Hey Doc,

Were you taught that patients lie?

I was.

Somewhere during training, the idea got planted that our job is to uncover the truth because patients won’t always tell it. Then I became an attending and started experiencing it myself.

You spend twenty minutes counseling a patient. You draw diagrams. You answer questions. You document everything.

Then somehow…

“Nobody explained that to me.”

“The doctor never told me.”

“I never saw the doctor.”

If you’ve ever walked back to your office wondering whether you’re losing your mind, this episode is for you.

What surprised me is that it wasn’t until I left traditional practice that I gained enough distance to see these situations differently. And recently, while helping run our HVAC business, I watched my husband experience the exact same thing physicians deal with every day.

A customer insisted he hadn’t been told something that had been explained multiple times.

Sound familiar?

In this episode, I’m talking about why these interactions can feel so demoralizing, why they contribute to resentment and burnout, and how a little compassion can sometimes protect you more than the other person.

Not because patients are always right.

But because carrying around the belief that it’s you versus them is exhausting.

In this episode, I discuss:

• Why “patients lie” may be one of the most harmful lessons we learn in training
• How being repeatedly questioned can create resentment and burnout
• The surprising parallels between medicine and running an HVAC business
• Why people often misremember conversations without malicious intent
• How documentation protects us when memory and perception don’t match
• The role compassion plays in preserving your career longevity

If you’ve ever felt unseen, misunderstood, or questioned after doing your absolute best for a patient, this episode is my reminder that I see you.

And I believe you.

🎧 Listen now.

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.

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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 finally had to sit down and record this episode because I keep talking about NotebookLM to everybody. My Facebook friends. My sisters. Random physician moms who probably just asked me one innocent question and suddenly got a 20-minute TED Talk about AI 😂

But seriously? This tool is one of the most useful things I’ve added to my life recently.

And if your brain already feels overloaded by medicine, motherhood, emails, meetings, MOC articles, school forms, endless tabs open on your laptop, and the 47 mental sticky notes floating around your head at all times… this episode is for you.

Most people know about ChatGPT or Claude. But NotebookLM works differently.

Instead of pulling random information from the internet and confidently making stuff up like a sleep-deprived intern on hour 26 of call, NotebookLM only works from the sources you upload yourself.

PDFs. Research articles. Website links. YouTube videos. Audio files. Google Docs.

That means:

• Less hallucinating • More accuracy • Actual citations you can click and verify • And a MUCH better experience for physician brains

In this episode, I’m sharing:

• Why I think physicians need to learn AI instead of avoiding it
• How I use NotebookLM for MOC studying and research
• The surprising ways I use it in my business and personal life
• Why this tool feels like having a research assistant who actually cites her sources
• How AI can create more time, ease, and mental space for physician moms

And before somebody messages me:

No, I am not using AI to cheat on my MOCs 😂

I’m using it the same way most of us already use Ctrl + F on giant articles because ain’t nobody trying to reread a 42-page paper after putting kids to bed at 10 PM.

This episode is really about working smarter.

Because physician moms do not need more guilt about efficiency. We need tools that help us protect our energy and our time.

🎧 Listen now if you’re AI-curious, overwhelmed, skeptical, or just tired of wasting time searching through massive documents like you’re auditioning for a detective show nobody asked for.

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

I have to tell you what just happened in my house. My son ran inside to find me, eyes wide, proud as anything, and announced: "Mommy, I was just being resourceful." His toy car had rolled under the fridge. He tried the broom. He tried the mop. The fly swatter is what finally worked and he found another car under there he thought he had lost.

In this episode, I'm using that moment to walk you through what affirmations actually do. Not the fluffy version. The clinical one.

I'll tell you how my kids ended up saying "I am resourceful" every night, what changed when I started repeating the affirmations back during the day, and what that has to do with you, doc — because this isn't a parenting episode. This is about the instructions you've been giving your own subconscious without realizing it, and what shifts when you decide on purpose.

What you'll walk away with:

• Why your brain takes your I-am statements as instructions, even when you don't believe them yet
• The reason repetition has to come before the meaning lands
• How to reinforce an affirmation in real life so it stops being words and becomes behavior
• The one small homework assignment for this week — pick one, say it out loud, say it in the mirror if you want to get fancy

Homework: One I-am statement. Out loud. Every day. That's it.

Listen if: you've ever rolled your eyes at affirmations, you've tried them and quit because they felt like lying, or you want to know what's actually happening in your brain when you repeat the same sentence on purpose.

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