Tammie Chang, MD - Board-Certified Physician in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and Author, Boundaries as a Woman Physician: The Key to Loving Your Life and Career in Medicine

Tammie Chang, MD

Tammie Chang, M.D., is a board-certified physician in pediatric hematology/oncology and co-founder of Pink Coat MD, an uplifting community to empower women physicians. Using her expertise in coaching, leadership and consulting work, background in wellness and work as a physician, Chang guides women physicians to become the best version of themselves and protect their well-being by helping them achieve greater balance, prevent burnout and live healthier lives.

Her upcoming book, Boundaries as a Woman Physician: The Key to Loving Your Life and Career in Medicine, focuses on the understanding that to heal and serve others, one must first focus on having a healthy body, spirit and mind. Tammie highlights the importance of good

self-care habits and boundaries in a physician’s life to avoid burnout, stress and exhaustion. She shares her story and that of three other physicians, acknowledging her struggles and the ways she broke the barrier of shame many physicians have when it comes to mental health and self-care. The goal of Boundaries as a Woman Physician is to equip women physicians with tools and advice to create healthy boundaries so they can thrive and love their practice. Tammie also published a companion workbook to help women physicians with time management and setting boundaries. 

Tammie leads personal coaching sessions, group programs and career consultations with the goal of empowering others to create the lives they want and become better leaders. She supports women physicians early in their careers by holding group consultations where they can share their experiences and vulnerabilities, as well as career sessions to tackle specific areas such as setting boundaries and time management.

She is the co-founder and co-CEO of Pink Coat, MD, a safe community and digital platform that provides support and resources for women physicians to help reduce burnout and improve personal well-being so they can achieve professional success. Partnering with leading experts across a variety of fields, the goal is to build a platform of supportive, self-compassionate female leaders to revolutionize medical culture. Tammie serves as the medical director of Provider Wellness for MultiCare Health System and the director of Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital’s Pediatric Cancer Survivorship Program. She also co-founded the Cool Chicks in Medicine community and the Women of Influence Network (WIN) @ MultiCare. Tammie serves as the program director of the American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) ELEVATE Leadership Development Program for Women Physician Attendings, and as the President of the AMWA Washington State Physician Branch.

Tammie earned her bachelor’s and medical degree from Brown University in Providence, R.I. She completed her residency training in internal medicine and pediatrics at the University of Massachusetts and completed her fellowship in pediatric hematology/oncology at the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis.

Tammie lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and their two golden retrievers, and she spends her free time playing piano and being active in the beautiful outdoors with her family. She practices pediatric hematology/oncology, at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma, Wash. For more information, please visit: www.tammiechangmd.com

I’m excited for you to connect with Tammie, check out her work, and follow along as she continues to share her own burnout story to inspire physicians and others to create good self-care habits and boundaries to avoid burnout, stress and exhaustion.

I'd love it if you'd introduce yourself, what you do, and what you're working on.

Thank you so much! I’m Tammie Chang, MD, a pediatric hematologist/oncologist, a certified leadership coach for women physicians, author and the co-founder of Pink Coat, MD. My Why and the driving force behind everything I do is to help create a kinder, more compassionate and joyful culture of medicine for all of us in healthcare. Everything I do now, comes from my deep desire to serve others and to create a better practice of medicine for all of us – physicians, nurses, pharmacists, front-line staff, leaders and administrators alike.

How did you get started?

I completed my pediatric hematology/oncology fellowship training in 2014 at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital where I stayed on for my first attending physician position, then moved back to my native Pacific Northwest to take a position as a community pediatric hematologist/oncologist in Tacoma, Washington. Five years into practice, I experienced the low point of my life and career, so severely burned out from my work as a pediatric hematologist/oncologist that I considered suicide. I took time off, got a lot of help through therapy, coaching and support from friends and family. Everything about my life now today comes out of that dark time in my life. I am driven and on FIRE to do everything and anything I can to help my fellow colleagues and friends never have to go through what I experienced. One in five physicians considers suicide during their career. Only a fraction of physicians seek help for mental illness. I now share my story openly and publicly, as I know I’m not alone. I want to help other physicians to understand that asking for and receiving help is a sign of strength, not weakness. I want to model courage and vulnerability for others. Sharing our vulnerabilities and humanity is how we will heal all of us in medicine and ensure that we have a future that is bright for all of us in healthcare. 

I want to be part of the movement growing among physicians nationwide to remove the stigma and fear from asking for and receiving help for mental illness for physicians. I want to empower women physicians to find their voice, come together and to lead us toward a brighter and healthier future for women physicians in medicine. We know that women physicians are at a significantly higher risk of burnout, emotional exhaustion, suicide and quitting medicine than our male counterparts.

What Inspired the work you’re doing?

It’s what I shared above. I was truly so lucky to reconnect with my Brown Medical School classmate and lifelong friend, Luisa Duran, around the time of my low point in 2019. She and I have been close friends since we were 18 years old, so we have been friends for more than 20 years. Ask any of our Brown undergraduate and medical classmates, and they will tell you that Luisa and I were the most joyful, fun-loving, loving and compassionate students. We both hit rock bottom in our lives and careers only 3-5 years out of training. With our shared history, trust and friendship, we shared our personal struggles with each other and vowed to do something to help our fellow women physician friends and colleagues. This is how Pink Coat, MD was born.

What is your biggest passion? Do you feel like you're living your passion and purpose?

My biggest passion is being part of creating a more joyful, loving and compassionate culture of medicine, especially for women physicians and for future generations of young physicians. We want to create a brighter and healthier future for all the little girls aspiring to become doctors. I feel so lucky to be deeply aligned with my Why, my Purpose and my Passion every single day. I get to care for patients, my first love, I get to care for my fellow providers as the medical director of provider wellness for my large healthcare system. I get to care for fellow women physicians through Pink Coat, MD, and I get to empower and develop incredible women physicians to step into their own leadership through my coaching work, writing and womens leadership podcast, and as the program director and co-founder of ELEVATE, the American Medical Women’s Association’s leadership development program for women physician attendings.

What is your joy blueprint? What lights you up, brings you joy, and makes you feel the most alive?

I love this question so much – you are speaking my language! Joy is my top core value, followed closely by love, freedom, courageous integrity, empowerment, and growth. To me, Joy is the single most important cornerstone in my life. It’s my compass, my internal GPS, and my North Star. What truly lights me up and brings me joy? It’s the special deep connection with other brilliant, compassionate and passionate human beings I get to take part in every single day. It’s when I coach other women physicians and witness the lightbulbs go off and transformation happen. It’s when I get to hug and play with my two rambunctious, unconditionally loving golden retrievers, Gus and Toby, who to me epitomize true joy. It’s when I’m outdoors with my husband and fur-family. This is when I feel most alive.

How do you live intentionally? Are there tools/resources/practices that you rely on to help you stay mindful and grounded?

Without question! I begin every single day with a 20-minute meditation before I get out of bed (I love the Headspace app!). I start each day thinking about my top core values, my Why and personal impact and vision statements, to align each day with intention. 

I try to exercise or move my body morning, whether this is a run, yoga, walking the dogs or hiking. When I’m not able to get in a workout first thing in the morning, I make it a priority to take a walk during lunchtime or after work. I make it a priority to get outside in nature every day. I try to play the piano and connect with music every day. I make the intention to take myself out of my head and into my heart and body every day.

What would your younger self think about what you're doing now?

I think I could never have imagined what I am doing now! My dreams and aspirations before were to become the best physician and pediatric hematologist/oncologist I could be. Now, my dreams are about this and creating a healthier culture of medicine for generations to come. I don’t think I could ever have envisioned how public I would become with my own vulnerability and personal struggle, or how deeply motivated I would become to be part of the change that is needed. I was recently interviewed for an article by my childhood school, and I was reminded of my favorite quote as a teenager by Ralph Waldo Emerson—“To know that one life has breathed easier because you have lived – this is to have succeeded.” In many ways, I think what I am a part of now has come full circle back to the young, hopeful, and motivated young girl I once was. I want to be contributing and serving and making the world better for as long as I am alive and healthy on this Earth. I hope to serve others for decades to come.

Do you have a go-to mantra or affirmation?

I sure do! “Be the change. Be the golden retriever!” is my daily mantra! This is also on my wall next to my desk!

Nothing to me epitomizes joy, unconditional love and freedom more than a golden retriever. And gosh, what a wonderful world it would be if we could all have more joy, love and freedom in our lives. If every human being could only be lucky enough to have experienced and continue to experience unconditional love and joy in their lives – I think we will have solved a lot of what we struggle with as a human race.  

I strive to show up as my most joyful, loving and authentic self each and every single day. I am not close to perfect, I fail more than I succeed,andI keep on trying and learning and growing every day.

What is your biggest dream?

My biggest dream? I want a kinder, more compassionate, and more joyful world for ALL of us on Earth. We must believe that we can get there together. I know we can. I know we can create a better and kinder future for our children, grand-children and future generations to come – together.

To connect with Tammie and learn more check out her website www.tammiechangmd.com and www.pinkcoatmd.com and on Instagram @tammiechangmd and @pinkcoat_md Twitter @tammiechangmd and @pinkcoat_md Facebook @tammiechangmd and @PinkCoatMD and on LinkedIn here

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