America's leading voice for ideal medical care

Meet the happiest nurse practitioner in Alaska! →

Christine Sagan opened her clinic in a broom closet. She says, “I never thought in a million years that hundreds of thousands of dollars would be just rolling in.” Here’s how she did it . . . (download/listen to MP3 below):

Christine Sagan: I’m Christine Sagan. I’m a family nurse practitioner and I live in Anchorage, Alaska. So before I came to Breitenbush retreat I was pretty miserable. I had for about six years not liked my job and I didn’t think there was any way out. I thought on the outside everybody would think it was a great job. I worked at a holistic health center and I had flexibility. I worked three and one half days per week. I kept justifying and minimizing my situation thinking that I was comparing it to everybody else and thinking it’s not that bad. But it was that bad in lots of different ways and it continued to take a toll on my mental health and my ability to show up. So after a change in contract and a pay cut, I decided that I was done with that place and was looking for solutions and I Googled around and I found Pam.

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Loyola Commencement Speech “Live Your Dream” →

Angela Jiang: Good morning! As the class Vice President, it is my pleasure to welcome Dr. Pamela Wible to our graduation. Dr. Wible is a family physician and a pioneer in the ideal medical care movement. After completing a family medicine residency and working in different family practices for over 10 years, Dr. Wible found that neither doctors nor patients were happy with a system that felt much like an assembly line. She decided to follow her vision of practicing medicine in a way that could please both herself and her patients, and invited her community to design their own ideal clinic.

At Stritch, one of the first things we learned was how to treat the human spirit. It’s fitting for Dr. Wible to join us on this momentous day, since her clinic pretty much sounds like a spa for the human spirit. She offers relaxed office visits, house calls, and she has never turned anyone away for lack of money. With her patients, she wears glitter, throws Pap parties, and delivers balloons and homemade soup to patients during house calls. Since her clinic opened in 2005, Dr. Wible’s innovative practice has inspired hundreds of other physicians to create ideal clinics nationwide.

In addition to her devotion to changing health care, Dr. Wible is also passionate about physician mental health. She operates a suicide hotline from her home, and believes in nurturing the invincible human spirit in us all. For her contributions to physician mental health, she was named as one of 2015’s Women Leaders in Medicine by the American Medical Student Association. Dr. Wible’s commitment to promoting mental health and innovative approach to health care has led to Ted Talks, two bestselling books, features in textbooks, and interviews by CNN, NPR (listen to award-winning NPR interview), and many other news outlets.

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Medicine nearly killed her soul. How one doctor got her life back. →

In today’s podcast (and video), Kayla Luhrs, M.D., reveals how she recovered from the trauma of her medical training to live her dream in medicine. Listen in and be inspired . . . (full transcription & commentary below):

Hi, my name is Kayla. This is my second Breitenbush retreat. My last Breitenbush retreat started on the day I officially gave my 90-day notice for my job. I literally pulled over on the side of the road on my way here because I knew that was the only way that I would have the courage to do it and to not pick up the phone and say, “Oh wait, wait, I changed my mind.” So that took an immense amount of courage.

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How to be inspirational →

Inspired Happy Doctors

How do you keep yourself energized and motivated? How do you inspire other people to be excited and enthusiastic? How do you get patients with self-inflicted illness (like smoking and overeating) all jazzed up about changing their lives? A medical student recently asked for my guidance on inspiration and keeping a positive attitude amid so much pain and suffering. He wondered how I “willingly drink in the most heart-wrenching of fodder, yet exude even larger volumes of love.” Listen in to a small section of our mentorship call above as I share how you too can be inspirational.

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Dean promotes med student well-being. And he’s fired. →

Medical students enjoying discussion with Dr. Stuart Slavin.

URGENT: ** Please attend demonstration of support May 11th in St. Louis. ** Just received this letter from a medical student:

Dr. Wible,

I hope you are doing well. I am reaching out to you in less than pleasant circumstances. Dr. Slavin, our most valued leader and educator, has been dismissed precipitously from his position as Dean of Curricular Affairs. He seems to have been targeted unfairly for the recent accreditation decision. There is a general lack of transparency regarding all of this. The newly appointed Dean Behrns also may not share Dr. Slavin’s vision of valuing student mental health and wellness and being a national leader on this front. Please help us in increasing awareness of a demonstration of our continued support for Dr. Slavin tomorrow on the medical campus.

There will be a demonstration tomorrow, Thursday, May 11, 2017, from 12-3 pm on the medical school campus to show support for Dr. Slavin. We will be gathering around the fountain in front of the Learning Resource Center Building at 3544 Hickory St. in St.Louis, MO 63104.