Physician Career Coaching

Coaching for the
physician everyone
leans on.

you don't have to leave medicine to get your life back

If you went to medical school because you wanted to help people, and now the work that used to feel meaningful feels mechanical, you're in the right place. You're not alone, and you're not broken.

Do you need to be planning to leave medicine to work with me? No. Sometimes the answer is staying with substantial changes.

I'm a physician too. I still see patients one day a week. I teach, I build, and I coach. I gave myself permission to add to the work, not abandon it.

Book a Free Coaching Session, No Sales Pitch or join Physician Women at a Crossroads, free → My Approach

Packages start at $1,400. The first session is free. See packages →

Private. Not billed through insurance. How privacy works ↓

Weighing your options first? Read the guide to non-clinical careers for physicians.

New to coaching? Here's a quick primer on what life coaching actually is before diving in.

Lauren Fine, MD: Physician Coach for Career Reinvention

"I've sat in your seat.
We can skip the explaining."

Lauren Fine, MD · ICF-Track Coach · TEDx Speaker

Who I work with

Physicians at the
inflection point.

My coaching practice is built around physicians and accomplished professionals who share a particular kind of inflection point. You may recognize yourself in some of these.

The Pattern
What's Underneath
Successful by every external measure
Quietly miserable by every internal one
Don't want to leave entirely
Know this isn't sustainable for 20 more years
Woman physician, exhausted
A full clinic, a full home, and you're the one who always picks up
Thinking about leaving medicine
Stopped cold by "throwing it all away"
Hit every milestone
The trophies feel surprisingly light

My approach

Three things shape
how I work

Coaching is not therapy, not mentorship, and not advice-giving. I don't tell you what to do with your career. I help you think more clearly about what you actually want, what's been getting in the way, and what specifically needs to change.

01

I'm a physician, so we skip the explaining

You don't have to translate. You don't have to explain RVUs, prior auth, the hierarchy of academic medicine, what an OSCE is, or why your patients' MyChart messages are draining you. I've sat in your seat. We can start the actual work in session one.

Physician Coach Medical educator Lived the transition
Inquire

02

I use ikigai as a real framework, not the Venn diagram

If you've seen the four-circle Venn diagram about "what you love, what you're good at, what the world needs, what you can be paid for," you've seen a Western misinterpretation. Real ikigai is a Japanese concept about what makes life feel worth living, and it's older, deeper, and more useful than the diagram suggests. My TEDx talk walks through it. My coaching practice puts it to work. Learn more about ikigai coaching.

TEDx speaker Ikigai Permission to Change Career reinvention
Inquire

03

I work in a structured, time-bound way

I don't believe in indefinite coaching relationships. Most of my clients work with me for 3 to 6 months in focused engagement. That's enough time to identify the real questions, do the actual reflection, test some new behaviors, and reach decisions. If you want a coach for the next ten years, I'm not the right fit, and that's a good thing for both of us.

3 to 6 month engagements ICF-track coach Structured process Real outcomes
Inquire

Curious how a session actually works, from the first free call to the end of an engagement? See the full walkthrough →

Is this for you

You might be in the right place if...

A note

This isn't for everyone.

Coaching works best when you're ready to do honest work. If you're looking for someone to tell you what to do, I'm probably not the right fit. If you're ready to figure out what you actually want and build toward it, let's talk.

Book a Free Coaching Session, No Sales Pitch or join Physician Women at a Crossroads, free →

Common questions

What physicians ask
before they reach out

How is physician coaching different from therapy?

Coaching is forward-focused, action-oriented, and structured around the goals you set. Therapy is clinically-oriented, often focused on processing the past, and provided by licensed mental health professionals. The two can complement each other. Coaching is not a substitute for mental health care.

Do I need to be planning to leave medicine to work with you?

No. They use coaching to figure out what changes they need to make, what boundaries they need to set, and what role they actually want. Sometimes the answer is leaving. Sometimes the answer is staying with substantial changes.

How long does a typical engagement last?

Most clients work with me for 3 to 6 months. Some shorter, some longer, depending on the depth of what they're navigating. The goal is to help you think clearly enough to move on with your life, not become dependent on a coach.

Do you only work with physicians?

No. About a third of my clients are accomplished professionals from outside medicine: executives, academics, attorneys, founders. The work is similar. Career reinvention and ikigai aren't physician-specific concepts.

What credentials do you 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.

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.

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.

Ready to start

Let's have a conversation.

No pressure. Just a conversation.

The first session is free and there's no obligation. Tell me where you are. I'll tell you honestly if coaching makes sense and if we're a good fit.

Your privacy

Packages start at $1,400. The first session is free. See packages

Speaking and workshop inquiries welcome. Contact for rates.

Book a Free Coaching Session, No Sales Pitch or join Physician Women at a Crossroads, free → or email reasondxcoaching@gmail.com

Related reading

Essays for clinicians at an inflection point

Read all essays →