Transforming Stress with Dr. Ash
Transforming Stress with Dr. Ash is your guide to overcoming the hidden buildup of stress and burnout in today’s high-pressure world. Hosted by Dr. Ash Kumar, this podcast offers practical, science-backed tools to help you recognize early signs of stress, develop sustainable management techniques, and build resilience.
Whether you're a professional balancing competing demands or simply seeking a healthier work-life balance, each episode delivers actionable insights that will empower you to take control of your well-being. With a unique blend of humor, expert advice, and real-world exercises, Dr. Ash equips you to break free from the burnout cycle and thrive in any environment.
Tune in every Friday to unlock the strategies to shift from overwhelmed to empowered, regain clarity, and create lasting change for a balanced, fulfilling life.
Ready to transform stress into strength? The journey starts here.
Transforming Stress with Dr. Ash
Beyond Burnout: Moral Injury, Purpose & Provider Well-being – with Prof. Dorothy Breen
In this powerful conversation, Professor Dorothy Breen joins Dr. Ash Kumar to tackle one of the most pressing crises in healthcare today: burnout—and what lies beyond it. Together, they unpack the boiling frog analogy, the true nature of burnout, and why the core issue is not a lack of resilience, but a deep organizational and moral crisis.
They explore how moral injury, not burnout alone, is what many healthcare professionals are truly facing—and why coaching, compassion, and systemic change are urgently needed. From the emotional toll on doctors to the ripple effects on patient safety, this conversation is a call to action for providers, leaders, and systems alike.
Key Topics Covered:
🔹 The Boiling Frog Analogy: How chronic micro-stress can slowly break down healthcare professionals without them realizing—until it’s too late.
🔹 Burnout vs. Moral Injury: Many doctors aren’t just tired—they’re morally wounded by working in systems misaligned with their values and purpose.
🔹 It's Not a Resilience Problem: Physicians are already more resilient than average. Burnout stems from systemic issues—not personal weakness.
🔹 Organizational Disconnect: When doctors' core values are at odds with the mission of their workplace, disillusionment and distress follow.
🔹 The Cost of Neglecting Well-being: High burnout rates (up to 70% in Ireland during the pandemic) directly impact engagement, communication, and patient safety.
🔹 The Calling Trap: Medicine as a “calling” can lead to self-neglect. High achievers often abandon their own basic needs in service of others.
🔹 Patient Safety Depends on Provider Well-being: “You cannot give what you don’t have.” Burned-out providers cannot offer empathy or connection.
🔹 The Role of Coaching in Medicine: Coaching—especially peer-to-peer coaching—is urgently needed in healthcare, just as it is in other high-performance industries.
Quotes to Remember:
💬 “Burnout is not a resilience issue. It’s an organizational issue.”
💬 “When your mission is not aligned with your organization’s mission, something starts to break inside.”
💬 “You cannot give what you don’t have—burned-out doctors can’t offer the care patients deserve.”
💬 “We’ve paid too high a price for having unhappy doctors. That needs to change.”
Who Should Listen?
This episode is essential listening for:
- Healthcare professionals navigating stress, fatigue, and disillusionment
- Leaders in medicine seeking to build sustainable, compassionate systems
- Medical educators and policy advocates championing wellness and reform
- Anyone curious about the intersection of well-being, purpose, and patient care
Connect with Prof. Dorothy Breen:
🌐 Website: www.fordoctors.ie
🔗 LinkedIn: Professor Dorothy Breen
🔥 Are you living in boiling water and calling it normal?
Take a moment to reflect. Share this episode with a colleague, leader, or mentor who needs to hear this message.
💬 Join the conversation online:
#BurnoutIsNotFailure #MoralInjury #TransformingStress #TheBoilingFrog #ForDoctors #HealthcareWellbeing #CoachingInMedicine #DrAshPodcast
Ready to transform stress into strength? The journey starts here.