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Licensed counselor and coach Mary Remón discusses her article “A mindset shift for physicians: Retrain your brain to see what’s going well.” Mary explains how physicians are trained to scan constantly for risks, but that habit can carry over into daily life and lead to stress and burnout. She shares how intentional practices like reflecting on what went well each day can rewire the brain, strengthen relationships, and enhance diagnostic accuracy. Mary also highlights research showing how positive emotions fuel creativity and problem-solving, and she offers practical ways physicians can reconnect with meaning in their work. Listeners will take away simple, actionable strategies to build resilience, boost happiness, and sustain a fulfilling medical career.

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Transcript

Kevin Pho: Hi, and welcome to the show. Subscribe at KevinMD.com/podcast. Today we welcome back Mary Remón, a licensed counselor and coach. Today’s KevinMD article is “A mindset shift for physicians: Retrain your brain to see what’s going well.” Mary, welcome back to the show.

Mary Remón: Thank you so much for having me back, Kevin.

Kevin Pho: Let’s jump right into your most recent KevinMD article. Tell us what it’s about for those who didn’t get a chance to read it yet.

Mary Remón: Absolutely. My heart goes out to physicians these days, and there’s a lot that’s contributing to burnout. I’m not going to pretend to have a cure for everything contributing to burnout, but I have learned of a way to help physicians shift their mindset and retrain their brains to see what’s going well. It’s actually worked on some of the doctors that I coach, so I’d like to share that with your physician audience.

Kevin Pho: When physicians come to you for burnout, what are some of the reasons they’re telling you that may contribute to burnout?

Mary Remón: Oh my goodness. Being short-staffed, RVUs (I only know about these things because they’re sources of stress), EMRs (glorified cash registers), having to do more with less in a short amount of time, and really a disconnect from their purpose. And lack of sleep.

Kevin Pho: All right, so tell us what your approach is when physicians come to you with all these reasons why they’re burnt out.

Mary Remón: Well, I’m going to talk today about one approach, but there are many approaches. The approach I’m going to talk about today is related to mindset. Physicians are trained, and this is good, to see what’s going wrong and what can go wrong, and that’s really important for safety. Some of the doctors I work with have a hard time turning that off, and it carries over into their personal lives.

For example, there’s one hospitalist who I coached, and he would spend his whole day helping people, and then the only thing he could think of at the end of the day was the one thing that he should have, could have, or would have done differently. He’d ruminate on that. He would take that mindset home and he’d also look at what was going wrong at home or what could go wrong. It was really hard to turn that off or even to accept compliments.

We were able to shift that. He started to ask himself reflective questions each night. It takes a lot of practice because it’s really about retraining your mindset to scan for what’s going right. But it made a big difference for him.

Kevin Pho: In that particular case, when you said that this physician asked reflective questions, what are some examples of questions that they would ask?

Mary Remón: Three questions: “What went well today?” “When did I feel most like myself?” and “What can I carry forward into tomorrow?”

Kevin Pho: When physicians ask themselves those questions, what are some sample responses that they would receive?

Mary Remón: To the question, “What went well today?” it could be, “I got a thank you from a family member.” For “When did I feel most like myself?” “I was in the flow in the OR.” For “What can I carry forward into tomorrow?” “I’m making a difference, and I don’t have to overthink it.”

Kevin Pho: And how do those answers to those questions retrain the brain? What effect do those answers have on that physician?

Mary Remón: I’m so glad you asked. It actually helps strengthen the neural pathways. If we’re constantly scanning for what can go wrong, we can get stuck in that zone, and we actually need to strengthen the neural pathway of what’s going well and what can go right. It’s not just about feeling good, although feeling good is nice because it releases feel-good chemicals like endorphins.

The thing is, there’s research on this that physicians who are in a positive mood actually are more creative and they make more correct and faster diagnoses, so it can really affect outcomes.

Kevin Pho: So if a physician remembers a simple patient thank you, that can affect neurochemically what’s going on in their brain?

Mary Remón: If they do it intentionally. I recommend practicing it daily, regularly, until it becomes a habit, until you automatically start seeing what’s going well. It’s not instead of; people are sometimes worried, “Am I going to lose my ability to see what’s going wrong?” No, it doesn’t cancel that out. It’s in addition to, but you’re able to take off the hat of looking for what’s wrong and you’re able to look at what’s going well, what went right. That can profoundly affect people’s outlook at work and in their personal lives.

Kevin Pho: You said that this is a process, of course. In general, how long does it take to retrain that mindset?

Mary Remón: I think it varies for everyone, but it takes until someone knows that they don’t need it anymore, when they don’t have to think about it. I wouldn’t give it a specific amount of time, probably a minimum of a month, but it can definitely take longer than that because if someone has spent 30 years thinking a certain way, it can take longer to retrain it. But they don’t always notice when it’s no longer happening. It’s kind of like noticing that you don’t have a headache.

Kevin Pho: And of course, if these sources of burnout are addressed, that can affect that physician’s personal life as well in a positive way.

Mary Remón: One hundred percent, yes. People tell me that their marriage is going better, they feel happier at home, they’re less likely to snap or bring their negative outlook home. That’s when they kind of know, “Ah, this is clicking. This is making a difference for me.”

Kevin Pho: You shared that story of the hospitalist where you instituted some of these changes. Are there any other stories? Sometimes we like to see some of these techniques in action. Any other stories that you could share with us where physicians changed their mindset and it made that appreciable difference both in their professional and personal life?

Mary Remón: I worked very closely with a pediatrician who suffered from vicarious trauma from hearing about children drowning or being harmed in car accidents. She had young children herself and lived by the water and couldn’t stop worrying about them, even though she had all these safety measures in place.

She asked similar questions: “What went well today?” “My children were safe and happy.” “When did I feel most like myself?” “When I wasn’t worrying about them and I was just in the moment.” “What can I carry forward into tomorrow?” “Remember that they’re safe. I put all these safety measures into place, and I need to relax and enjoy the moment with my children.”

Kevin Pho: Do you have any physicians who may feel skeptical about mindset training or worry that it may seem superficial?

Mary Remón: Yes. Some people might think this is toxic positivity. I guess my only answer to that is that there’s science behind it, research behind it. I don’t want to overlook all of the factors that we discussed earlier that contribute to burnout. This is not instead of addressing those factors; this is in addition to. I think there are so many factors that are beyond the physician’s control that affect burnout. You and I could talk forever about systems changes that need to take place. It is true that the burden should not be placed on the physician to prevent and manage their own burnout, but for now, that’s what we have.

These mindset questions and strengthening our neural pathways are just part of a very complex problem, and they’re just one answer; it’s not *the* answer. If it’s not enough, absolutely some people need to get therapy or coaching or treatment or have some time off and take a break. They need a lot more than this. I don’t want to simplify it.

Kevin Pho: Where do you draw the line so it doesn’t cross into toxic positivity?

Mary Remón: It’s not so much about drawing the line. It’s about letting people tell me all the reasons why it’s hard and not trying to talk them out of it. Who am I? I haven’t practiced medicine. I haven’t walked a day in their shoes. I need to acknowledge all the reasons why it’s hard and perhaps have several sessions about all the reasons why it’s hard.

Then the physicians have to actually want to feel differently and say, “Mary, I’m really struggling with my mindset.” I wouldn’t just apply this to everyone; when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. It’s for someone who’s actually saying, “I can only see the negative at work and outside of work. I really want to work on this.” That’s when I think I would apply it, and then it’s not toxic because it’s actually something that they’re wanting to work on. They’ve identified it as an issue.

Kevin Pho: How about those physicians, like you said, who identified that this is an issue? Obviously, coaching is one option. What other resources can you point them to where they can perhaps, on their own, try to shift their mindset?

Mary Remón: There are peer support groups. Some people prefer speaking with other physicians. Employee assistance programs (EAPs) are wonderful; that’s my background. Some people find therapy to be helpful. Some people actually benefit from medication. Some people don’t need any of that, and they tell me the best thing that happened to them was the yoga class they went to. But I’m not going to be the one to say, “Oh, you’re burnt out? Just go meditate,” because it’s not that simple.

Kevin Pho: We’re talking to Mary Remón, licensed counselor and coach. Today’s KevinMD article is “A mindset shift for physicians: Retrain your brain to see what’s going well.” Mary, let’s end with some take-home messages that you want to leave with the KevinMD audience.

Mary Remón: Notice what’s going well. These daily reflections can help shift your mindset and reconnect with your purpose. How we think shapes the lives we lead, and I hope that you find these practices valuable and worth trying.

Kevin Pho: Mary, once again, thank you so much for sharing your perspective and insight. Thanks again for coming back on the show.

Mary Remón: Thank you for having me. My pleasure.