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In this episode of Doctors at Work, Elle Todd tells me about her journey from full time medicine to pursuing a portfolio career, highlighting the importance of self-reflection and proactive exploration in determining one's career path. The discussion covers various aspects of career transition, including the challenges of burnout, the benefits of a portfolio career, and the importance of aligning one's values and interests with their profession. Some key questions to ask is what is it that you want, and where do you want to be in 10 years time. The conversation concludes with us emphasising the need for thoughtful decision-making, awareness, and self-care in the process.

Elle Todd is a part-time A&E doctor, business owner, creator, and coach. She started her businesses with her brother during her foundation training, which include Doormarked (a property-tech platform) and Not Another Gift Company (an e-commerce business selling personalised prints & motivational gifts). She has managed to combine her interests in medicine & entrepreneurship to create a portfolio career where she finds fulfilment in various pursuits that align with her values. This hasn’t come without its challenges though.... She shares her journey and lessons she has learnt on the way through her Instagram, weekly newsletter & blog to help others navigate career doubts, overcome burnout & follow any entrepreneurial dreams. She is on a mission to educate and empower others facing similar challenges in their careers! Find her at www.gabrielletodd.com, https://www.instagram.com/ellejeantodd, https://doormarked.com, and https://www.notanothergiftcompany.co.uk/.

Listen at https://matdaniel.net/podcast/; https://open.spotify.com/show/1j8uLaUU1g5bYTRVuwUX7j?si=672ec26a73164d7f; https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/doctors-at-work/id1701284564; or watch on www.youtube.com/@dr-coach/videos.
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You can find out more about Mat's coaching to help doctors create successful and meaningful careers at www.MatDaniel.net.

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All of us have a reputation and a personal brand. In this episode of Doctors at Work, Greg and I discuss the concept of personal branding. We talk about where our reputation comes from, including the importance of digital presence. There are benefits to a positive personal brand, both financial (if working in private systems) and reputational, but there are costs too including professional help and the headspace needed. Changing one's personal brand is definitely possible, and indeed may be desirable as the world around us changes.

Born and raised in Harlem, New York City, Gregory Williams was instilled with a deep set of patriotic values and “life to service” by his grandfather a U.S. Army World War II veteran. Growing up, Williams always dreamed of becoming an actor and fulfilled that dream by being on shows such as Law & Order SVU, White Collar, The Blacklist, and served as host for PLAYTV USA (a call-in gameshow). In 2007, Williams began his marketing career with a movie screening company and for the next decade worked on his craft in promotional marketing. While working as a marketing manager, In 2008, Williams decided to fulfill another boyhood dream, which was to follow in his grandfather's footsteps by becoming a U.S. Army soldier. After balancing a close to two decade-long marketing career and military career, Williams completed multiple combat tours, overseas training missions and became the first-ever “Meet Your Army Facebook LIVE” event host (garnering 400,000 views). In 2020, Williams began his journey into the non-profit sector and produced the award-winning podcast “The PHIner Life Show,” which aimed at highlighting veteran experiences from around the nation. In 2024, Williams joined ParadeDeck TV as an official on-air personality, interviewing celebrities, military veterans, and community leaders. A life long learner, Williams prides himself as being known as “The King of Knowing Nothing But Open To Learning Everything.”

Listen at https://matdaniel.net/podcast/; https://open.spotify.com/show/1j8uLaUU1g5bYTRVuwUX7j?si=672ec26a73164d7f; https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/doctors-at-work/id1701284564; or watch on www.youtube.com/@dr-coach/videos.
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You can find out more about Mat's coaching to help doctors create successful and meaningful careers at www.MatDaniel.net.

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Marie Lyons is an ENT consultant who has held multiple senior leadership roles. In this episode of Doctors at Work, she shares her leadership journey from medical school to her current role, highlighting her experiences and motivations along the way. She discussed the importance of formal training, cross-divisional collaboration, and personal growth in leadership roles, emphasising the need for humility, self-reflection, and open communication. Marie also reflected on the challenges faced by aspiring medical professionals and the importance of fostering resilience and a healthy attitude towards failure in younger colleagues.

Marie Lyons is an ENT consultant, deputy Medical Director, and Responsible Officer. Her interests include leadership development, swimming and singing. You can find her on Linkedin at https://www.linkedin.com/in/marie-lyons-50861a35/, on X @marielyonsent, and on facebook.

Listen at https://matdaniel.net/podcast/; https://open.spotify.com/show/1j8uLaUU1g5bYTRVuwUX7j?si=672ec26a73164d7f; https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/doctors-at-work/id1701284564; or watch on www.youtube.com/@dr-coach/videos.
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You can find out more about Mat's coaching to help doctors create successful and meaningful careers at www.MatDaniel.net.

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Learning practical skills such as surgery is challenging. In this episode of Doctors at Work, Brian Westerberg tells me about mental imagery. This is a technique that he has found through his elite sport contacts. It helps him anticipate and "practice" surgical steps, and is a way to train new surgeons too. We also talk about mindfulness, exercise, the importance of having non-judgemental support.

You might also like episodes 56, 80, 82, 108 on performance psychology, and episode 98 on the impostor syndrome.

Dr. Brian Westerberg, an Otolaryngologist specializing in Otology and Neurotology is based at the B.C. Rotary Hearing and Balance Centre at St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver British Columbia. Dr. Westerberg graduated from Queen’s University Faculty of Medicine in 1989, completed two years of Residency training in General Surgery at Queen’s before transferring to University of British Columbia to complete further training in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. He subsequently completed a Fellowship in Otology and Neurotology at the California Ear Institute at Stanford University in 1996 and a Master degree in Health Care and Epidemiology at UBC in May 1999. He is currently a Clinical Professor in the Department of Surgery. Dr. Westerberg has served the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada as a Program Director at UBC, as a member of the Examination Committee, and as Vice-Chair and Chair of the Specialty Committee for his specialty. In addition, he has been a member of the Residency Accreditation Committee and a member of the International Residency Program Review and Accreditation Committee. He has supervised numerous Master and PhD candidates, and Clinical and Research Fellows. His interest in global surgery is apparent in his involvement in Zimbabwe and Uganda Hearing Health Care Programs, and local outreach to improve access to care for patients in rural and remote communities within British Columbia. As former Medical Director of the Branch for Global Surgical Care, he has been instrumental in improving education within the field of global surgical care through approval for and subsequent development of a Master degree program in Global Surgical Care at UBC.​ As an amateur athlete and as an academic surgeon, he has always been interested in the influence of our mental state on physical performance.

Listen at https://matdaniel.net/podcast/; https://open.spotify.com/show/1j8uLaUU1g5bYTRVuwUX7j?si=672ec26a73164d7f; https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/doctors-at-work/id1701284564; or watch on www.youtube.com/@dr-coach/videos.
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You can find out more about Mat's coaching to help doctors create successful and meaningful careers at www.MatDaniel.net.

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In this episode of Doctors at Work, I have a conversation with Bu whose career spans multiple countries. She is now in Australia working as a GP, and also as a voluntary assisted-dying practitioner. She tells me that her career has evolved though a series of organic steps, focused on what she was enjoying, and what the opportunities were. With a backbone of General Practice that she can always return to, it has been easy for her to explore work as a breast physician as well as in voluntary-assisted dying. Her top tip is to look after yourself, life changes all the time and a focus on life balance is important for a satisfying career and personal life.

You can find out more about voluntary-assisted dying at https://www.health.wa.gov.au/voluntaryassisteddying

Listen at https://matdaniel.net/podcast/; https://open.spotify.com/show/1j8uLaUU1g5bYTRVuwUX7j?si=672ec26a73164d7f; https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/doctors-at-work/id1701284564; or watch on www.youtube.com/@dr-coach/videos.
Production: Shot by Polachek

You can find out more about Mat's coaching to help doctors create successful and meaningful careers at www.MatDaniel.net.

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Sui is a neurologist who has had a creative career pathway - she took time out of training to do charity work, is a trained yoga teacher, she studied lifestyle medicine, and wrote a book. In this episode of Doctors at Work, she talks about how her own career decision making, and tells me how she developed innovative ways to deliver clinical care using her knowledge of lifestyle medicine. We focus on wellbeing for doctors, and talk about the mind-body connection, and the importance of healthy eating and exercise.

Dr Sui Wong is a Consultant Neurologist & Neuro-Ophthalmologist based at Moorfields Eye Hospital & Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trusts. She is passionate about supporting doctors in training and delivering person-centred care in clinical and research settings. She has written several bestselling books on self-care and health, including Mindfulness for Brain Health, Sweet Spot for Brain Health, Sleep Better to Thrive, and Quit Ultra-Processed Foods Now. Her Thursday Tips newsletter for bitesize brain health tips to thrive is at bit.ly/drwongbrainhealth, and you can find her at drsuiwongmd.com

Listen at https://matdaniel.net/podcast/; https://open.spotify.com/show/1j8uLaUU1g5bYTRVuwUX7j?si=672ec26a73164d7f; https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/doctors-at-work/id1701284564; or watch on www.youtube.com/@dr-coach/videos.
Production: Shot by Polachek

You can find out more about Mat's coaching to help doctors create successful and meaningful careers at www.MatDaniel.net.

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You are coming to the end of your training, what next? Many doctors choose to do a fellowship. In this episode of Doctors At Work, Simon talks about the different reasons for doing a fellowship, the different fellowship types, and we discuss how to actually obtain one. The key is to recognise that fellowships are a deeply personal decision, so really know what you are wanting out of one, and start planning early.

Simon Fleming is an orthopaedic hand and wrist surgeon, medical education Ph.D and culture change advocate, with an international reputation for his work. He is a founding and Executive board member of the International Orthopaedic Diversity Alliance (IODA). He also sits on the Executive board for the NIHR Clinical Education Incubator and is an Associate Editor for Medical Education, The Clinical Teacher and the British Journal of Surgery. He is a past-Vice Chair of the United Kingdom’s Academy of Medical Royal Colleges Trainee Doctors’ Group (ATDG) and past-President of the British Orthopaedic Trainees’ Association (BOTA). He is Clinical Advisor to the Methuselah Foundation, supporting the NASA Deep Space Food Challenge. He has delivered over 250 keynotes globally on his landmark work around diversity, inclusion, improving medical and surgical training as well as challenging toxic cultures. He works with individuals and organisations to transform healthcare education and culture, as well as how to start having those uncomfortable conversations. Find him on X @orthopodreg and on www.simonfleming.co.uk.

Listen at https://matdaniel.net/podcast/; https://open.spotify.com/show/1j8uLaUU1g5bYTRVuwUX7j?si=672ec26a73164d7f; https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/doctors-at-work/id1701284564; or watch on www.youtube.com/@dr-coach/videos.
Production: Shot by Polachek

You can find out more about Mat's coaching to help doctors create successful and meaningful careers at www.MatDaniel.net.

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Greg tells me that perfectionist tendencies can be very useful, but when they get in the way of a good career or patient care there is a problem. At the core, perfectionism is about excess expectations and rigid thinking. In this episode of Doctors at Work, we talk about how perfectionism shows up in clinical work, we talk about fear of failure, and discuss some ways that we can help ourselves and others. See transcript for meeting summary.

Gregory S. Chasson, PhD, ABPP, is an esteemed psychologist, board-certified cognitive-behavioral therapist, researcher, educator, and international invited speaker helping organizations, communities, and individuals address mental health challenges, such as perfectionism, using practical and feasible strategies. He sees the inner workings of perfectionism and its pitfalls, as well as how best to dismantle it with tips and insights grounded in science and honed through real world practice. He is the author of Flawed: Why Perfectionism is a Challenge for Management. He has served on the Board of Directors for a variety of professional non-profit organizations (e.g., Maryland Psychological Association) and owned and operated two mental health practices, giving him an intimate familiarity with how organizations and teams function. Dr. Chasson is an Associate Professor at the University of Chicago in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, where he’s also the Director of Behavioral Interventions of the Obsessive-Compulsive & Related Disorders Clinic. He specializes in the nature and treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and related conditions (including perfectionism), high-functioning autism spectrum conditions, and anxiety disorders. He has provided cognitive-behavioral therapy for clinically severe perfectionism for nearly 20 years. As an active scholar, Dr. Chasson has authored or co-authored more than 70 scientific publications and one academic book (Hoarding Disorder: Advances in Psychotherapy – Evidence-Based Practice). He serves as the Editor of the scientific journal, the Behavior Therapist. Find him at www.gregchasson.com, Twitter GregChasson, www.facebook.com/DrChasson, www.linkedin.com/in/gregchasson, and www.instagram.com/gregorychasson

Listen at https://matdaniel.net/podcast/; https://open.spotify.com/show/1j8uLaUU1g5bYTRVuwUX7j?si=672ec26a73164d7f; https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/doctors-at-work/id1701284564; or watch on www.youtube.com/@dr-coach/videos.
Production: Shot by Polachek

You can find out more about Mat's coaching to help doctors create successful and meaningful careers at www.MatDaniel.net.