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:

How AI Can Screw You: OpenEvidence, AI Scribes, and the HIPAA Checkbox Oct 05, 2026

Show notes

AI has moved into medical practice faster than almost anything in modern medicine. As clinicians lean on it more for documentation and clinical decisions, the pitfalls are getting harder to ignore. AI is a powerful bedside tool. It also has myriad ways to screw you. In this episode, emergency physician and clinical AI trainer Sam Ashoo breaks down how to use AI to help you think, how to frame questions to get answers you can trust, what AI scribes are most likely to leave out of the HPI, why clicking "accept" on an AI tool's business associate agreement can put your license at risk instead of protecting it, and how to keep this technology an adjunct rather than a crutch that harms you and your patients.

Guest Bio: Sam Ashoo, MD, is an Emergency Physician and Medical Educator bridging the gap between bedside care and AI. As a clinical informaticist, I explore the future of medicine through a pragmatic, skeptic-first lens to separate clinical signal from hype. He writes at Ashoo Review.

We Discuss:

What training a medical AI looks like from the physician side
Which specialties AI is most likely to reshape, and why procedural fields are safest for now
The biggest misconception clinicians have about AI: it won't tell you what it can't do
Why omissions, not hallucinations, may now be the bigger risk
What AI scribes most often leave out of the HPI, including mental health cues and medication changes
Why AI documentation turns you into an editor, and why most of us aren't good ones
Treating AI like a smart intern, not the attending, and the rare cases where the reverse makes sense
UpToDate vs. OpenEvidence: human-curated knowledge vs. machine-synthesized answers
The trap of asking AI a question you can't judge the answer to
What "not software as a medical device" means for using OpenEvidence in the ED
One case, six LLMs, and how changing the question flipped the answer from "send her home" to "cath lab"
A live OpenEvidence test: is a D-dimer reliable five days after symptom onset?
Whether to document AI use, and whether your searches are discoverable in court
Why "I can just ask AI" doesn't replace a fund of knowledge
How med students, new NPs, and experienced attendings should each use AI
AI scribe consent: the two steps most clinicians skip, and why all-party consent states matter
Why you shouldn't upload ECGs or X-rays for AI interpretation
The HIPAA business associate agreement checkbox that can put your license at risk

Mentioned in this episode:

Doctoring Done Well | Bite-Sized Wins

Every other week, a few minutes of career-elevating insight delivered straight to your inbox. The Doctoring Done Well Newsletter is never lame, never spammy, and always fresh.

5 Free Tools To Make Medical Practice Easier

Scripts for your least favorite conversations. The quick and dirty guide to calling consults. A 10-minute "Driveway Debrief" to switch off from work. My favorite documentation templates. Step-by-step guide for delivering the news of death.

Free Resources Link

Rob's book now in audio, print, and e-reader versions

Rob's book, Supranormal: A Field Guide for the Impossible Job is now available as an audiobook, narrated by Rob. Find the audiobook, print, and ebook versions at the link below.

Get Supranormal on Amazon

Get Out On Time

The Out-On-Time Course gives you the tools to complete your charts on shift, manage overwhelm and interruptions, and create fast, focused, kickass notes, so you can stay out of chart debt and get home on time. Self-paced. 12 hours AMA PRA Category 1 CME.

Learn More About The Out-On-Time Course

The Golden 5 Minutes | What to Do Before You Get Out of Bed Sep 21, 2026

Show notes

What do you do before your feet hit the floor? I don't mean coffee or exercise. I mean the minutes before you get out of bed. My guest, Tim Thomas, calls the first five minutes after waking and the last five before sleep the two golden five minutes. Most of us spend them on our phones or let them pass without a second thought. In this episode, we cover how to use breath to change your state, keep worry from hijacking your attention, and build an easy on-ramp so the habit survives a bad morning. We also get into breathing through your thumb and what a pot of coffee taught an Army platoon about ego.

Guest Bio: Tim Thomas is a former professional fighter and Special Forces soldier who has spent over a decade working with veterans, professionals, athletes, and everyday people to improve sleep, resilience, and nervous system health. He is also a survivor of PTSD, pharmaceutical addiction, alcohol addiction, and family breakdown. Along the way, he has raised over 1.3 million dollars for charities close to his heart and founded his company Breathwork in Bed. A platform focused on natural and immediate sleep improvement.

We Discuss:

The Golden Five Minutes
Using Breath to Change Our State
Making a Morning Routine Easier to Do
Why Starting the Day With Connection Matters
How to Make Gratitude Something You Actually Feel
How Ego is a Wall but When We Let it Down, It Becomes a Bridge
Why We Keep Looking Outside Ourselves for Stability and Satisfaction
How Preparing Coffee for Tim’s Special Forces Unit Had an Unexpected Effect
Worry Steals Processing Capacity
Turning the Phone Against the Phone
Sleep Is the Soil

Mentioned in this episode:

Rob's book now in audio, print, and e-reader versions

Rob's book, Supranormal: A Field Guide for the Impossible Job is now available as an audiobook, narrated by Rob. Find the audiobook, print, and ebook versions at the link below.

Get Supranormal on Amazon

5 Free Tools To Make Medical Practice Easier

Free Resources Link

He Made an (Almost) Interruption-Free ED Sep 07, 2026

Show notes

Interruptions are, in a way, the currency of emergency medicine. But many of them may be making patient care worse rather than safer. EKGs are a perfect example: physicians may be interrupted thousands of times each year so that every tracing receives immediate attention, even when the overwhelming majority do not represent an emergency. Protecting physician attention doesn’t have to come at the expense of quickly identifying patients who need immediate intervention.

In this episode, we explore how one emergency department dramatically reduced unnecessary EKG interruptions, why a 10-minute interpretation window may be safer than reflexively interrupting physicians, and how local data helped turn a counterintuitive idea into departmental practice. We also examine how asynchronous communication, protected workspaces, nursing partnerships, and a different way of thinking about attention can create a safer and more intentional emergency department.

Guest Bio: Dr. Jake Zadra is a board-certified Emergency Physician and the current Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine and Diagnostics at St. Mary's Hospital in Janesville, WI, where he also serves as Vice Chief of Staff. He completed medical school (’18) and EM residency (’21) at the University of Wisconsin, where he served as chief resident. Outside of medicine, he’s a live music enthusiast, enjoys slipping Lord of the Rings references into everyday conversation, and spends as much time outdoors as possible. He remains one of the few Emergency Physicians with no interest in ultramarathons or BASE jumping.

We Discuss:

Why Every EKG Doesn’t Need to Be an Emergency
The Cost of 7,000 Interruptions to Find Two Unflagged STEMIs
What Happens When the EKG Machine Misses a STEMI
Why Fewer Interruptions May Lead to Better EKG Interpretation
How the Workflow Handles Gray-Zone EKGs
Rethinking the 10-Minute EKG Rule
Using Local Data to Build a Safer Workflow
How an EKG Drop Zone Keeps Deferred Reviews From Getting Lost
How a Quieter Workspace Reduces Drive-By Interruptions
Why Not Every Interruption Deserves the Same Response
How Secure Chat Can Become an Asynchronous Inbox
Why Nurses Need Protection From Interruptions Too
How Making Interruptions Visible Creates Buy-In

Mentioned in this episode:

Rob’s Book: Supranormal

Supranormal: A Field Guide for the Impossible Job, tackles the parts of being a doctor that medical training leaves out, with practical tools for navigating conflict, overwhelm, burnout, and the sustained complexity of medicine, so you can build a career that is both sustainable and fulfilling.

Get Supranormal

Get Out On Time

Learn More About The Out-On-Time Course

Rob's book now in audio, print, and e-reader versions

Rob's book, Supranormal: A Field Guide for the Impossible Job is now available as an audiobook, narrated by Rob. Find the audiobook, print, and ebook versions at the link below.

Get Supranormal on Amazon

How to Not Lose Your Soul When You Get Sued | Gita Pensa, MD Jul 20, 2026

Show notes

Getting sued, or even just the fear of it, is one of the greatest hidden drivers of physician stress, burnout, and career dissatisfaction, yet almost no one teaches doctors how to survive it. A malpractice lawsuit can shake your confidence, challenge your identity, and strain your relationships long before you ever step into a deposition. The good news is that preparation, practice, and the right mindset can transform litigation from an overwhelming threat into something you can navigate with confidence. In this episode, we explore what every physician should know about medical malpractice lawsuits and malpractice litigation,, how to navigate a deposition, the conversations that can sabotage your defense, and the emotional toll of being sued, along with practical ways to prepare before you're ever named in a lawsuit. Finally, we share the tools, resources, and hard-earned lessons that help doctors protect their careers without losing themselves in the process.

Why getting sued changes the way physicians practice medicine long after the case is over.
How preparation can take you from feeling like you're on the chopping block to walking into a deposition with confidence.
What you should and shouldn't say while a malpractice lawsuit is ongoing.
Why understanding plaintiff attorneys' tactics makes you a stronger defendant.
The communication mistakes that can undermine your credibility.
How to prepare for a deposition.
Why shame and isolation can make malpractice harder than the lawsuit itself.
Practical ways to protect your confidence, career, and mental health after being sued.

Resources Mentioned

Books

When Good Doctors Get Sued
How to Survive a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit - Eileen Brenner
Depositions Are Trial

Podcasts

Doctors and Litigation: The L Word

Season 1: Approaching D-Day
Season 3: The Educated Defendant

Courses & Tools

LEAP (Litigation Education and Performance).
Use the code STIMULUS100 for $100 off.

Guest: Dr. Gita Pensa is an emergency physician, educator, and litigation performance coach who helps clinicians navigate malpractice lawsuits with greater confidence and less emotional distress. Through speaking, coaching, and her LEAP (Litigation Education and Performance) courses, she works with healthcare organizations, insurers, defense attorneys, and physicians to transform how clinicians experience litigation.

Mentioned in this episode:

Distilled Kickassery Every Other Saturday

The Out-On-Time Course

Built for emergency clinicians who are tired of chart debt and getting derailed by interruptions and overwhelm. Learn practical, real-time documentation and shift-efficiency strategies to finish your shift and actually leave on time.

Learn More About The Out-On-Time Course

Why Saying "Calm Down" Never Works (and what does) Jul 06, 2026

Show notes

When another person is upset or angry, our instinct can be to help them lower their emotional temperature by saying something like, "Just calm down," or, "Relax," or, "Take a breath," or, "Look at the facts." However, saying those things when the other person is in the heat of the moment can have the reverse effect from what we were hoping for.

The reason is simple: People who do not feel heard are not ready to hear solutions.

In this episode, we explore the communication strategy of valence matching, why it works at both a psychological and neurological level, and how it can transform interactions with patients, colleagues, consultants, and loved ones. Finally, we show how a few seconds of emotional attunement can save minutes, or even hours, of unnecessary conflict.

💡 Get Rob's Book

Supranormal: A Field Guide for the Impossible Job.

Tools, mindsets, and communication techniques so you don't get eaten alive by a job you're good at.

Buy it on Amazon

We Discuss:

Why "Calm Down" Rarely Calms Anyone
The Simple Idea Behind Valence Matching
Why the Brain Rejects Logic During Conflict
Content vs Process in Conversation
Why You Should Match First, Then Move
Small Words That Create Big Differences
How to Effectively Thank Patients for Waiting
How Emotional Connection Shapes Clinical Encounters
Why an Excellent Clinician Had Consistently Low Patient Satisfaction Scores

Mentioned in this episode:

🧭 UnBurnable | Career Longevity, Burnout Prevention, Self Mastery

This course will teach you the hidden anti-burnout curriculum. Begins Sept 15, 2026. CME available.

The UnBurnable Course

Doctoring Done Well | Bite-Sized Wins

Every other week, a few minutes of career-elevating insight delivered straight to your inbox. The Doctoring Done Well Newsletter is never lame, never spammy, and always fresh.

The Most Underrated Clinical Skill with Ron Epstein, MD Jun 15, 2026

Show notes

The quality of our attention shapes every interaction we have, yet listening is often the first skill sacrificed when pressure, technology, and time constraints take over. Most clinicians spend years learning what to say, while spending little time learning how to effectively listen. In a healthcare system dominated by tasks, metrics, and efficiency, the ability to slow down and create genuine presence may be one of the most valuable skills we can cultivate.

In this episode, we explore why listening is both a mindset and a practical skill, how to listen more effectively, how small pauses can transform patient care, and why mindfulness extends far beyond meditation. Finally, we examine simple practices that help clinicians stay present, focused, and connected even during the busiest days.

💡 Get Rob's Book

Supranormal: A Field Guide for the Impossible Job.

Tools, mindsets, and communication techniques so you don't get eaten alive by a job you're good at.

Buy it on Amazon

Guest Bio: Dr. Ronald Epstein – internationally recognized family physician, palliative care physician, educator, researcher and writer -- has devoted his career to understanding and improving communication and mindfulness in medicine. His scholarly articles have revolutionized doctors’ view of their work, and his 2017 book, Attending: Medicine, Mindfulness and Humanity shows how becoming mindful can transform healthcare, build strong connections between doctors and patients, and help clinicians flourish while providing the best care for patients.

You can find Ron at www.ronaldepstein.com and learn about his workshops at www.mindfulpracticeinmedicine.com

We Discuss:

Why listening may be the most important clinical skill we rarely teach
The 90-second habit that changes patient encounters
What a near-missed surgical complication reveals about hierarchy
The difference between spending time and being present
The difference between reacting and responding
A simple doorknob practice for transitioning between patients
How "Find Your Feet" helps restore presence during stressful encounters
Why slowing down often improves performance
What mindfulness looks like beyond formal meditation

Mentioned in this episode:

Doctoring Done Well | Bite-Sized Wins

Every other week, a few minutes of career-elevating insight delivered straight to your inbox. The Doctoring Done Well Newsletter is never lame, never spammy, and always fresh.

The Out-On-Time Course

Learn More About The Out-On-Time Course

UnBurnable Registration is Now Open

We took the highest yield tools from our 1:1 coaching and created a community-based course with docs who get it and get you.

The UnBurnable Course

Avoiding Disability Insurance Disasters May 11, 2026

Show notes

Your ability to earn income is your most valuable financial asset. Physicians spend years protecting patients, building careers, and accumulating assets, yet many discover too late that the insurance designed to protect their income is full of loopholes, exclusions, and traps. Disability insurance sounds boring until the moment someone needs it, and then it becomes one of the most emotionally and financially consequential topics in medicine.

In this episode, we explore the hidden realities of physician disability insurance, why employer policies often fail when doctors need them most, and how to think strategically about protecting future income before health problems appear. We also walk through what physicians should do when filing a disability claim, and how to avoid sabotaging the process from the very beginning.

💡 Get Rob's Book

Supranormal: A Field Guide for the Impossible Job.

Tools, mindsets, and communication techniques so you don't get eaten alive by a job you're good at.

Buy it on Amazon

Guest bio: Matthew Wiggins is the founder of Doc Insure and a leading educator in physician disability insurance. Since 2003, he has helped more than 15,000 doctors understand and secure income protection, while pioneering a faster, online-first way for residents, fellows, and attendings to compare personalized disability policies. Through Doc Insure, Matt makes a confusing and often overlooked topic practical, transparent, and easier to navigate so physicians can make informed decisions about protecting their future earnings. Matt and his crew will give you a quote on disability insurance through this link. Or you can set up a call to chat with them directly here.

We Discuss:

Why most employer disability policies leave physicians underprotected
How true own-occupation coverage protects a physician’s specialty income
Why physicians dramatically underestimate their chances of becoming disabled
The different disability risks facing procedural and cognitive specialties
Why disability claims often become adversarial and difficult to navigate
How detailed occupational documentation strengthens disability claims
Why income documentation determines the value of a disability payout
How understanding a diagnosis improves the strength of a disability claim
Why filing timing can affect whether benefits are approved and when payments begin
Why buying disability insurance during residency protects future insurability

Mentioned in this episode:

Get Out On Time

Learn More About The Out-On-Time Course

UnBurnable Registration is Now Open

We took the highest yield tools from our 1:1 coaching and created a community-based course with docs who get it and get you.

The UnBurnable Course

Doctoring Done Well | Bite-Sized Wins

Every other week, a few minutes of career-elevating insight delivered straight to your inbox. The Doctoring Done Well Newsletter is never lame, never spammy, and always fresh.

Congratulations, You’re a Cog | Reclaiming agency inside a hungry system Apr 27, 2026

Show notes

Medicine gives you a map. Pre-med, med school, residency, attending. Step by step, no shortcuts. Then one day, the map disappears and you’re there asking, “Now what?”

In this episode, Dr. Mizuho Morrison and I dig into what happens after training, when fulfillment, identity, and control are no longer prescribed. We talk about nonlinear careers in medicine, from part-time clinical work and motherhood to podcasting, entrepreneurship, leadership, and walking away from roles that no longer fit.

We also get into what happened when Mizuho wore a continuous glucose monitor during emergency department shifts, and what it revealed about stress, cortisol, and the real physiologic cost of the job.

This is a conversation about agency, experimentation, and ownership, and how to build a medical career that actually works for your life, not just your training.

💡 Check out our Free Resources specifically designed to address pain points in medical practice💡

Guest Bio: Dr. Mizuho Morrison is a board-certified emergency physician in Southern California and CEO of EM:RAP. A graduate of the Los Angeles County + USC residency program, she has worked in both academic and community emergency medicine and has been a major voice in EM education for more than a decade. Miz was one of the first female EM podcasters, helped launch multiple EM:RAP programs, served as Editor-in-Chief and Senior Medical Director at Hippo Education, and co-hosted Essentials of Emergency Medicine. She is also an entrepreneur and cofounder of 3MD, Three Mommy Doctors, a medical device company that reimagined first-aid kits for kids. She lives in Orange County with her two children.

We Discuss:

The Train Track Problem in Medical Careers
Fulfillment Is Not One Standard Career Shape
Seasons, Experiments, and Knowing When to Move On
Stress, Cortisol, and the Cost of Shift Work
Begin Before You Feel Ready
Reclaiming Agency in a System That Keeps Asking for More

Mentioned in this episode:

Supranormal: A Field Guide for the Impossible Job

Rob's book is for anyone doing high-stakes, human-facing work who's ever thought I wasn't trained for this. Built from 20 years in emergency medicine and thousands of hours coaching physicians, Supranormal delivers the tools, mindset shifts, and communication techniques that don't show up on any board exam, but make all the difference in how you perform, connect, and build a career worth keeping.

Get Supranormal on Amazon

Doctoring Done Well | Bite-Sized Wins

Every other week, a few minutes of career-elevating insight delivered straight to your inbox. The Doctoring Done Well Newsletter is never lame, never spammy, and always fresh.

UnBurnable Registration is Now Open

We took the highest yield tools from our 1:1 coaching and created a community-based course with docs who get it and get you.

The UnBurnable Course

Why Your Job Needs a Better Scorecard Apr 13, 2026

Show notes

It’s not uncommon for hospitals to provide clinicians with scorecards. While they may seem like a judgment of your quality of work, scorecards rarely provide data that will lead to flourishing in your career. But what if you made your own scorecard, filled with things that were important to you and fully within your control? If you nailed one of those each day at work, what would your experience be like?

In this episode, we explore what happened when Dr. Erin Broderick, a participant in the Unburnable Course, stopped using the hospital’s scorecard as her main definition of success and created a more personal one instead. Erin talks about how she took a new approach to patient satisfaction surveys, one that has eliminated nearly all the stress and distress associated with them.

Finally, we look at how intentional practices during and after a shift made Erin’s work feel joyful and sustainable.

💡 Check out our Free Resources specifically designed to address pain points in medical practice💡

We Discuss:

Measuring success with a personal scorecard
A post-shift routine that closes the day
Closing open loops
A novel approach to patient satisfaction surveys
Letting go of metrics that don’t serve you
Scheduling recovery during the shift
Extending intentionality beyond the hospital

Mentioned in this episode:

Doctoring Done Well | Bite-Sized Wins

Every other week, a few minutes of career-elevating insight delivered straight to your inbox. The Doctoring Done Well Newsletter is never lame, never spammy, and always fresh.

Supranormal: A Field Guide for the Impossible Job

Get Supranormal on Amazon

UnBurnable | Our Cohort-Based Burnout Prevention and Cure Course

We took the highest yield tools from our 1:1 coaching and created a community-based course with docs who get it and get you.

The UnBurnable Course

How to Switch From Self Flagellation to Context Assessment Feb 23, 2026

Show notes

If you have ever lost it mid-shift, frozen when you should have acted, or spent the next two weeks asking yourself what's wrong with me, you already know what character assassination feels like.

In this episode, we break down a simple and effective reframe that interrupts the self-flagellation shame spiral without making excuses or lowering standards. You will learn how to move from why did I to, of course, how to give yourself a legitimate and hard-earned break, and why self-compassion is not softness but one of the most underutilized performance tools in medicine. Topics include physician burnout, self-compassion, cognitive reappraisal, shame and self-criticism, communication under stress, and physician coaching.

💡 Check out our Free Resources specifically designed to address pain points in medical practice💡

We discuss:

Why self-criticism after a hard moment often hurts more than the moment itself
The difference between first-order distress and second-order distress
What the research on rumination and shame actually shows
Why your brain treats harsh self-evaluation like a physical threat
The biology of performance under load and why grit has a limit
The of 'course' reframe and how to use it in real time
Four steps to move from character assassination to context assessment
Why suppression makes it worse, and reappraisal changes the signal
Pre-shift dread and how to take the shame out of it
Why self-compassion is a performance tool, not a soft skill
What this reframe is not: excuses, lowered standards, or avoiding accountability
How to start today with one sentence

Mentioned in this episode:

Doctoring Done Well | Bite-Sized Wins

Every other week, a few minutes of career-elevating insight delivered straight to your inbox. The Doctoring Done Well Newsletter is never lame, never spammy, and always fresh.

Supranormal: A Field Guide for the Impossible Job

Get Supranormal on Amazon

The Out-On-Time Course

Learn More About The Out-On-Time Course