#438 - CONTRIBUTOR SERIES - Men In Medicine: How Medical Training Combined with Societal Norms Causes Male Physicians To Suffer

33min | 02/18/2025

Description

Medicine has long been defined by a culture that demands toughness, self-sacrifice, and emotional suppression, particularly for male physicians. In this episode, Dr. Joe Sherman shares his insights on how these expectations contribute to physician burnout, emotional isolation, and workplace toxicity.

He and Dr. Amna Shabbir discuss how changing the culture around male physicians can make medicine more compassionate and inclusive. They examine why male doctors struggle to show vulnerability and how shifting medical norms can support their well-being. Dr. Sherman also shares his journey of overcoming the fear of seeking help, offering practical insights for building resilience and self-compassion.

Three Actionable Takeaways:

Create Safe Spaces for Vulnerability – Physicians, especially men, need environments where expressing emotions is accepted, not stigmatized. Supporting peer groups and coaching can foster this change.
Reframe Asking for Help as Strength, Not Weakness – Whether through coaching, therapy, or peer support, seeking help is a sign of courage and self-awareness, not failure.
Lead with Compassion – Senior physicians set the tone for medical culture. By modeling emotional intelligence and trust-building, they can create a healthier work environment for the next generation.

About the Guest:
Dr. Joe Sherman is a pediatrician, professional development coach, and consultant to physicians and healthcare organizations in the areas of provider well-being, leadership, and career discernment. His services include individual coaching, medical team support, retreat facilitation, and public speaking. He is a trained facilitator with the Center for Courage & Renewal and a Master Certified Physician Development Coach with the Physician Coaching Institute.

Dr. Sherman has been in pediatric practice for over 35 years concentrating on healthcare delivery to underserved and medically complex children in the District of Columbia, Tacoma, Seattle, Uganda, and Bolivia. He has held numerous faculty positions and is currently a Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Washington.

Website: https://joeshermanmd.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joeshermanmd/

Host:
Dr. Amna Shabbir is the Founder and CEO of the Early Career Physicians Institute, a Duke Certified Wellness and Life Coach, Dual Board-Certified Geriatrician-Internist and Super Mom to two young girls. She passionately supports new attending physicians in navigating post-medical training challenges, helping them to excel both professionally and personally

https://www.youtube.com/@Dr.AmnaShabbir
https://web.facebook.com/dr.amnashabbir.md?_rdc=1&_rdr#

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

------

Did you know…

You can also be a guest on our show? Please email me at brad@physiciansguidetodoctoring.com to connect or visit www.physiciansguidetodoctoring.com to learn more about the show!

Socials:

@physiciansguidetodoctoring on FB

@physicianguidetodoctoring on YouTube

@physiciansguide on Instagram and Twitter

Visit www.physiciansguidetodoctoring.com<...

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

About Succeed in Medicine

Was your training enough to handle everything physician life demands? From lawsuits to leadership, career decisions to challenging conversations, balancing the personal with the professional — not enough was addressed in medical school, residency or fellowship. This show fills those gaps so you can live up to the expectations that come with the white coat — not just in the exam room, but in all the places your MD follows you. Your host, Dr. Bradley Block, a private practice ENT, is right there with you — navigating the same challenges and bringing in world-class guests to teach, as he puts it, “everything we should have been learning while we were memorizing Kreb’s cycle.” With nearly 500 episodes and close to half a million downloads, Brad has built a trusted space where physicians come for brass-tacks, immediately-applicable advice. You don’t need another certification. You need a podcast that covers personal finance, private practice, side-gigs, main-gigs, reacting to bad reviews, misinformation, social media, charting, parenting, communicating, negotiating, leading, managing, teaching, learning and what to do when someone yells, “Is there a doctor on board?”

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

About Succeed in Medicine

Was your training enough to handle everything physician life demands? From lawsuits to leadership, career decisions to challenging conversations, balancing the personal with the professional — not enough was addressed in medical school, residency or fellowship. This show fills those gaps so you can live up to the expectations that come with the white coat — not just in the exam room, but in all the places your MD follows you. Your host, Dr. Bradley Block, a private practice ENT, is right there with you — navigating the same challenges and bringing in world-class guests to teach, as he puts it, “everything we should have been learning while we were memorizing Kreb’s cycle.” With nearly 500 episodes and close to half a million downloads, Brad has built a trusted space where physicians come for brass-tacks, immediately-applicable advice. You don’t need another certification. You need a podcast that covers personal finance, private practice, side-gigs, main-gigs, reacting to bad reviews, misinformation, social media, charting, parenting, communicating, negotiating, leading, managing, teaching, learning and what to do when someone yells, “Is there a doctor on board?”

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Description

Medicine has long been defined by a culture that demands toughness, self-sacrifice, and emotional suppression, particularly for male physicians. In this episode, Dr. Joe Sherman shares his insights on how these expectations contribute to physician burnout, emotional isolation, and workplace toxicity.

He and Dr. Amna Shabbir discuss how changing the culture around male physicians can make medicine more compassionate and inclusive. They examine why male doctors struggle to show vulnerability and how shifting medical norms can support their well-being. Dr. Sherman also shares his journey of overcoming the fear of seeking help, offering practical insights for building resilience and self-compassion.

Three Actionable Takeaways:

Create Safe Spaces for Vulnerability – Physicians, especially men, need environments where expressing emotions is accepted, not stigmatized. Supporting peer groups and coaching can foster this change.
Reframe Asking for Help as Strength, Not Weakness – Whether through coaching, therapy, or peer support, seeking help is a sign of courage and self-awareness, not failure.
Lead with Compassion – Senior physicians set the tone for medical culture. By modeling emotional intelligence and trust-building, they can create a healthier work environment for the next generation.

About the Guest:
Dr. Joe Sherman is a pediatrician, professional development coach, and consultant to physicians and healthcare organizations in the areas of provider well-being, leadership, and career discernment. His services include individual coaching, medical team support, retreat facilitation, and public speaking. He is a trained facilitator with the Center for Courage & Renewal and a Master Certified Physician Development Coach with the Physician Coaching Institute.

Dr. Sherman has been in pediatric practice for over 35 years concentrating on healthcare delivery to underserved and medically complex children in the District of Columbia, Tacoma, Seattle, Uganda, and Bolivia. He has held numerous faculty positions and is currently a Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Washington.

Website: https://joeshermanmd.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joeshermanmd/

Host:
Dr. Amna Shabbir is the Founder and CEO of the Early Career Physicians Institute, a Duke Certified Wellness and Life Coach, Dual Board-Certified Geriatrician-Internist and Super Mom to two young girls. She passionately supports new attending physicians in navigating post-medical training challenges, helping them to excel both professionally and personally

https://www.youtube.com/@Dr.AmnaShabbir
https://web.facebook.com/dr.amnashabbir.md?_rdc=1&_rdr#

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

------

Did you know…

You can also be a guest on our show? Please email me at brad@physiciansguidetodoctoring.com to connect or visit www.physiciansguidetodoctoring.com to learn more about the show!

Socials:

@physiciansguidetodoctoring on FB

@physicianguidetodoctoring on YouTube

@physiciansguide on Instagram and Twitter

Visit www.physiciansguidetodoctoring.com<...

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

About Succeed in Medicine

Was your training enough to handle everything physician life demands? From lawsuits to leadership, career decisions to challenging conversations, balancing the personal with the professional — not enough was addressed in medical school, residency or fellowship. This show fills those gaps so you can live up to the expectations that come with the white coat — not just in the exam room, but in all the places your MD follows you. Your host, Dr. Bradley Block, a private practice ENT, is right there with you — navigating the same challenges and bringing in world-class guests to teach, as he puts it, “everything we should have been learning while we were memorizing Kreb’s cycle.” With nearly 500 episodes and close to half a million downloads, Brad has built a trusted space where physicians come for brass-tacks, immediately-applicable advice. You don’t need another certification. You need a podcast that covers personal finance, private practice, side-gigs, main-gigs, reacting to bad reviews, misinformation, social media, charting, parenting, communicating, negotiating, leading, managing, teaching, learning and what to do when someone yells, “Is there a doctor on board?”

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

About Succeed in Medicine

Was your training enough to handle everything physician life demands? From lawsuits to leadership, career decisions to challenging conversations, balancing the personal with the professional — not enough was addressed in medical school, residency or fellowship. This show fills those gaps so you can live up to the expectations that come with the white coat — not just in the exam room, but in all the places your MD follows you. Your host, Dr. Bradley Block, a private practice ENT, is right there with you — navigating the same challenges and bringing in world-class guests to teach, as he puts it, “everything we should have been learning while we were memorizing Kreb’s cycle.” With nearly 500 episodes and close to half a million downloads, Brad has built a trusted space where physicians come for brass-tacks, immediately-applicable advice. You don’t need another certification. You need a podcast that covers personal finance, private practice, side-gigs, main-gigs, reacting to bad reviews, misinformation, social media, charting, parenting, communicating, negotiating, leading, managing, teaching, learning and what to do when someone yells, “Is there a doctor on board?”

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

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