Hey Doc,

This episode is a plea.

Please take care of yourself.

There has been a lot of loss in the physician community lately, and it has made me take a harder look at the care I’m giving myself too.

Because I can preach about putting yourself first all day long, but meanwhile my Peloton has basically become furniture and my eating habits have been…questionable. 😂

And it reminded me that taking care of ourselves isn’t one thing.

You can exercise regularly and be struggling mentally.

You can eat well and be completely unsupported at home.

You can go to therapy and still be working in a job that is slowly destroying you.

You can look incredibly functional from the outside while barely keeping your head above water.

Physicians are particularly good at that last one.

We are trained to keep going. Sometimes we’re outright praised for ignoring what our bodies and minds are telling us because patients need us, there’s nobody to cover the shift, and somebody has to get the work done.

Then many of us become mothers and bring that same conditioning home.

In this episode, I’m sharing part of a previous conversation from the Mom & Mind podcast about physician burnout, anxiety, sleep deprivation, motherhood, and why asking for help is one of the most important skills we can develop.

We talk about:

• Why some of the qualities that make us excellent physicians can make anxiety harder to recognize
• The medical culture that teaches us to push through even when we’re physically or mentally unwell
• Why sleep and support matter so much during the postpartum years
• The belief that we should be able to handle everything ourselves
• Why asking for help isn’t limited to hiring someone. Family, friends, neighbors, therapy, coaching, and community all count
• What it means when your current life simply does not allow you to adequately care for yourself

You deserve help. You deserve rest. You deserve care and support.

And if taking care of yourself feels impossible within the life you’re currently living, I want you to seriously consider what needs to change.

Because life is too short, Doc.

Listen to the episode. And then check in with yourself, for real.

What did you think of the episode, doc? Let me know!

Subscribe to ✨Stethoscopes and Strollers✨ on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode.

Apple Podcast | Spotify | YouTube

Connect with me: Website | Instagram | Facebook

Join my Email list to get tips on navigating motherhood in the medical field.

If you are going through a transition -- becoming a parent, leaving a job, figuring out how manage it all, schedule a strategy coaching session and get clarity and strategic next steps for the life and career you want.

Strategy Coaching Session with Dr. Toya

Hey Doc,

These children will really have you questioning your entire motherhood résumé.

This summer, I left my kids in Trinidad with their grandparents while my husband and I stayed home to work on our businesses. And before you come for me, please understand the setup: camp, personal transportation, loving grandparents, extra help, someone cooking for them, and my mother making my son fry bake on request.

This child was living GOOD.

And yet, my son was crying, telling me he hated camp and wanted to come home. It was hard to hear, even when I had photographic evidence that he was perfectly happy when he wasn’t on the phone with me.

Then, a few weeks later, I told him we were coming to get them.

His response?

He didn’t want to come home.

Sir.

In this episode of Stethoscopes and Strollers, I’m talking about what happens when your child’s very real feelings start making you question whether you’ve made a terrible parenting decision.

Because your child can be sad.

They can miss you.

They can cry.

They can even be absolutely furious about a decision you made.

And none of those things automatically mean you made the wrong decision.

Sometimes being their mother means trusting what you know, allowing them to have their feelings, and resisting the urge to immediately fix their discomfort just so you can stop feeling guilty.

I’m sharing what this experience taught me about motherhood, guilt, and sticking with a decision even when your child is giving an Oscar-worthy performance suggesting you have personally ruined their life.

Spoiler: mine went from crying himself to sleep to asking when he could come back to Trinidad.

There’s hope for you, Doc. 😂

🎧 Listen to the full episode of Stethoscopes and Strollers.

What did you think of the episode, doc? Let me know!

Subscribe to ✨Stethoscopes and Strollers✨ on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode.

Apple Podcast | Spotify | YouTube

Connect with me: Website | Instagram | Facebook

Join my Email list to get tips on navigating motherhood in the medical field.

If you are going through a transition -- becoming a parent, leaving a job, figuring out how manage it all, schedule a strategy coaching session and get clarity and strategic next steps for the life and career you want.

Strategy Coaching Session with Dr. Toya

Hey, Doc

I'm sharing part of an interview I did on my friend Dr. Weili Gray's podcast, *The Dare to Dream Physician Travel Podcast*. At the time, she had just pivoted her show to focus on travel, and listening back now feels like opening a time capsule.

We talk about my journey from Trinidad to Howard University, residency, burnout, entrepreneurship, and coaching. But we also talk about one of my greatest passions: travel.

From solo trips through South Africa... to scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef... to standing inside the slave castles in Ghana while pregnant with my son... this conversation reminded me how much travel has shaped who I am.

But the most surprising moment came near the end.

I casually said, "I haven't really traveled that much."

Then I started listing the places I'd been.

Twenty-two countries.

Five countries in Africa.

Australia. Greece. Turkey. The Seychelles. Botswana. Ghana.

I realized, in real time, that my brain had been telling me a story that simply wasn't true.

That's what this episode is really about.

The stories we believe about ourselves.

In this episode, we talk about:
- Why I started traveling alone during residency
- My love affair with the African continent
- The emotional experience of visiting Ghana and the slave castles
- How scuba diving became one of my favorite adventures
- Why I don't wait for other people before living my life
- The surprising lie I realized I'd been telling myself
- Why coaching and community help us see ourselves more clearly

One of the biggest reasons we stay stuck is because we believe our own thoughts without questioning them.

Sometimes all it takes is saying them out loud for someone else to hold up a mirror and say, "Wait a minute... that's not actually true."

That's the power of community.

That's the power of coaching.

And sometimes, that's the power of a podcast conversation.

🎧 Listen in, get to know me a little better, and maybe you'll catch one of the stories you've been telling yourself, too.

What did you think of the episode, doc? Let me know!

Subscribe to ✨Stethoscopes and Strollers✨ on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode.

Apple Podcast | Spotify | YouTube

Connect with me: Website | Instagram | Facebook

Join my Email list to get tips on navigating motherhood in the medical field.

If you are going through a transition -- becoming a parent, leaving a job, figuring out how manage it all, schedule a strategy coaching session and get clarity and strategic next steps for the life and career you want.

Strategy Coaching Session with Dr. Toya