Studies show conclusively that health care providers don’t reach out for help when they’re tired, or irritable, or when their emails get shorter and their patience thinner.

We reach out when someone else notices.

In this episode of Heal the Burn, I speak with physician coach Anne Hirsch, MD about the subtle behavioral and communication shifts that often appear long before a complaint, a difficult meeting, or a formal intervention. Drawing on more than three decades in medicine and years of experience in peer review and physician coaching, Anne talks about why high-performing physicians often struggle to see these changes in themselves.

We explore the idea that coaching shouldn’t be remediation, but rather preventative health.

This conversation is about recognizing the early signals, understanding how stress shows up in our behavior, and learning how to notice ourselves sooner.