In this deeply moving and powerful conversation, Dr. Abby Spencer, Professor of Medicine, Vice Chair for Education, and Director of the Academy of Educators at Washington University, joins Dr. Amna Shabbir to unpack the high cost of perfectionism, the reality of burnout in medicine, and what it means to lead with heart.

Together, they explore:

✅Compassionate leadership in medicine
✅ The double standards women in leadership face
✅A special moment in Dr. Shabbir’s life when she was a medical trainee, and how Dr. Spencer helped avert her trauma.
✅Creating systems where vulnerability is safe
✅ Recognizing and recovering from burnout
✅The emotional toll of moral injury in healthcare

👤 About the Guest:
Abby Spencer, MD, MS, FACP, is a nationally recognized leader in internal medicine and medical education. She serves as Professor of Medicine, Vice Chair for Education in the Department of Medicine, and Director of the Academy of Educators at Washington University School of Medicine. Known for her fierce advocacy for trainees, women in medicine, and values-driven leadership, Dr. Spencer has mentored hundreds of physicians throughout her career, including Dr. Shabbir.

🔗Connect with Dr. Spencer:
X: https://x.com/abbyWUim

🎙About the Host:
Dr. Amna Shabbir is a Dual Board-certified Physician, Master Certified Coach, Professional Speaker, Corporate Wellness Strategist, Mental Health Advocate, and Super Mom. She empowers high achievers to redefine success and create sustainable well-being via coaching, speaking, and virtual programs. Dr. Shabbir is the Founder of Amna Shabbir Wellness Coaching and the Early Career Physicians Institute®, where she empowers high achievers to redefine success and create sustainable well-being.

This episode is part of her special book-writing project on unmasking perfectionism.

🔗Connect with Dr. Shabbir:
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.amnashabbir/
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amna-shabbir-md/
🌍 Book Her to Speak: https://www.dramnashabbir.com/Speaking

❌ Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical or therapeutic advice. The views expressed are personal and do not reflect those of any employer or institution.

❤️ Enjoyed This Episode?
Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review the podcast.
Share it with a colleague, peer, or friend who needs this message.

“The most important thing you can remember is your humble beginnings.”

In this powerful conversation, Dr. Amna Shabbir speaks with Geoffrey M. Roche, healthcare workforce expert, Forbes Business Council member, and proud advocate for inclusion, as he opens up about the life-changing moment that forced him to redefine success, step away from perfectionism, and lead with greater authenticity and impact.

Together, they explore:

✅Why perfectionism is not a strength in disguise
✅The turning point that helped Geoffrey reclaim his autonomy
✅How great leaders use vulnerability to empower teams
✅The connection between psychological safety and retention in healthcare
✅How to champion and create true belonging at work

👤 About the Guest:
Geoffrey M. Roche, MPA is a nationally recognized healthcare leader and the North America Director of Workforce Development at Siemens Healthineers. With 16+ years in hospital and higher education leadership, he’s a Forbes Business Council member and passionate advocate for inclusive, people-first leadership in healthcare.

🔗Connect with Geoffrey:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoffreymroche

🎙About the Host:
Dr. Amna Shabbir is a Dual Board-certified Physician, Master Certified Coach, Professional Speaker, Mental Health Advocate, and Super Mom. She is the Founder of Amna Shabbir Wellness Coaching and the Early Career Physicians Institute®, where she empowers high achievers to redefine success and create sustainable well-being.

This episode is part of her special book-writing project on unmasking perfectionism.

🔗Connect with Dr. Shabbir:
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.amnashabbir/
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amna-shabbir-md/
🌍 Book Her to Speak: https://www.dramnashabbir.com/Speaking

❌ Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical or therapeutic advice. The views expressed are personal and do not reflect those of any employer or institution.

❤️ Enjoyed This Episode?
Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review the podcast.
Share it with a colleague, peer, or friend who needs this message.

What happens when the profession you love ends up taking everything from you?

In this deeply moving episode, Dr. Amna Shabbir sits down with Betsy Gall, author of The Illusion of the Perfect Profession, to talk about physician suicide, the hidden cost of perfectionism, and the very real pain that’s often buried beneath a white coat.

Following the tragic death by suicide of her husband, Dr. Matthew Gall—a beloved oncologist, husband, and father—Betsy transformed her grief into advocacy. Her book, grounded in raw journal entries and letters to God, is a personal and powerful testament to the urgent need for change in how we support those who care for us.

Together, they explore:

✔️ Why Betsy believes being a doctor cost Matt his life
✔️ The identity loss and shame that stop physicians from asking for help
✔️ The barriers physicians face in accessing mental health care
✔️ How to humanize our healthcare system from the inside out

📌 Referenced in this episode:
🔗 The Illusion of the Perfect Profession by Betsy Gall: https://a.co/d/btSG8qa
🔗 Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation: https://drlornabreen.org

👤 About the Guest:

Betsy Gall is an author, speaker, real estate investor, and mother of three. After losing her husband, Dr. Matthew Gall, to suicide in 2019, she became a fierce advocate for physician mental health and well-being. Her memoir, The Illusion of the Perfect Profession, is a candid and healing account of grief, faith, and the broken systems that need urgent reform. Today, she partners with organizations like the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes' Foundation to share her family's story and fight for lasting change in healthcare.
🔗 Connect with Betsy:

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betsygall1/

💙 About the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes' Foundation:

The Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation is a nonprofit dedicated to protecting the well-being of healthcare professionals and breaking the stigma surrounding mental health. It was founded in honor of Dr. Lorna Breen, an emergency physician who died by suicide during the COVID-19 pandemic after facing unrelenting professional pressure.

Impact Highlights:

✅ Passed the bipartisan Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act
✅ Advocates for removing mental health questions from licensing/credentialing
✅ Provides grants and training to build resilient workplace cultures in healthcare

🔗 Support their work: https://drlornabreen.org/donate

🎙 About the Host:

Dr. Amna Shabbir, MD, NBC-HWC, CPC is a dual board-certified Internal Medicine and Geriatrics physician, Master Certified Life Coach, and the Founder of Amna Shabbir Wellness Coaching and the Early Career Physicians Institute®. A passionate speaker, writer, and podcast host,

Dr. Shabbir empowers high achievers to create sustainable well-being.

She is a proud Ambassador of the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation and a national voice in the movement for clinician mental health.

🔗 Connect with Dr. Amna Shabbir:

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.amnashabbir
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amna-shabbir-md
▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@amnashabbirmd
🌍 Book Dr. Shabbir to Speak: https://www.dramnashabbir.com/speaking

❗ Important Notes:

⚠️ Trigger Warning: This episode includes discussions of suicide, depression, and grief. Please take care while listening. If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988 for free, confidential support.

❌ Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only. It does not constitute medical or mental health advice and reflects the views of the speakers, not any employer or institution.

❤️ Enjoyed this Episode?

Please rate and review the show, and share it with someone who needs to hear this conversation.

"You don’t have to apologize for taking up space or for wanting more."

In this empowering episode of Success Reimagined, Dr. Amna Shabbir welcomes Dr. Sasha Shillcutt, tenured professor, cardiac anesthesiologist, author, and founder of Brave Enough, for a powerful conversation on boundaries, burnout, and bold leadership.

Together, they explore:

✅ The invisible toll of over-functioning in high-stress careers

✅ Why boundaries are not just protective, but restorative

✅ The courage required to disappoint others to honor yourself

✅ How professional women can reclaim time without guilt

✅ The myth of having to “choose” between ambition and authenticity

✅ Tangible strategies to lead with both strength and self-compassion

👤 About the Guest:

Dr. Sasha Shillcutt is a tenured professor and Vice Chair of Strategy in the University of Nebraska Medical Center Department of Anesthesiology. She is a board-certified cardiac anesthesiologist, TEDx speaker, and the founder of Brave Enough, a community dedicated to empowering professional women. She is the author of Between Grit and Grace and Brave Boundaries.

🔗 Connect with Dr. Shillcutt:

📘Attend the Brave Enough Women's CME Conference 2025

📕 Read Between Grit and Grace

📕 Read Brave Boundaries

🎥 Watch Dr. Shillcutt's TEDx Talk – Resilience: The Art of Failing Forward

🎙 About the Host:

Dr. Amna Shabbir is a Dual Board-certified Geriatrics and Internal Medicine Physician, Master Certified Coach, Professional Speaker, Mental Health Advocate, and Super Mom. She is the Founder of Amna Shabbir Wellness Coaching and the Early Career Physicians Institute®, where she empowers high achievers to redefine success and create sustainable well-being.

This episode is part of her special book-writing project on unmasking perfectionism.

🔹 Connect with Dr. Shabbir:

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.amnashabbir/

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amna-shabbir-md/

🌍 Book Her to Speak: https://www.dramnashabbir.com/Speaking

❌ Disclaimer:

This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical or therapeutic advice. The views expressed are personal and do not reflect those of any employer or institution.

❤️ Enjoyed This Episode?

Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review the podcast.

Share it with a colleague, peer, or friend who needs this message.

"Perfectionistic behaviors make life easier for other people—
but often harder for ourselves."

In this insightful episode of Success Reimagined, Dr. Amna Shabbir sits down with Dr. Clarissa Ong, co-author of The Anxious Perfectionist, to explore the hidden emotional costs of perfectionism, the psychological trap of coherence, and how high achievers can begin to shift from performance to presence.

Together, they explore:

✅ The rigidity at the root of perfectionism
✅ How the “coherence trap” keeps us stuck in self-limiting narratives
✅ People-pleasing as a form of self-erasure
✅ The problem with replacing rules with values—without flexibility
✅ Why “almost perfect” can feel worse than failure
✅ Tangible ways to reconnect with a values-based identity

👤 About the Guest:
Dr. Clarissa Ong is a clinical psychologist, assistant professor at the University of Louisville, and co-author of The Anxious Perfectionist. She leads the Process-Oriented Intervention Science (POIS) Lab and has authored over 60 peer-reviewed papers focused on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), OCD, hoarding, and perfectionism.

🔗 Connect with Dr. Ong:
📘 The Anxious Perfectionist: https://www.newharbinger.com/9781684038459/the-anxious-perfectionist/
🧪 Lab Website: https://www.poislab.com
📊 Participant Recruitment: https://www.poislab.com/current-projects
🌿 Clinical Page: https://junipermh.com/team/clarissa-ong/
💬 BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/clarissaong.bsky.social

🎙 About the Host:
Dr. Amna Shabbir is a Dual Board-certified Geriatrics and Internal Medicine Physician, Master Certified Coach, Professional Speaker, Mental Health Advocate, and Super Mom. She is the Founder of Amna Shabbir Wellness Coaching and the Early Career Physicians Institute®, where she empowers high achievers to redefine success and create sustainable well-being.
This episode is part of her special book-writing project on unmasking perfectionism.

🔹 Connect with Dr. Shabbir:
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.amnashabbir/
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amna-shabbir-md/
🌍 Book Her to Speak: https://www.dramnashabbir.com/Speaking

❌ Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical or therapeutic advice. The views expressed are personal and do not reflect those of any employer or institution.

❤️ Enjoyed This Episode?
Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review the podcast.
Share it with a colleague, peer, or friend who needs this message.

What if we’re grooming our future doctors for burnout before they even start training?

In this powerful episode, Dr. Amna Shabbir sits down with Dr. Stuart Slavin, Vice President for Well-Being at the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and a national leader in physician mental health, to explore how maladaptive perfectionism begins long before medical school—and how the culture of high achievement can deeply impact mental health.

Together, they explore:

✅ How maladaptive perfectionism develops early in life
✅ The difference between healthy standards and toxic self-criticism
✅ The emotional cost of “Stanford Duck Syndrome” in medicine
✅ Strategies to build self-compassion and reframe harmful inner narratives

About the Guest:

Dr. Stuart Slavin is a Pediatrician, Medical Educator, and Vice President for Well-Being at the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). A national leader in physician mental health, he has led transformative initiatives to improve the well-being of residents, fellows, and faculty across the country.

His pioneering work in redesigning medical education to reduce student depression and anxiety—while maintaining academic excellence—has gained national recognition. Dr. Slavin’s research focuses on maladaptive perfectionism, imposter syndrome, and the toxic thought patterns that undermine mental health in high-achieving environments.

He was prominently featured in the award-winning documentary Do No Harm and continues to advocate for reshaping the culture of medicine to prioritize psychological safety and sustainable success for the next generation of physicians.

🎙 About the Host:

Dr. Amna Shabbir is a Dual Board-certified Geriatrics and Internal Medicine Physician, Master Certified Coach, Professional Speaker, Mental Health Advocate, and Super Mom. She is the Founder of Amna Shabbir Wellness Coaching and the Early Career Physicians Institute®, where she empowers high achievers to redefine success and create sustainable well-being.

This episode is part of her special book writing project on unmasking perfectionism.

🔹 Connect with Dr. Shabbir:
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.amnashabbir/
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amna-shabbir-md/
🌍 Book Her to Speak: https://www.dramnashabbir.com/Speaking

❗ Important Notes:

⚠️ Trigger Warning: This episode contains discussion of suicide and mental health challenges. Please take care while listening. For support, call or text 988 for free, confidential help.

❌ Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical or therapeutic advice. The views expressed are personal and do not reflect those of any employer or institution.

❤️ Enjoyed This Episode?
Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review the podcast!
Share it with a colleague, peer, or friend who needs this message.

Your smartphone isn’t just a tool—it’s controlling your attention, your focus, and your success.

In today’s hyperconnected world, notifications, alerts, and endless distractions are pulling you away from your biggest goals. But what if one small change to your smartphone habits could make all the difference?

In this Solo Episode, Dr. Shabbir Dive's into:

✅ Why your smartphone home screen is “prime real estate” for your success

✅ How unchecked notifications and alerts are hijacking your focus

✅ The culture of digital entitlement—and why it’s time to set boundaries

✅ Practical steps to reclaim your attention and create airtight digital boundaries

If you feel like you’re constantly pulled in a million directions or that your phone is running your life instead of the other way around, this episode is for you.

🔹 Connect with Dr. Shabbir:

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.amnashabbir/

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amna-shabbir-md/

🌍 Book Her To Speak: https://www.dramnashabbir.com/Speaking

❌ Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical or therapeutic advice. The views expressed are personal and do not reflect those of any employer or institution.

❤️ Enjoyed This Episode? Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review the podcast!

Share with a colleague, peer, or friend who needs this message.