Frequently asked questions
Lauren Fine, MD is a physician, medical educator and life coach based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, working with clients virtually across the US and internationally. Jump to: About Lauren · How coaching works · For physicians · Burnout and career change
About Lauren Fine
Who is Lauren Fine, MD?
Lauren Fine, MD, FAAAAI is a board-certified allergist and immunologist, Associate Professor and Assistant Dean of Clinical Skills Education at Nova Southeastern University Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine, Harvard Macy Institute faculty, and a TEDx speaker. She is the founder of Lauren Fine Coaching, a life coaching practice, and of ReasonDx, a clinical reasoning education platform.
Where is Lauren Fine Coaching located?
Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Coaching is available virtually by video for clients across the US and internationally, with in-person sessions available by appointment in the Fort Lauderdale area.
Who does Lauren Fine coach?
Physicians, especially women physicians, who are doing too much and want to make room for what matters to them, whether that means staying in medicine, scaling back, or leaving. She also works with accomplished professionals outside medicine.
What credentials does Lauren Fine have?
MD (Doctor of Medicine). ICF-track coach. Faculty at the Harvard Macy Institute. TEDx speaker. Author of the Substack newsletter Permission to Change: Finding Your Ikigai.
How coaching works
How is this different from therapy?
Therapy typically focuses on processing the past and mental health. Coaching focuses on where you are now and where you want to go. I'm not a therapist and this isn't therapy. It's forward-focused work on clarity, narrative, and action.
Do you work with people across the US and internationally?
Yes. All coaching is available virtually. I work with clients across the US and internationally via video. Location is not a barrier.
How long does coaching typically last?
It depends on the package: Clarity Sprint runs 4 to 6 weeks, Change Navigation runs 3 months, and Full Transformation runs 6 months. We figure out which fits in your first session, based on what you're working on and how much room the work needs.
What does a session look like?
Sessions are 55 minutes (or 25 minutes, depending on how your package is structured), conducted via video. They're conversational, not structured like a class. We go where the work is. Between sessions, I may give you questions to sit with or short exercises (nothing burdensome).
Why work with you vs. a matching platform?
Platforms are convenient but transactional. You get whoever is available. I work with a small number of clients at a time, which means you get my full attention and a coach who genuinely knows your story, not a fresh stranger every few sessions.
What does it cost?
Coaching is sold in packages, not single sessions, because real change happens over time. Clarity Sprint is $1,400 (four 55-minute sessions over 4 to 6 weeks). Change Navigation, the package most clients choose, is $2,600 (eight 55-minute sessions over 3 months). Full Transformation is $3,600 (twelve 55-minute sessions over 6 months). Each package can flex into shorter 25-minute sessions and can focus on career transition, a personal statement, interview prep, or a combination. These rates are honored for the full length of any engagement begun at them. Individual sessions ($375 each) are available only as an add-on for current and past clients between packages. The first session is always free.
What does the free first session cover?
A full 55-minute coaching session, free. You tell me what you're working on or wrestling with. I ask questions, listen for the underlying decision, and tell you honestly whether coaching is the right next step. It's a real session, not a screening call. There is no obligation and no sales pitch.
How is your coaching different from a typical "life coach"?
It is life coaching, in the sense that this work touches your whole life, not just your career. What makes it different is the lens I bring: physician training, decision science, and narrative identity. It is not generic motivation. It is structured work on the decision and the story underneath it, so you leave with a plan you can actually live with.
Do you offer in-person sessions?
Most coaching is conducted via video. In-person sessions are available by appointment in the Fort Lauderdale area for clients in South Florida who prefer that format.
For physicians
How do I know whether I want to leave medicine or just change something about it?
Separate the volume from the work. Think about Sunday evening, not the whole week, and ask what the first feeling actually is. Dread about how much there is to do is a scheduling problem and is often negotiable. Dread about the work itself is a direction problem, and no amount of schedule surgery touches it. Most people never separate the two, and spend years solving the wrong one.
What is a non-clinical career for a physician?
Any role that uses your medical training without direct patient care. In practice that spans pharmaceutical and biotech medical affairs, medical writing and communications, payer medical director roles, health technology and informatics, consulting, medical education, medicolegal work, regulatory affairs, investing and founding companies.
Do I have to give up my licence or board certification?
No, and the widely shared advice among physicians who have made the move is to keep both current. Maintaining them is inexpensive relative to the cost of regaining them, and many non-clinical employers specifically want an actively licensed physician.
Will I take a pay cut leaving clinical medicine?
It depends heavily on the category and on your current specialty. Some non-clinical roles pay comparably or more, particularly in industry, consulting and investing. Others pay less, at least initially. The figure that matters is the net difference once childcare, commuting, licensing, and the costs you incur because you are depleted are all counted, not the gross salary comparison.
Can I do non-clinical work part-time while still practicing?
Yes, and for many physicians this is the most sensible path. Medical writing, expert witness work, education, advisory roles and consulting are all commonly built alongside a reduced clinical schedule. It preserves your income floor and lets you find out whether you actually like the new work before committing to it.
Is it too late to change careers as a physician?
Mid-career and later transitions are common, and in several of these categories seniority is an asset rather than an obstacle. Industry, consulting, education and medicolegal work all place a premium on clinical experience that only comes with years.
Do you help with interviewing for a new role?
Yes. When a physician is moving toward a new position, whether that's industry, consulting, or a different specialty, interview prep and narrative coaching are part of the work: how to talk about the transition, how to answer the questions that come up, and how to walk in with a clear story.
Do you offer ikigai-focused coaching specifically?
Yes. My TEDx talk and Substack newsletter, Permission to Change, are both built around ikigai as a real Japanese concept (not the popularized Venn diagram). I have a dedicated ikigai coaching page with more on that approach.
Burnout, boundaries and career change
Do I need to be in crisis to work with a boundary coach?
No. Most clients aren't in crisis. They're functioning well by every outside measure and privately exhausted by how much they've said yes to. Boundary coaching works best before burnout, not just after it.
Is boundary or burnout coaching only for physicians?
No. Boundary and capacity coaching works the same way across professions. Clients include physicians, attorneys, executives, founders, and academics: anyone whose default answer is yes.
What is career reinvention coaching?
Career reinvention coaching is a structured coaching engagement focused on helping accomplished professionals navigate a meaningful career change. It is typically suited for people in mid-career who feel a misalignment between their current work and what they actually want, and who want a thoughtful process rather than a leap.
When is the right time to consider career reinvention?
There is no single right time, but common signals include sustained dissatisfaction despite external success, a sense of having outgrown your current role, an external transition (kids launching, role ending, milestone birthday), or persistent curiosity about a different path. The work is most useful before depletion sets in.
Do I need to know what I want to change before starting?
No. In fact, most clients start career reinvention coaching precisely because they don't know yet. The work is to help you see your situation more clearly so you can author what comes next, rather than just react to it.
How long does career reinvention take?
Most coaching engagements run 3 to 6 months. Real-world reinvention often unfolds over 1 to 3 years after the coaching ends, as you implement structural changes you decide on during the engagement.
Physician Women at a Crossroads is a free private group for physician women who want more room for their lives, whether that means staying, scaling back, or leaving. No pitching, no programme, nothing for sale inside it.
Join the group, freeIf you want to think it through out loud
The first session is free, and it is a full 55 minutes.
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