330. Getting Your Head Above the Clouds: Creating Space to Savor What Comes Next with Dr. Kelly Derbin
What if you do not need a perfect plan for your next season?
What if you need a little more space to notice what is true, what is possible, and what you actually want?
Medicine is complicated. We often try to think our way through every decision. We make plans, revise them, overthink them, and keep moving.
In this episode, Dr. Jessie Mahoney talks with Dr. Kelly Derbin, a family physician and physician leader who is retiring from clinical practice after a rich career in medicine and leadership development.
Their conversation is an honest look at what it can mean to make a big decision while also navigating burnout, caregiving, grief, identity, and the fullness of life.
Kelly shares how coaching helped her get above the clouds of daily leadership demands.
She reflects on the restorative power of immersive time in nature, the value of learning alongside other physicians, and the unexpected wisdom she found when she stopped trying to force her retirement plan into the shape she had imagined.
“I think I’m supposed to just give space to my life,” Kelly says.
There is a beautiful moment when Kelly realizes that mindfulness not only helps us survive the difficult parts of medicine, it also helps us savor them—the final patient visits, the familiar routines, the meaningful goodbyes, and the tender moments that are easy to miss.
“If you’re just using mindfulness to navigate the hard moments, you might miss the beauty of those really special moments.”
This episode is for the physician who is considering retirement, contemplating a career change, caring for an aging parent, or simply tired of living on the hamster wheel.
You do not have to leap off a cliff. You can pause, create space, and begin to choose what comes next with more intention.
Listen if you are wanting
More clarity about retirement or a career pivot
A more compassionate way to navigate caregiving and grief
Support in letting go of perfectionism and over-responsibility
A way to lead and live that does not require constant urgency
Permission to rest, reflect, and make decisions you can trust
About Dr. Kelly Derbin
Dr. Kelly Derbin is a family physician, physician leader, and ICF-certified coach. She spent 17 years at Palo Alto Medical Foundation, including nearly a decade as founding medical director of a leadership development office. As she retires from clinical practice, she continues to coach leaders within her organization and to support more sustainable, connected physician careers.
If this conversation helped you recognize your own need for space, Dr. Jessie Mahoney offers one-on-one coaching, group coaching for women physicians, Connect in Nature retreats, and free yoga.
You do not need to do all the things.
Start with the next best thing that helps you come back to yourself.
Learn more about coaching, retreats, and mindfulness offerings on www.jessiemahoneymd.com
Free Live-Stream Mindful Yoga: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/yoga
Jessie's Blog: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/jessies-blog
*Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice. The Healing Medicine Podcast was formerly known as the Mindful Healers Podcast.