You’re Not Alone: Every physician experiences overwhelm—even the coaches and leaders we look up to. Vulnerability and community are key to finding solutions and breaking the cycle of isolation.
2. Small Wins & Self-Compassion Matter: Shifting from self-criticism to celebration of even tiny wins each day (like finishing one tough chart, or supporting a grieving patient) helps change the narrative and builds resilience over time.
3. The System is Broken, Not You: The impossible demands of modern medicine make it crucial to set boundaries and redefine what “good enough” looks like for you, rather than striving for unattainable perfection.

The Charting Champions Coaches

Dr. Sarah Smith and her vibrant Charting Coach team: Dr. Jacqueline Holm-Jhass, Dr. Milene Argo, and Dr. Noel Nelson. Get ready for an honest, supportive, and practical conversation about what it truly takes to create a sustainable, joyful clinical day as a physician or clinician.

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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.

Welcome to the Sustainable Clinical Medicine Podcast!

In this inspiring episode, Dr. Sarah Smith sits down with Ellen Tsai, a pediatric critical care physician educator and coach with a rich and varied career spanning over two decades. Ellen shares her journey from the high-intensity world of pediatric critical care to her work in bioethics, legal medicine, and now physician coaching. They dive deep into strategies for sustaining well-being in demanding medical fields, building strong team dynamics, and the importance of honest, compassionate communication with families facing tough decisions.

Ellen also opens up about her own experience with burnout, the role coaching played in her recovery, and how she continues to support fellow physicians navigating similar challenges today. Whether you’re interested in practical tips for creating a more sustainable clinical day, curious about the intersection of medicine and ethics, or seeking inspiration for your own path in healthcare, this episode is full of insights you won’t want to miss.

Here are 3 key takeaways from this episode:

1. Investing in Team Communication & Safe Learning: Effective care in high-stress environments depends on open collaboration and psychological safety. Creating a space where team members—especially trainees—can ask questions and admit when they don’t know something is essential for both patient outcomes and professional growth.
2. Embracing the “Gray Zone” of Bioethics: Ellen Tsai’s experience teaching bioethics reminds us that medicine is full of ambiguous, emotionally charged situations. Cultivating curiosity, empathy, and respect for differing values helps clinicians support families while navigating complex decisions—sometimes, just “having the conversation” is more important than reaching a quick decision.
3. Proactive Self-care & Seeking Support: Burnout often surfaces quietly and insidiously. Ellen Tsai’s candid discussion of her own journey highlights the need for early recognition, reaching out for help, and the value of coaching. She also emphasized that medical-legal events can be devastating, but do not define your competence or worth as a physician.

Ellen Tsai Bio:

I am a Certified Executive Coach and a Master Certified Physician Development Coach. I am a solo entrepreneur coach with a focus on coaching early-career professionals and physicians at all career stages. My goal is to help people achieve their fullest potential, both personally and professionally.

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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.