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:

56. Rescue in the Jungle | Rob and Melissa meet a hiker with a medical emergency Aug 09, 2021

Show notes

A hike in the jungle takes an unexpected turn when Rob and Melissa meet a traveler with a medical emergency.

In this episode: medical emergencies in austere environments, managing acute pain without medication, and using breath work vs distraction in high stress situations.

Pics and videos on our website.

Awake + Aware | Our 2026 Retreat

Join us at Awake and Aware, our 3-day retreat in Scottsdale, AZ. March 1-4, 2026. Space is limited.

Learn More Here

🎓 P.S. This is a CME event.

The Flameproof Course

The 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

55. Too Much On My Plate | Getting un-busy, procrastination, and pulling back from overcommitment Jul 26, 2021

Show notes

The phrase “too much on my plate” and word “busy” are pervasive in modern discourse. But does it have to be so? We certainly didn’t start out that way as children! In this episode, Dr. Christina Shenvi walks us through the path to clear our ‘schedule plates’ and open space in our lives, get un-busy, and conquer the email inbox.

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 and the newly appointed president of the Association of Professional Women and Medical Sciences. A frequent guest on Stimulus, Dr. Shenvi is a world class time managment coach www.timeforyourlife.org where her goal is to help busy professionals find more peace with their schedules, feel less stressed, and use their time more effectively. Her most recent Stimulus episodes were on Procrastination and Habits.

Awake + Aware | Our 2026 Retreat

Join us at Awake and Aware, our 3-day retreat in Scottsdale, AZ. March 1-4, 2026. Space is limited.

Learn More Here

🎓 P.S. This is a CME event.

The Flameproof Course

The 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:

The insidious path of getting to the point of having too much on your plate [02:00];
A framework for deciding whether to say “yes” or “no” to things [05:45];
The 4 pillars Rob uses to help guide “yes” or “no” decisions [08:30];
Why it’s problematic to think of life as a zero sum game[10:20];
The Japanese concept of Ikigai [13:30];
Becoming more efficient by shrinking the amount of time you spend on things that are on your plate [15:45];
The 5 Whys technique for understanding the fundamental bedrock of your motivation [19:30];
Self-worth theory, which helps explain both why we overwork/overcommit as well as why we sometimes procrastinate [25:00];
The concept of Stoic meditation and the Ozymandias exercise [30:10];
The constant struggle of determining if your work aligns with your values and using Stoic indifference to suspend self-judgement [32:00];
Choosing to do things vs. “I should” [33:40];
Reframing the notion of being too busy [40:44];
Deep work [43:30];
The importance of creating a system for shallow work [46:15];
The freedom gained from managing your email inbox [51:50];
And more.

54. Spanish matador Juan Belmonte practiced naked | Defining success and developing character through the medium of career Jul 12, 2021

Show notes

What gives you fulfillment in your job? If you know it, do you make purposeful choices to keep pointed in that direction?

We start with the tale of Juan Belmonte...

Juan Belmonte's journey to becoming a master of the bullfighting arena is a tale of resilience and unparalleled determination. Born into modest circumstances, Belmonte initially faced a series of setbacks, including an early attempt at being a shopkeeper, which failed, compounded by a physical disability that could have easily derailed his ambitions. Undeterred, Belmonte turned to bullfighting, an arena where his physical limitations were not merely obstacles but challenges to overcome. He spent countless hours practicing, developing a unique style that would later revolutionize the sport. His technique, marked by standing motionless and allowing the bull to pass dangerously close, contrasted sharply with the more dynamic and agile styles of his contemporaries. This daring approach not only compensated for his physical limitations but also turned them into an advantage, captivating audiences with its sheer audacity and grace. Belmonte's mastery of bullfighting was not just in his physical prowess but in his ability to transform weakness into strength, earning him a legendary status in the history of the sport. His life story is a testament to the power of resilience and the pursuit of excellence against all odds.

"No life worthy of the name consists of anything more than the continual series of struggles to develop one's character through the medium of whatever one has chosen as a career." Juan Belmonte

With special guests:

Amal Mattu
Scott Weingart
Greg Henry
Mizuho Morrison
Haney Mallemat
Reuben Strayer
Mike Weinstock
Victoria Brazil
Ilene Claudius

Awake + Aware | Our 2026 Retreat

Join us at Awake and Aware, our 3-day retreat in Scottsdale, AZ. March 1-4, 2026. Space is limited.

Learn More Here

🎓 P.S. This is a CME event.

The Flameproof Course

The 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

53. The Five Fears of Scott Weingart Jun 28, 2021

Show notes

Scott Weingart is arguably one of the most influential and polarizing physicians on the planet. He is not one to mince words and often comes across as definitive in how he describes his practice of medicine. What people don't realize, he says, is that his clinical care is often guided by fear, not bravado, ego, or machismo. In this episode, Scott breaks down his five fears when it comes to medical practice and thinks that those who seek to follow his advice should take these fears into account before acting.

Guest Bio: Scott Weingart is an emergency physician who went on to complete fellowships in Trauma, Surgical Critical Care, and ECMO at the Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore. He is currently chief of the Division of Emergency Critical Care at Stony Brook Hospital and a tenured professor of emergency medicine at Stony Brook Medicine. He is best known for his podcast on Resuscitation and ED Critical Care called the EMCrit Podcast; it currently is downloaded > 400,000 times per month. Scott is the author of multiple books including Emergency Medicine Decision Making and the Resuscitation Crisis Manual.

Awake + Aware | Our 2026 Retreat

Join us at Awake and Aware, our 3-day retreat in Scottsdale, AZ. March 1-4, 2026. Space is limited.

Learn More Here

🎓 P.S. This is a CME event.

The Flameproof Course

The 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:

The distinction between carrying fear and being afraid [06:50];
Delayed sequence intubation (DSI) as an example for how healthy fear can keep things safe in the emergency department [09:30];
The importance of embracing the idea that sick patients don’t take a joke [13:40];
Scott’s fear number one: lawyers [15:15];
A common fear that Scott does not personally experience: being an imposter [21:00];
Fear of Monday morning quarterbacking [28:10];
Fear of procedural complications [33:15];
How Scott Weingart is not a jerk. He’s an acquired taste. [41:35];
Scott’s final fear: a patient dying on his watch [46:55];

And more.

52. Listening to Podcasts for Maximal Retention | Interstitial time, task type, hour of day, driving vs undivided attention Jun 14, 2021

Show notes

Most of us don’t give a lot of thought to how and when we listen to podcasts. But like most of life, an intentional approach can reap benefits. In this episode, Josh Russell walks us through: strategies for maximizing retention, listening based on brain state, new data on listening while driving, the value of silence.

Guest Bio: Joshua Russell, MD is clinician, writer, and educator. Since completing residency training in Emergency Medicine, Dr. Russell has had a varied career including supervising PAs and NPs as a medical director for a regional Urgent Care network, contributing to various Hippo Education podcasts, and serving as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Urgent Care Medicine (JUCM). Most recently, he has completed fellowship training in Hospice and Palliative Medicine at the University of Chicago Medical Center.

This episode is in support of the I AM ALS. I AM ALS was founded by Brian Wallach and his wife Sandra shortly after his diagnosis at the age of 37. He was given 6 months to live, and now 4 years later he is leading a revolution to find a cure. People often refer to ALS as rare, which is not really so. The lifetime risk is around 1 in 300. Since Lou Gehrig was diagnosed 80 years ago, available treatments have been shown to extend life a mere 3 months. I AM ALS supports research, legislation to fast track therapies, and provides critical resources to patients and caregivers. ALS is relentless, and so are they. The question is no longer if we'll find a cure for ALS, but when. This is an underfunded disease and every little bit makes a difference. We will match donations to I AM ALS up to $5000 -- get started here on our Stimulus Donation Page. And for your daily dose of positivity, follow Brian on Twitter.

Awake + Aware | Our 2026 Retreat

Join us at Awake and Aware, our 3-day retreat in Scottsdale, AZ. March 1-4, 2026. Space is limited.

Learn More Here

🎓 P.S. This is a CME event.

The Flameproof Course

The 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:

Strategies for maximizing retention of podcast content [04:20];
How your working memory is like the RAM of your brain [08:40];
Why Josh prefers to listen to podcasts in the morning as this is when he is best able to focus [10:20];
The importance of using your brain for tasks that are appropriate for the state that it’s in [12:45];
Not every interstitial moment needs to be occupied by something educational or entertaining [15:55];
How Rob consumes podcasts [17:10];
A recent study which evaluated the knowledge gained from listening to podcasts while driving compared to that gained from undistracted listening [20:40];
The value of silence [24:10];
A functional MRI study which shows that listening to a story-based podcast lights up huge areas of the brain [28:35];
A study in mice which found that 2 hours of silence per day led to neurogenesis whereas background or white noise didn't [29:00];
And more.

51. Excellent Presentations with Ross Fisher, MD | Detailed instructions for how to slay it on stage (or online) May 31, 2021

Show notes

Pediatric surgeon Ross Fisher, the mind behind p cubed presentations, breaks down how to finish a talk (teaser, it’s not a random vacation slide or you saying, “Thank you,” and walking off stage). As a bonus, he also discusses structuring a lecture with spaced repetition so your audience truly understands your message, fielding questions, staying on message, and how to (and how not to) use a script in lecture preparation.

Guest Bio: Dr. Ross Fisher is a UK based pediatric surgeon and the creator of p cubed presentations. The p cubed philosophy, based on three core principles of message, supporting media, and delivery, has fundamentally changed the delivery and quality of medical lectures.

Awake + Aware | Our 2026 Retreat

Join us at Awake and Aware, our 3-day retreat in Scottsdale, AZ. March 1-4, 2026. Space is limited.

Learn More Here

🎓 P.S. This is a CME event.

The Flameproof Course

The 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:

Presentation feedback can be hard to take and hard to give. What is the best way to do it? [03:00]; What’s the best strategy for ending a talk? [08:59];
Tactics for handling listener questions [13:15]; Scripts are helpful when structuring and rehearsing a talk. But what is the best way to use them and avoid making the delivery sound robotic? [17:33];
What is the best way to present data? [23:44]; Spaced repetition of the message helps people remember the important points. [26:36];
What is meant by, “Message, not story, is the basis of a good presentation”? [28:20];
And More.

50. The Wedge | An internal shift to thrive under duress May 17, 2021

Show notes

Investigative journalist and bestselling author Scott Carney is our guest as we discuss: what it means to be human, going deep in the Wim Hof method, benefits of cold exposure, climbing Kilimanjaro without a shirt, using The Wedge to change conversations with your limbic system, kettlebell throwing, and why you might want to embrace failure.

Guest Bio: Scott Carney is an anthropologist, investigative journalist, author, and a seeker of both the fringes of human experience and the core of what makes us human. Scott has written four books to date, including The Enlightenment Trap, The Red Market, and What Doesn't Kill Us. Most recently, he authored The Wedge, which dives deeply into understanding the space between stimulus and response. Scott's work has been featured in many different magazines -- Wired, Mother Jones, Playboy, Foreign Policy, Men's Journal, National Public Radio. He has won the Payne Award for Ethics in Journalism and is a multi-finalist for the Livingston Award for International Journalism.

This episode is in support of the Altruism in Medicine Institute, an organization founded by Barry Kerzin, a physician, teacher, author, and Tibetan Buddhist monk. The mission is to increase compassion and resilience among health care professionals and their patients. Compassion fatigue is a very real thing, especially in health care. Building your compassion muscle is one of the most potent tools not only for avoiding burnout, but for finding joy in what you do.

Awake + Aware | Our 2026 Retreat

Join us at Awake and Aware, our 3-day retreat in Scottsdale, AZ. March 1-4, 2026. Space is limited.

Learn More Here

🎓 P.S. This is a CME event.

The Flameproof Course

The 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:

The common theme of Scott’s books -- what does it mean to be human? [05:00];
Who is “The Iceman” Wim Hof and and why might cold water immersion lead to general resilience [09:10];
The three elements of the Wim Hof method and how they relate to the wedge [15:10];
An advantage of the Wim Hof method vs. other mind-body connection practices (like Tuomo) -- it’s fast and you can learn it in about 3 days [20:00];
Scott’s weekly cold water immersion practice with benefits that last 4-5 days [22:20];
Why ‘gritting it out’ is not an effective strategy for prolonged cold exposure [27:30];
Climbing up to Gilman’s Point on Kilimanjaro shirtless and without oxygen [30:15];
Scott’s sauna routine and the value of giving his body contrasts to adapt to new environments [33:25];
His latest book, The Wedge, and how the wedge is activating something within yourself in order to thrive in a difficult moment [36:25];
Using a library as a metaphor for the limbic system [39:20];
The philosophical question -- do we experience a shared reality? [44:20];
Applying the wedge in the emergency department when your heart is racing and you’re profusely sweating because you’re having difficulty with a critical procedure[49:25];
The solution (or wedge) for the mental irritation that often comes with reading opinions on social media [58:30];
And more.

49. Can Sex Improve Nasal Function? May 06, 2021

Show notes

Recent evidence suggests that sex to orgasm can improve nasal airflow equal in degree to nasal decongestant spray. We break down the literature (which totals 1 article).

Awake + Aware | Our 2026 Retreat

Join us at Awake and Aware, our 3-day retreat in Scottsdale, AZ. March 1-4, 2026. Space is limited.

Learn More Here

🎓 P.S. This is a CME event.

The Flameproof Course

The 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

48. Skill Decay | How to get back in the game May 03, 2021

Show notes

High demand jobs (like fighter pilot, emergency medicine, trauma surgery, etc.) require continued exposure to the field of operations for maintenance of top level sharpness. In today’s episode we explore the phenomenon of skill decay and ways to mitigate its effects.

This episode is in support of World Bicycle Relief -- delivering specially designed, locally assembled, rugged bicycles for people in need. They’ve developed an efficient, innovative, and scalable model to empower students, health workers, and entrepreneurs in rural developing regions with life-changing mobility. Donate here.

Awake + Aware | Our 2026 Retreat

Join us at Awake and Aware, our 3-day retreat in Scottsdale, AZ. March 1-4, 2026. Space is limited.

Learn More Here

🎓 P.S. This is a CME event.

The Flameproof Course

The 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:

Skill decay sets in rather quickly following an absence from the emergency department [03:50];
Motor skills, like riding a bike, decay much more slowly than cognitive skills [05:20];
The principles behind skill decay: cognitive load theory and cognitive overload [07:66];
Strategies for combating skill decay [09:30];
Rob’s approach after a short absence which centered around visualization [12:50];
And more.

46. Strategies to De-Stress Your Nervous System | Before, during, and after intense events Apr 19, 2021

Show notes

We are often witness to, or sometimes in the middle of, traumatic events. Whether it’s a mass casualty or cumulative stress over time, our nervous system can get stuck in an upregulated state. In this episode, we break down: training to handle stressful events, protective strategies to employ during and after traumatic events, the physiology of PTSD, specific techniques to downregulate your nervous system and getting to a place of equanimity.

Guest Bio: Ryan Cheney is a mental health therapist, breath work, and performance coach based in Bend Oregon. Our guest on Stimulus Episode 5: The Art of Breathing, Ryan is a thought leader in the field of wellness for health care professions. You can contact him here for further questions and consultations.

Awake + Aware | Our 2026 Retreat

Join us at Awake and Aware, our 3-day retreat in Scottsdale, AZ. March 1-4, 2026. Space is limited.

Learn More Here

🎓 P.S. This is a CME event.

The Flameproof Course

The 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:

The Las Vegas mass casualty and the wide range of emotional responses of those who were involved [03:50];
Trauma is different for every nervous system -What’s traumatic for one person may not be for another [05:50];
Training to handle stressful events in a better way [08:15];
What’s happening physiologically when you have PTSD after a traumatic event [10:40];
Strategies that are protective of your nervous system DURING a traumatic event [14:20];
The importance of PRE-TRAINING so that you have tools to down-regulate your nervous system in the moment [19:20];
Protective, positive strategies that can be used AFTER a traumatic event to reduce the risk of PTSD [25:50];
The role movement plays in down-regulation and why dosage matters [31:40];
The benefit of EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and other body-based therapies for processing acute trauma [35:10];
The process of intentionally letting go, or “cutting strings”, when something is weighing heavily on you (such as a client, patient, etc.) [37:30];
And more.