Finding Your Niche in Medicine with Ophthalmic and Dermatopathologist Dr. Anna Stagner

Christine interviews Dr. Anna Stagner, a Harvard Associate Professor and Massachusetts Eye and Ear director who is board certified in ophthalmology, anatomic pathology, and dermatopathology and has authored nearly 100 publications. Stagner shares her background growing up in a small town in northern Arizona and her path from ophthalmology to ocular pathology, anatomic pathology, and dermatopathology. She advises exploring interests even if unconventional, prioritizing what you enjoy over what you’re merely good at, and not fearing major training changes. For productivity, she recommends saying yes to meaningful projects, changing environments to work effectively, and using daily Post-it task lists. She discusses aligning career choices with personality, seeking helpers, her trainee-focused sign-out workday, and cautions that choosing a subspecialty makes you the destination for difficult cases in that area.

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

01:12 Podcast Chit Chat

01:32 Small Town Origins

02:38 Finding Your Passion

04:24 Productivity Habits

07:08 Changing Paths and Self Insight

09:18 Choosing the Unconventional Route

10:38 Specialty Planning Resources

12:18 A Day in Ocular Pathology

14:14 Picking Your Niche Wisely

15:45 Wrap Up and Thanks

Dr. Paul Han on Uncertainty in Medicine and Building Tolerance Through Adaptation

In this episode of The Girl Doc Survival Guide, Christine interviews Dr. Paul Han, an NIH Senior Scientist specializing in risk communication, medical decision-making, and uncertainty in healthcare, whose career shifted from general internal medicine and palliative care to research via an NCI cancer prevention fellowship. Han shares that persistent “gray zone” questions in primary and end-of-life care, plus personal circumstances like spousal support and financial stability, enabled his mid-career leap into the unknown. He explains uncertainty as two-sided: something healthcare tries to reduce but also a necessary source of curiosity for clinicians and hope for patients, especially in serious illness. Han connects uncertainty to cognitive biases as flawed attempts to regain certainty, and reframes “uncertainty tolerance” from merely enduring anxiety to situation-specific adaptation, emphasizing virtues such as humility, flexibility, and courage; he also notes his own recent prostate cancer diagnosis.

00:00 Meet Dr Paul Han

01:31 Midcareer Leap to Research

03:58 Drawn to Gray Zones

04:40 What Enables a Big Switch

06:48 Uncertainty as Friend and Foe

11:15 Why Uncertainty Feels Scary

13:48 Biases Born From Uncertainty

15:37 Rethinking Uncertainty Tolerance

18:32 Virtues for Adaptive Care

21:15 Letting Go of Outcomes

23:22 Closing Thoughts

Dr. Sook-Bin Woo on Adventure, Mentorship, and High Standards in Oral Pathology

Christine interviews Dr. Sook-Bin Woo, DMD, an expert in oral and maxillofacial pathology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, about her career, training, and life lessons. Woo shares a formative post–dental school adventure climbing Mount Kinabalu in Malaysia and a dangerous trip across Borneo, and describes later solo travel to Turkey. She explains pursuing oral pathology far from home and being shaped by rigorous “old school” mentorship emphasizing exacting standards and articulating what you do know, while also valuing humility when diagnoses remain uncertain. Woo advises early-career academics to collaborate with peers slightly ahead, discusses the importance of emotional and cultural intelligence in training and patient care, and reflects on challenges as a woman and immigrant, including limited maternity leave, wage disparities, and raising two children with long commutes and childcare support. She closes by urging curiosity and kindness.

00:00 Meet Dr Woo

00:52 Mount Kinabalu Adventure

03:32 Wasp Stings and Jeep Ride

05:11 Solo Travel in Turkey

05:53 Choosing Oral Pathology

06:51 Old School Training Standards

08:38 Rigor with Kindness

10:34 When You Truly Dont Know

12:28 Career Advice and Allies

13:39 Emotional Intelligence Matters

15:35 Women Immigrant Challenges

17:30 Raising Kids and Commuting

20:13 It Will Work Out

21:20 Curiosity and Kindness