Heal The Burn

Steven P. Seres, MD FACP
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Self-Improvement

Heal the Burn is a podcast for doctors who want more from medicine. Hosted by Dr. Steven Seres, an Internal Medicine primary care physician, this show explores the realities of burnout with honesty, compassion, and curiosity. Through candid interviews and personal reflections, this show offers space for physicians to reconnect with meaning, navigate the pressures of clinical life, and rediscover what makes this work worth doing. It’s not about toxic positivity or bleak despair—it’s about the messy, human, hopeful middle. You are not alone, and together we can Heal The Burn.

  1. Jun 14

    Heal The Burn episode 18: Am I an Island?

    Are physicians islands? We spend years learning to be self-sufficient, to have answers, and to keep moving forward when things get hard. But what happens when the weight of the work becomes too much to carry alone? In this episode, Dr. Natalie Bowersox joins me for a conversation about teamwork, conflict, difficult outcomes, coaching, and the moments that remind us we were never meant to do this work by ourselves. It's a thoughtful discussion about connection, vulnerability, and why asking for help may be one of the strongest things we can do.

  2. May 23

    Heal The Burn episode 17: Buying Back Time

    In this episode of Heal the Burn, I talk with Dr. Carrie Hersh, a neurologist and multiple sclerosis specialist at Cleveland Clinic in Las Vegas, about burnout, identity, and what it means to “buy back time.” Carrie shares the story of reaching a point where she seriously wondered whether she could stay in medicine at all. She shares how, with time, support, and a lot of reflection, she realized that medicine itself wasn’t the problem. The problem was trying to do everything, all at once, without enough room to breathe. We talk about the hidden stories physicians carry about productivity, seriousness, and success — and how changing the shape of a career can sometimes be the thing that allows us to stay connected to the work we still love.

  3. May 6

    Heal The Burn episode 16: Costless But Priceless

    You can work with the same people every day and still feel like you don’t really know them sometimes. Even worse, they may feel like they really don’t really know you either. So, how does our sense of belonging in the work place affect us? Turns out important studies show this to be profoundly important in terms of burnout. I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Sofya Asfaw, whose leadership work focuses on safety, quality, physician wellness, and the human side of healthcare. Together we explore something that likely fuels a lot of burnout: the simple (and not so simple) idea of belonging. Join us as we discuss what this means and why it matters.And how something as small as saying hello can be costless, but priceless.

    Heal The Burn episode 16: Costless But Priceless

  4. Apr 17

    Heal The Burn episode 15: Strong And Fragile At The Same Time

    We often talk about resilience as if it appears the moment crisis arrives. In this episode of Heal the Burn, I speak with Dr. Prema Samy, an otolaryngologist from Ontario, Canada, whose husband, also a surgeon, suffered a life-changing stroke. Overnight, she found herself not only a physician and mother but also a caregiver, all while trying to recreate herself and discover what it takes to survive in her new reality. We discuss identity, control, empathy, and why resilience may be best created long before we need it. This conversation is less about stroke than what remains when certainty disappears. She wrote a book about this experience that encompasses her voice, as well as her husband's, as they try to figure out what new normal looks like that you can check out here: Frontiers: The Journey of Two Surgeons Through Stroke

  5. Mar 30

    Heal The Burn episode 14: You Are Not In Trouble!

    In this episode, physician coach Anne Hirsch, MD talks with me about communication shifts and behavior changes that often appear long before burnout gets identified. Drawing on more than three decades in medicine and years of coaching experience, Anne explains why high-performing physicians often struggle to see these changes in themselves, and how we can help each other.

  6. Mar 19

    Heal The Burn eposide 13: I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Listening For

    Today I sit down with communication researcher Richard Frankel, PhD, whose decades of work have helped define listening as a clinical skill. We talk about this as not only structured and teachable, but, more importantly, deeply tied to outcomes and our well-being. Together, we explore how small moments of attention shape trust, efficiency, and meaning in medicine, and why the simple act of hearing a patient fully is more impactful than we often think.

  7. Mar 8

    Heal The Burn episode 12: What Feeds the Flame

    In this episode of Heal the Burn, I speak with Dr Leonard Calabrese, a rheumatologist and clinical immunologist at Cleveland Clinic who has spent years studying empathy in medicine. We explore the practitioner–patient relationship, the biology of human connection, and why empathy may actually protect physicians from burnout rather than cause it. We discuss how tools like ambient AI can help physicians reconnect with their patients by freeing them from the computer.

  8. Jan 23

    Heal The Burn Episode 11: On Being A Doctor - Side Effects May Include Burnout

    In this episode I sit down with Dr. Bud Isaacson, former Executive Dean of the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western University, to explore how the way we train and support learners shapes the future of medicine, and the impact we can make. We talk about reflective practice, the power of small teaching moments, and why even mid-career physicians who feel stretched or worn down often have more to offer the next generation than they realize. The conversation is a reminder inviting learners into our work can quietly restore meaning for both teacher and student.

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Heal the Burn is a podcast for doctors who want more from medicine. Hosted by Dr. Steven Seres, an Internal Medicine primary care physician, this show explores the realities of burnout with honesty, compassion, and curiosity. Through candid interviews and personal reflections, this show offers space for physicians to reconnect with meaning, navigate the pressures of clinical life, and rediscover what makes this work worth doing. It’s not about toxic positivity or bleak despair—it’s about the messy, human, hopeful middle. You are not alone, and together we can Heal The Burn.

Information

  • Creator
    Steven P. Seres, MD FACP
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    19
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Steven P. Seres, MD FACP
  • Show Website
    Heal The Burn