
Stimulus - Learn Tools to Crush It in Your Medical Career
50 episodes listed below
Sharper tools for harder medical work.
The gist
Stimulus is a practical career-and-mindset show for clinicians, especially physicians working under pressure. Rob Orman and guests turn problems like chart debt, interruptions, shame, task switching, and post-shift spillover into concrete scripts and routines.
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About Stimulus - Learn Tools to Crush It in Your Medical Career
Stimulus is a medical career show with its feet planted in the emergency department and its attention fixed on the interior cost of the work. It is not glossy wellness content. It is more like a debrief after a run of hard shifts, with enough distance to name the pattern and enough practical sense to ask what changes tomorrow. Rob Orman speaks as a physician coach who spent 20 years as an emergency physician, and the conversations keep circling the same lived friction points: chart debt, task switching, interruptions, shame, avoidance, burnout, and the strange way a shift can follow someone into the car, the shower, or the next morning. The show is strongest when it turns a vague stressor into a small tool. A post-it note can become a loop-closing system. A prepared sentence can make interruptions less corrosive. A scorecard can become a prompt to ask what the job is rewarding and what it is missing. The episodes also widen beyond workflow. Dr. Josh Russell brings conversations about mimetic desire, fear of judgment, and the wrong dreams that can pull physicians off course. Lon Setnick, MD brings simulation-informed thinking about leadership, listening, and how a few seconds of organization can change the feel of a trauma room. Dr. Aliza Jung, MD, PhD reframes physician income as only one part of building wealth. Dan Millman brings a practice-based lens to failure, repetition, and persistence. The tone stays conversational and direct. It can be funny without dodging the heavier material. It can talk about brain circuitry and nonjudgmental appraisal, then return quickly to what someone should write down after a shift. The show suits clinicians who do not need the job explained from the outside. It assumes the pressure is real, then looks for language, habits, and decisions that make the work more survivable.
Made for: Stimulus is for physicians and other clinicians who like candid professional reflection with practical takeaways. It especially fits emergency clinicians, burned-out doctors, and medical leaders trying to work cleaner under pressure.
What sets it apart: The show stands out by turning emotional and workflow friction into small, usable moves: scripts, scorecards, post-shift routines, and context checks. It stays close to real clinical situations instead of floating above them as generic career advice.
In their own words
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.
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Episodes
- 1
Why Your Job Needs a Better Scorecard
Hidden gemPhysician coach Rob Orman interviews Dr.
Apr 13, 2026·25m·1 clip - 2
How to Switch From Self Flagellation to Context Assessment
Hidden gemRob Orman uses a nap interrupted by his middle-school daughter to demonstrate how “of course” can shift judgment into context assessment.
Feb 23, 2026·20m·1 clip - 3
How to Handle Interruptions Without Alienating Your Team
Hidden gemPhysician coaches Rob Orman and Dr.
Feb 2, 2026·42m·2 clips - 4
Why You Might Be Chasing the Wrong Dream
Hidden gemPhysician coach Rob Orman and Dr.
Jan 20, 2026·27m·1 clip - 5
Dan Millman on How to Practice Life
Hidden gemPhysician coach Rob Orman interviews Dan Millman — 1964 World Trampoline champion, author of Way of the Peaceful Warrior, and teacher in 32 countries — about his practical philosophy for living with purpose.
Dec 29, 2025·1h 6m·4 clips - 6
Supranormal
Dec 15, 2025·20m - 7
How To Not Overthink Simple Decisions
Nov 24, 2025·41m - 8
What Every Premed Parent Needs to Know
Oct 27, 2025·1h 10m - 9
Why You Have More Power Than You Think to Change Healthcare
Oct 6, 2025·56m - 10
Do You Know the Difference Between Competence and Capacity?
Sep 22, 2025·32m - 11
Boundary Rituals: How to Keep Work from Following You Home
Aug 25, 2025·43m - 12
Crystal-Clear and Error-Free | Three Essential Tools for High-Stakes Communication
Jul 28, 2025·15m - 13
How to Stop Spiralling When Massively Stressed with Scott Weingart
Jul 7, 2025·40m - 14
How I Coach Doctors With A Performance Improvement Plan
Jun 9, 2025·34m - 15
An Insider’s Look at Addiction Medicine
May 26, 2025·1h 8m - 16
Are You Still Lit Up by the Core of Your Work?
May 12, 2025·21m - 17
The White Coat Investor | Avoiding the Money Mistakes That Sink Physicians
Apr 28, 2025·1h 12m - 18
From Fried to Fired Up | How One Doctor Rebuilt His Career
Apr 14, 2025·46m - 19
A Guide to Skillful Death Communication with Alex Jabr, PhD
Mar 24, 2025·44m - 20
Your First Leadership Role? Start With These 8 Principles
Mar 10, 2025·23m - 21
Active Shooter: Run, Hide, or Fight?
Feb 24, 2025·32m - 22
The Upset Patient Protocol
Feb 10, 2025·31m - 23
The Emergency Mindset: What Med School Got Wrong
Jan 27, 2025·28m - 24
Nonverbal Communication | From facial expressions to tonal authority
Jan 13, 2025·32m - 25
Why You Can't Be Bad at Meditation
Dec 30, 2024·18m - 26
What's It Like To Be A Transgender Physician?
Dec 16, 2024·49m - 27
Regression to the Mean Isn’t as Boring as it Sounds
Dec 2, 2024·38m - 28
Five Ways to Connect With Patients
Nov 18, 2024·52m - 29
Mel Herbert on Mediocrity, Forgiveness, and the Cost of Holding Grudges
Nov 4, 2024·52m - 30
The Fine Print of Crushing It | Small actions for big impact
Oct 21, 2024·58m - 31
Registration for Awake + Aware 2025 is Now Open!
Oct 18, 2024·4m - 32
The Lowest Common Denominator of Communication
Oct 14, 2024·11m - 33
How to be a Good Boss and Navigate a Bad One
Oct 7, 2024·49m - 34
Tax Secrets Every Doctor Should Know
Sep 23, 2024·55m - 35
The Mistake Most of Us Make When Work Feels Crappy
Sep 17, 2024·13m - 36
Is Your Hospital Toxic? | The Critical Role of Psychological Safety
Sep 9, 2024·39m - 37
What If Your Job Ended Tomorrow?
Aug 26, 2024·47m - 38
So You Want To Start A Business | Going all in on the side hustle
Aug 12, 2024·44m - 39
Are You Betting On Yourself? | How locus of control makes all the difference
Jul 29, 2024·52m - 40
The Strange History of Medical Debt
Jul 15, 2024·52m - 41
Impatience, Anger, and the Guilt of Abundance | Insights from the Dalai Lama’s Doctor
Jul 1, 2024·46m - 42
Are Non-Compete Clauses About To Be History? | And what to consider before accepting a signing bonus
Jun 17, 2024·39m - 43
Why Cultural Context Matters in Patient Care and Clinician Burnout
Jun 3, 2024·50m - 44
Kicking The Can Down The Road | How to break up with deciding not to decide
Physician coach Rob Orman discusses the concept of 'kicking the can down the road'—delaying decisions—and how to break the habit.
May 20, 2024·31m - 45
How to Create a Team in 10 Seconds | Why time is not linear and every second not worth the same
Dr.
Apr 1, 2024·1h 2m - 46
Thinking Outside Your Retirement Account | Working harder vs creating value
Dr.
Mar 25, 2024·37m - 47
Phantasia Kataleptike | The secret skill of Stoicism
Mar 11, 2024·31m - 48
Making the trade | How to know when it's time to change careers
Rob Orman interviews former aerospace executive Lon Stroshine about his book 'The Trade' and knowing when to change careers.
Feb 26, 2024·54m - 49
Default Mode Network vs. Task Positive Network | How our brains balance mind wandering and focused attention
This episode explains the default mode network and task positive network, how they balance mind wandering and focused attention, and how to leverage this knowledge for better cognitive function.
Feb 6, 2024·33m - 50
Moral Injury | The crossroads of conscience
Jan 22, 2024·50m